From Structure to Behavior in Basolateral Amygdala-Hippocampus Circuits.

Emotion influences various cognitive processes, including learning and memory. The amygdala is specialized for input and processing of emotion, while the hippocampus is essential for declarative or episodic memory. During emotional reactions, these two brain regions interact to translate the emotion into particular outcomes. Here, we briefly introduce the anatomy and functions of amygdala and hippocampus, and then present behavioral, electrophysiological, optogenetic and biochemical evidence from recent studies to illustrate how amygdala and hippocampus work synergistically to form long-term memory. With recent technological advances, the causal investigations of specific neural circuit between amygdala and hippocampus will help us understand the brain mechanisms of emotion-regulated memories and improve clinical treatment of emotion-associated memory disorders in patients.

情绪影响包括学习和记忆在内的各种认知过程。杏仁核专门负责情绪的输入和处理，而海马体对于陈述性或情节性记忆至关重要。在情绪反应过程中，这两个大脑区域相互作用，将情绪转化为特定的结果。在此，我们简要介绍杏仁核和海马体的解剖结构及功能，然后呈现近期研究中的行为学、电生理学、光遗传学和生物化学证据，以说明杏仁核和海马体如何协同工作以形成长期记忆。随着近期技术的进步，对杏仁核和海马体之间特定神经回路的因果性研究将有助于我们理解情绪调节记忆的大脑机制，并改善对患者中与情绪相关的记忆障碍的临床治疗。