Fig. 1.

Estradiol acts within the ACC to promote generalized fear.

A. Local infusion site verification for the ACC and vCA1. Black dots represent infusion sites for one or more animals. Drawings are adapted from Swanson, (2018). B. Schematic of the experimental paradigm. All animals were trained in an inhibitory avoidance chamber and 24 h later received local infusion of either estradiol or vehicle. Animals were tested for generalization 24 h after infusions in either the training or the neutral context. C. Estradiol infusions into the ACC induces context generalization. Animals infused with estradiol displayed generalization as they had similar latencies to cross in the training and neutral context whereas vehicle animals had significantly shorter latencies to cross in the neutral than the training, suggesting context discrimination. D. Estradiol infusions into the vCA1 does not induce generalization. Vehicle- and estradiol-treated animals had significantly shorter latencies to cross in the neutral context than the training context, suggesting no generalization. E. Open field locomotor behavior. Estradiol and vehicle treated animals had similar distances traveled and spent equivalent amounts of time in the center and surround of the arena, suggesting estradiol treatment does not influence locomotion. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM *p < 0.05 **p < 0.01.