Topic: memory association

Memories are evolving constructs prone to modifications. Here, we explore the temporal rules that determine whether memories are associated, by cooperation, or selected and lost, by competition. To tackle this question, we have built a conceptual model of the rules underlying synaptic cooperation and competition between the cortical and thalamic afferents to projection neurons of the lateral amygdala (LA), a circuit necessary for the formation of fear-conditioning memories. We found that heterosynaptic cooperation and competition between thalamic and cortical inputs to the LA follow a strict t