# Influence of vagal afferent signaling on the consolidation of memory for fear learning

> **NIH NIH F31** · FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $37,894

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Persistent and distressing associative fear memories are a central feature of most anxiety and stress-related
disorders. A key goal for research into anxiety and stress-related disorders is understanding how fear
memories are initially strengthened. One way that memory has been shown to be enhanced is through
stimulation of vagal afferent neurons and their brainstem projection site, the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS).
The NTS projects heavily to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a limbic forebrain region which is
widely connected with the amygdala and ventral hippocampus and has been shown to play a role in contextual
fear memory. I hypothesize that consolidation of memory for contextual fear learning is modulated by a vagal
afferent → NTSNA → BNST signaling pathway. In the proposed project, rats will undergo pharmacological or
chemotoxin-based manipulation of vagal afferent signaling (Aim 1) or will undergo chemogenetic manipulations
of NTSNA projections to BNST (Aim 2) during memory consolidation in a contextual fear conditioning paradigm.
Memory retention will be quantified by assessing treatment effects on learned freezing behavior. This project
will help develop a better understanding of the mechanism by which initial fear memories are strengthened,
contributing to the development of therapies and treatments for anxiety and stress-related disorders. This
project also provides a strong platform to expand and strengthen the trainee’s expertise in modern behavioral
neuroscience approaches, including the use of a Cre-driver transgenic rat model, intersectional viral strategies
for chemogenetic manipulation of neural circuits, and molecular phenotyping of circuit components.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9992176
- **Project number:** 1F31MH119784-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Caitlyn Marie Edwards
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $37,894
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9992176

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9992176, Influence of vagal afferent signaling on the consolidation of memory for fear learning (1F31MH119784-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9992176. Licensed CC0.

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