The reuniens and rhomboid nuclei are necessary for contextual fear memory persistence in rats

Abstract

Memory persistence refers to the process by which a temporary, labile memory is transformed into a stable and long-lasting state. This process involves a reorganization of brain networks at systems level, which requires functional interactions between the hippocampus (HP) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The reuniens (Re) and rhomboid (Rh) nuclei of the ventral midline thalamus are bidirectionally connected with both regions, and we previously demonstrated their crucial role in spatial memory persistence. We now investigated, in male rats, whether specific manipulations of ReRh activity also affected contextual and cued fear memory persistence. We showed that the permanent ReRh lesion impaired remote, but not recent contextual fear memory. Tone-cued recent and remote fear memory were spared by the lesion. In intact rats, acute chemogenetic ReRh inhibition conducted before recall of either recent or remote contextual fear memories produced no effect, indicating that the ReRh nuclei are not required for retrieval of such memories. This was also suggested by a functional cellular imaging approach, as retrieval did not alter c-fos expression in the ReRh. Collectively, these data are compatible with a role for the ReRh in 'off-line' consolidation of a contextual fear memory and support the crucial importance of ventral midline thalamic nuclei in systems consolidation of memories.

Keywords: Fear memory; Hippocampus; Medial prefrontal cortex; Memory persistence; Systems consolidation; Ventral midline thalamus.