Anticipatory defensive responses to an aversive or harmful event depend on memories linking the event with the predictive environmental cues. Extensive evidence indicates that the central amygdala is essential for the acquisition and recall of such memories. The evidence came initially from studies that relied on traditional lesion and pharmacological techniques, and recently from studies in which new methodologies were used to target, record and manipulate neuronal activities with improved precision and specificity. In this review, I will discuss the current understanding of the roles of central amygdala neurons in the learning and expression of defensive behaviors, with a focus on the major neuronal populations identified on the basis of their genetic markers.

对厌恶或有害事件的预期防御反应取决于将事件与预测性环境线索联系起来的记忆。大量证据表明，中央杏仁核对于这种记忆的获取和记忆至关重要。证据最初来自依赖于传统病变和药理学技术的研究，最近来自于使用新方法靶向，记录和操纵神经元活动且精度和特异性得到提高的研究。在这篇综述中，我将讨论对中央杏仁核神经元在学习和表达防御行为中的作用的当前理解，重点是根据遗传标记确定的主要神经元群体。