The downregulation of Autophagy in amygdala is sufficient to alleviate anxiety-like behaviors in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder model mice

Abstract Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most serious and harmful stress-related emotion disorders caused by traumatic experiences. Upregulation of autophagy flux in neuronal cells has been believed to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of PTSD, however, the effect of upregulated autophagy on PTSD based on the specific brain regions has not been fully investigated. In our study, inhibition of autophagy in amygdala rather than mPFC of WT mice alleviated anxiety-like behaviors caused by PTSD modeling. Our results also suggested that Fmr1 KO mice might be a innate PTSD-nonsusceptible mouse model. In conclusion, the impact of autophagy on PTSD may depend on the specific brain regions even in the context of PTSD-related neuronal circuits.