Amygdala Circuitry

With Dr. Mclean Bolton

Examining the making of fear memories.

From the lab of Dr. Mclean Bolton

Dr. McLean Bolton studies the neurons within the amygdala, key to emotional significance and fear memory storage, which processes stimuli, mainly in context of conditions like autism and schizophrenia.

The Intercalated clusters (ITCs) are inhibitory neurons that surround the amygdala and act as “gatekeepers.” Her research revealed the apical intercalated cell clusters (apITCs), integrate sensory information in various cortical areas to gate information flow to the lateral amygdala.

This insight could aid in the development of groundbreaking therapies for those suffering with anxiety or fear-related neural circuitry disorders.

A better look at synapses

Neurons in the amygdala

Retrograde tracing is used to determine the location of the cells of origin of a nervous system pathway. Here, the axon terminals of amygdala neurons are projecting to the prefrontal cortex.

A better look at synapses

Anterograde tracing showing how Dr. Bolton and team evaluate the synaptic output from the amygdala by injecting an AAV expressing ChR2-GFP gene into the amygdala.

"Comparing brain circuit defects across models of ASD may help target treatments to key neurons or synapses."

Dr. Mclean Bolton investigates disorders of neural circuit function. Building on post-graduate work developing screening platforms for neurological disorders, her goal is to gain understanding on how neural circuits are altered in complex behavioral disorders like autism and schizophrenia.