Restoring inhibitory control in the stressed amygdala: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors as regulators of memory precision and engram sparsity in mice
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects about 8% of Canadian adults, causing intrusive memories and inappropriate fear responses that are often resistant to current treatments. This project will investigate how chronic social stress influences fear memory overgeneralization in mice, a key feature of PTSD. Researchers will study the molecular and neural mechanisms involved, focusing on endocannabinoid signaling and inflammation, which may contribute to stress-related changes in fear processing. The goal is to improve understanding of how the brain stores threat memories and to identify new strategies for more effective PTSD and anxiety treatments.
