Parvalbumin-expressing basal forebrain neurons mediate learning from negative experience

Parvalbumin (PV)-expressing GABAergic neurons of the basal forebrain (BFPVNs) were proposed to serve as a rapid and transient arousal system, yet their exact role in awake behaviors remains unclear. This study investigated the role of BFPVNs in associative learning using calcium measurements and electrophysiology with optogenetic tagging in mice performing an associative learning task. BFPVNs showed phasic activation to punishment, slower responses to reward, and optogenetic inhibition during punishment impaired learning, suggesting a causal role in associative learning. BFPVNs received inputs from the hypothalamus, septal complex, and median raphe, and projected to limbic structures, broadcasting information about aversive stimuli. The study proposes that BFPVNs' arousing effect is recruited by aversive stimuli for associative learning.

Panna Hegedüs, Bálint Király, Dániel Schlingloff, Victoria Lyakhova, Anna Velencei, Írisz Szabó, Márton I. Mayer, Zsofia Zelenak, Gábor Nyiri, Balázs Hangya