Abstract
Innate defensive responses to threats are essential for animal survival. The complexity and variability of innate defensive behaviors can be due to individual experiences, environmental factors, and internal states. However, it is not completely understood if the gentle handling involved in sensory processing affects innate defensive responses to visual threats. Here, we report attenuation of innate defensive responses after gentle handling accompanied by de-excitation of the intermediate layer (IL) and deep layer (DL) of the superior colliculus (SC) but not of the superficial layer (SL). Our theoretical analysis of the c-Fos network revealed an increased correlation in module 1, which maybe generally functionally associated with fear emotional, a decreased correlation in module 2, which maybe generally functionally associated with sensory processing. The IL of the SC appeared to have the highest correlation with the two modules. We verified the dynamic activities of the IL of SC in response to overhead looming stimulus using fiber photometry. Retrograde labeling of 18 regions of interest (ROIs) showed that the IL received significant inputs from the cortical areas, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. These data suggest the sensory processing involved in the modulatory roles of the SC in innate fear processing.
Highlights
Innate defensive responses to threats are essential for animal survival (LeDoux, 2012; Anderson and Adolphs, 2014; Janak and Tye, 2015; Tovote et al, 2015)
These results demonstrate that long-term repeated handling attenuates innate defensive responses to visual threat stimuli
The innate defensive reactions to threats are vital for survival
Summary
Innate defensive responses to threats are essential for animal survival (LeDoux, 2012; Anderson and Adolphs, 2014; Janak and Tye, 2015; Tovote et al, 2015). Defensive behaviors are stereotyped, their complexity and variability can be due to individual experiences (Morgan, 1896), environmental factors, and internal states (LeDoux, 2012; Anderson and Adolphs, 2014; Anderson, 2016). Overhead looming stimuli that mimic aerial predators have been shown to trigger stereotyped defensive responses across species (Yilmaz and Meister, 2013; Muijres et al, 2014; Temizer et al, 2015).
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