Conditioned fear in adult rats is facilitated by the prior acquisition of a classically conditioned motor response

Early in eyeblink classical conditioning, amygdala-dependent fear responding is reported to facilitate acquisition of the cerebellar-dependent eyeblink conditioned response (CR), in accord with the two-process model of conditioning (Konorski, 1967). In the current study, we predicted that the conditioned fear (e.g., freezing) observed during eyeblink conditioning may become autonomous of the eyeblink CR and amenable to further associative modification. Conditioned freezing was assessed during and following Pavlovian fear conditioning in Long-Evans rats that had or had not undergone eight prior sessions of eyeblink conditioning. The amplitude and frequency of the tone conditioned stimulus (CS) was held constant across both forms of conditioning. Following fear conditioning in Experiment 1, freezing to the tone CS, but not the context, was facilitated in rats that previously experienced CS-unconditioned stimulus (US) paired eyeblink conditioning. In Experiment 2, freezing immediately following each fear conditioning trial was enhanced in rats subjected to the antecedent eyeblink conditioning, indicating a faster acquisition rate. Finally, in Experiment 3, faster acquisition was seen only in those rats fear conditioned in the same context used for the prior eyeblink conditioning. Taken together, the data indicate that the conditioned fear associated with the context and CS as a result of eyeblink conditioning can be built upon or strengthened during subsequent learning.