The internal globus pallidus (GPi) is one part of basal ganglion nucleuses which play fundamental role in motor function. Recent studies indicated that GPi could modulate emotional processing and learning, but the possible mechanism remains still unknown. In this study, the effects of endopeduncular nucleus (EP, a rodent homolog of GPi) on fear conditioning were tested in rats. GABA_A receptor agonist muscimol was bilaterally delivered into the EP 15 min before or immediately after fear conditioning in rats. We found that EP inactivation impaired the acquisition but not consolidation of fear memory in rats. Furthermore, the long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal CA1 area was impaired, and the learning related phosphorylation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid receptor (AMPAR) subunit 1 (GluA1) at the Ser845 site in hippocampus was decreased in muscimol treated group. These results demonstrated that dysfunction of EP impaired hippocampal dependent learning and memory in rats.

内部苍白球（GPi）是基底神经节核的一部分，在运动功能中起着基本作用。最近的研究表明，GPi可以调节情绪处理和学习，但是可能的机制仍然未知。在这项研究中，在大鼠中测试了椎弓根内核（EP，GPi的啮齿动物同源物）对恐惧条件的影响。GABA _A在大鼠恐惧调节之前或之后15分钟，将双侧受体激动剂麝香酚双侧递送到EP中。我们发现EP失活会损害大鼠的获取，但不会巩固恐惧记忆。此外，海马CA1区的长时程增强（LTP）受到损害，并且学习相关的α-氨基-3-羟基-5-甲基-5-甲基-4-异恶唑丙酸受体（AMPAR）亚基1（GluA1）磷酸化麝香酚治疗组的海马Ser845位点上的表达降低。这些结果证明EP的功能障碍损害了大鼠海马依赖性学习和记忆。