Figure 2.

Gephyrin and GABA_A binding are decreased after fear acquisition. A, Gephyrin mRNA in the BLA is significantly decreased 2 hr after fear conditioning in trained animals (light-shock) compared with animals presented with lights alone or unpaired lights and shocks during training (n = 5 per group). B, Gephyrin protein in the BLA is significantly decreased 2 hr after fear acquisition in trained (light-shock) animals compared with animals who received only lights or shocks during training (n = 6 per group) C, F, Binding of H3-Flu is significantly decreased 6 hr after fear conditioning in trained animals compared with naive controls (nonconditioned controls). A similar reduction in H3-Flu binding was not observed in the ventral striatum (F; n = 6 per group). Da, Db, Low-power image of 15 nm H3-Flu binding in a fear-conditioned animal in the absence (Da) and presence (Db) of 30 μm clonazepam. Ea, Eb, Example autoradiographs of home cage control (Ea) or fear-conditioned (Eb) animals. Ec, Ed, Pseudo-color images of Ea and Eb, respectively, demonstrating qualitative decreases in GABA_A binding within the BLA after fear conditioning. Arrows highlight the location of the BLA complex. ^*p < 0.05. Error bars indicate ±SEM. See Results for statistics.