The amygdala modulates hippocampus-dependent context memory formation and stores cue-shock associations.

Preexposing rats to the context facilitates subsequent contextual fear conditioning. This effect depends on the hippocampus (J. W. Rudy, R. M. Barrientos, & R. C. O'Reilly, 2002). The authors report that inactivating the basolateral region of the amygdala (BLA) by injecting muscimol, a GABAA agonist, before or after preexposure reduced this effect. In contrast, bilateral injections of anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, into BLA did not impair the consolidation of the context memory. However, when injected after fear conditioning, anisomycin impaired consolidation of both contextual and auditory-cue fear conditioning. Results are consistent with 2 ideas about the amygdala's contribution to memory: (a) It modulates memory formation in other regions of the brain, and (b) it is a storage site for cue-shock associations.