A role for prefrontal cortex in the extinction of a conditioned taste aversion

This study used immunohistochemical methods to determine if the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the extinction of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). As rats reached 90% reacceptance of a tastant (saccharin: SAC) that had previously been associated with lithium chloride-induced malaise, c-Fos protein expression increased dramatically as compared to animals with active CTAs, animals without CTAs (i.e., explicitly unpaired CS-US exposures) or animals drinking SAC for the first time. These data indicate a role for mPFC (prelimbic and infralimbic cortex) in the formation of a CTA extinction memory.