Recently, CB1 receptor-mediated signaling within the BLA-mPFC circuit was explored in the context of a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. The mPFC–amygdala circuit has been shown to play a critical role in the processing and integration of emotionally salient sensory information and learning (Milad and Quirk, 2002), however, a mechanism by which cannabinoid signaling within this circuit could influence emotional associative learning at the level of the single neuron was unknown. To this end, Laviolette and Grace carried out single unit extracellular recordings of pyramidal, BLA-responsive mPFC neurons during a Pavlovian odor fear-conditioning procedure in anesthetized rodents (Laviolette and Grace, 2006b). This procedure involved the acquisition of an association between an aversive foot-shock and an odor cue, via repeated contiguous presentation. During the testing phase, animals were presented with either a footshock-paired odor (CS+) or a non-paired odor (CS−).
