Rewrite or overwrite - Identifying neuronal circuits of remote fear memory attenuation

Despite the fact that traumatic memories are often not readily amenable to immediate intervention, surprisingly few studies have investigated treatment options for remote, i.e. long-lasting traumata in animal models. The few that have unanimously concluded that exposure therapy-based treatments, the most successful behavioral intervention for the attenuation of recent traumata in humans, fail to effectively reduce remote fear memories. We have recently described a pharmacological approach, by which even remote fear memories become amenable to attenuation1: By combining exposure therapy-like approached with histone deacetylase inhibitors in mice, chromatin-templated neuroplasticity could be reinstated, which resulted in persistent fear reduction.

Currently, we are in the process of investigating the cellular and molecular underpinnings of this finding in a cell type-specific manner using a transgenic mouse2 that allows for the visualization of fear memory traces. The aim of this study is to determine whether successful attenuation of remote fear memories is represented by a new memory trace of safety or by a re-learning of the original memory trace of fear.