Mapping the Circuit of Fear with Pharmacogenetic Silencing and FMRI

Alessandro Gozzi¹, Apar Jain², Valerio Crestan¹, Adam J. Schwarz^1,3, Theodoros Tsetsenis², Graham Sheridan⁴, Cornelius T. Gross⁴, Angelo Bifone¹

Functional MRI methods have been widely applied to map regional changes in brain activity elicited by somatosensory stimuli, complex cognitive or emotional tasks, and pharmacological challenges. Here we describe and demonstrate the use of fMRI to map the functional effects of rapid and reversible pharmacogenetic silencing of selected neuronal populations focally expressed in specific regions of the mouse brain. In combination with behavioural observations, this novel approach provides a powerful means to assess the functional role of these neurons, to resolve the brain circuitry they are elements of, and to establish their implication in behavioural control