Infralimbic cortex

The infralimbic cortex (IL) is a cortical region in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which is important in tonic inhibition of subcortical structures and emotional responses, such as fear.[1]

Infralimbic cortex
Details
Identifiers
LatinCortex infralimbicus
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

Connectivity

Primates

GABAergic neurons within the amygdala, known as intercalated (ITC) cells, receive a strong projection from the IL medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in primates.[2] ITC cells are thought to play a role as the 'off switch' for the amygdala, inhibiting the amygdala's central nucleus output neurons and its basolateral nucleus neurons.[3] Further, it has been shown that electrical stimulation of IL reduces conditioned fear and strengthens extinction memory, explaining cortical control over extinction processes, one of the simplest forms of emotional regulation.[3]

Rodents

Amygdala ITC cells receive strong projection from the IL mPFC in rodents as well.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Microstimulation reveals opposing influences of prelimbic and infralimbic cortex on the expression of conditioned fear." Learn. Mem., Vol. 13, No. 6. (1 November 2006), pp. 728-733. Ivan Vidal-Gonzalez, Benjamin Vidal-Gonzalez, Scott L Rauch, Gregory J Quirk.
  2. Chiba et al., 2001; Ghashghaei and Barbas, 2002.
  3. Quirk, G.J. & Mueller, D. (2007). Neural mechanisms of extinction learning and retrieval. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, 1-17.
  4. McDonald et al., 1996.
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