Projections from thalamic nucleus reuniens to hippocampal CA1 area participate in context fear extinction by affecting extinction-induced molecular remodeling of excitatory synapses.

Abstract

The ability to extinguish contextual fear in a changing environment is crucial for animal survival. Recent data support the role of the thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) and its projections to the dorsal hippocampal CA1 area (RE→dCA1) in this process. However, it remains poorly understood how RE impacts dCA1 neurons during contextual fear extinction (CFE). Here, we reveal that the RE→dCA1 pathway contributes to the extinction of contextual fear by affecting CFE-induced molecular remodeling of excitatory synapses. Anatomical tracing and chemogenetic manipulation in mice demonstrate that RE neurons form synapses and regulate synaptic transmission in the stratum oriens (SO) and lacunosum-moleculare (SLM) of the dCA1 area, but not in the stratum radiatum (SR). We also observe CFE-specific structural changes of excitatory synapses and expression of the synaptic scaffold protein, PSD-95, in both strata innervated by RE, but not in SR. Interestingly, only the changes in SLM are specific for the dendrites innervated by RE. To further support the role of the RE→dCA1 projection in CFE, we demonstrate that brief chemogenetic inhibition of the RE→dCA1 pathway during a CFE session persistently impairs the formation of CFE memory and CFE-induced changes of PSD-95 levels in SLM. Thus, our data indicate that RE participates in CFE by regulating CFE-induced molecular remodeling of dCA1 synapses.