Reduced fear conditioning after viral vector mediated neuropeptide Y administration into the basolateral amygdala

Background Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino-acid peptide that is abundantly expressed in the central nervous system. It is involved in various physiological and pathophysiological processes, including energy homeostasis, pain and epilepsy, but also in anxiety and depression. Consistent findings have demonstrated an anxiolytic effect of NPY. The presence of different NPY receptors in the amygdala and the effects of NPY on anxiety raise the question, whether NPY and its receptors may influence acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear. Therefore, we investigated NPY and NPY receptor knockout mice in Pavlovian fear conditioning.