Intercalated cells of the amygdala

The Intercalated cells of the amygdala (ITC or ICCs) are GABAergic neurons situated between the basolateral and central nuclei of the amygdala that play a significant role in inhibitory control over the amygdala.[1] They regulate amygdala-dependent emotional processing like fear memory and social behavior. Their function has been best studied with selective ITC ablation which impairs fear extinction, fear generalization, and social behavior.[2][3] Studies have begun to recognize that ITC clusters may be implicated in reward, addiction, and withdrawal circuits given their heavy expression of dopamine and opioid receptors.[4]

In rodents, ITCs are organized into distinct clusters that wrap the basolateral amygdala (BLA).[5] Each cluster is unique in connectivity, intrinsic properties, and function.[5][6][7] These clusters are named by their location relative to the BLA with medial ITC clusters towards the central amygdala.

  1. ^ Quirk GJ, Mueller D (January 2008). "Neural mechanisms of extinction learning and retrieval". Neuropsychopharmacology. 33 (1): 56–72. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301555. PMC 2668714. PMID 17882236.
  2. ^ Likhtik E, Popa D, Apergis-Schoute J, Fidacaro GA, Paré D (July 2008). "Amygdala intercalated neurons are required for expression of fear extinction". Nature. 454 (7204): 642–645. Bibcode:2008Natur.454..642L. doi:10.1038/nature07167. PMC 2528060. PMID 18615014.
  3. ^ Kuerbitz J, Arnett M, Ehrman S, Williams MT, Vorhees CV, Fisher SE, et al. (January 2018). "Loss of Intercalated Cells (ITCs) in the Mouse Amygdala of Tshz1 Mutants Correlates with Fear, Depression, and Social Interaction Phenotypes". The Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (5): 1160–1177. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1412-17.2017. PMC 5792476. PMID 29255003.
  4. ^ Gregoriou, Gabrielle C.; Patel, Sahil D.; Pyne, Sebastian; Winters, Bryony L.; Bagley, Elena E. (2021-12-23). "Opioid withdrawal abruptly disrupts amygdala circuit function by reducing peptide actions". doi:10.1101/2021.12.22.471860. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  5. ^ a b Busti D, Geracitano R, Whittle N, Dalezios Y, Mańko M, Kaufmann W, et al. (March 2011). "Different fear states engage distinct networks within the intercalated cell clusters of the amygdala". The Journal of Neuroscience. 31 (13): 5131–5144. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6100-10.2011. PMC 6622967. PMID 21451049.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Asede D, Doddapaneni D, Chavez A, Okoh J, Ali S, Von-Walter C, Bolton MM (May 2021). "Apical intercalated cell cluster: A distinct sensory regulator in the amygdala". Cell Reports. 35 (7): 109151. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109151. PMID 34010641. S2CID 234792714.