View source for Infralimbic cortex

{{Short description|Brain region of tonic inhibition of fear}}
{{Infobox brain
| Name        = Infralimbic cortex
| Latin       = Cortex infralimbicus
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The '''infralimbic cortex''' ('''IL''') is a cortical region in the [[ventromedial prefrontal cortex]] which is important in tonic inhibition of subcortical structures and emotional responses, such as fear.<ref>"Microstimulation reveals opposing influences of prelimbic and infralimbic cortex on the expression of conditioned fear." Learn. Mem., Vol. 13, No. 6. (1 November 2006), pp. 728-733. Ivan Vidal-Gonzalez, Benjamin Vidal-Gonzalez, Scott L Rauch, Gregory J Quirk.</ref>

==Structure==
{{Empty section|date=July 2010}}

==Connectivity==

===Primates===
[[GABAergic]] neurons within the [[amygdala]], known as [[intercalated cells of the amygdala|intercalated (ITC) cells]], receive a strong projection from the IL [[medial prefrontal cortex]] (mPFC) in primates.<ref>Chiba et al., 2001; Ghashghaei and Barbas, 2002.</ref> ITC cells are thought to play a role as the 'off switch' for the amygdala, inhibiting the amygdala's central nucleus output neurons and its basolateral nucleus neurons.<ref name="Quirk">Quirk, G.J. & Mueller, D. (2007). Neural mechanisms of extinction learning and retrieval. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, 1-17.</ref> Further, it has been shown that electrical stimulation of IL reduces conditioned fear and strengthens extinction memory{{clarify|reason=no explanation, context, or Wikipedia article defining 'extinction memory'|date=June 2015}}, explaining cortical control over [[extinction (psychology)|extinction]] processes,{{clarify|reason='extinction' link does not explain this use of expression 'extinction processes'|date=June 2015}} one of the simplest forms of [[emotional regulation]].<ref name="Quirk"/>

===Rodents===
Amygdala ITC cells receive strong projection from the IL mPFC in rodents as well.<ref>McDonald et al., 1996.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Medial prefrontal cortex]]
* [[Intercalated cells of the amygdala]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Prosencephalon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Infralimbic Cortex}}
[[Category:Cerebral cortex]]