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A04 – The neural mechanisms of extinction learning

Denise Manahan-Vaughan

This project will focus on the neurophysiological basis of extinction learning, particularly at the (sub)cellular levels of encoding and processing within neuronal populations. We will use electrophysiological approaches to examine the neural mechanisms and signatures of task acquisition, extinction learning and renewal in the rodent brain. Focus will be placed on the hippocampus, but its interactions with structures such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) will also be studied.

Guiding questions of A04:

  • How do neuronal oscillations change during task acquisition, effective context-dependent extinction learning and renewal of an appetitive spatial task in rodents? (Neural signatures)
  • How do place fields change when effective context-dependent extinction learning takes place? Does re-activation restore the original place field patterns? (Neural codes)
  • Do extinction-related brain structures (hippocampus, PFC) engage in ‘dialog’ at the level of neuronal oscillations during extinction? (Neural dialog)
  • To what extent do neuromodulatory structures and plasticity-related proteins contribute to the abovementioned processes? (Neural modulators)
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Denise Manahan-Vaughan

Projektleiterin A04

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Josué Haubrich

Postdoc A04

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

10 project-relevant publications

Babushkina N, Manahan-Vaughan D (2022) Frequency-dependency of the involvement of dopamine D1/D5 and beta-adrenergic receptors in hippocampal LTD triggered by locus coeruleus stimulation. Hippocampus 32:449–465. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.23419

Babushkina N, Manahan-Vaughan D (2025) The Modulation by the Locus Coeruleus of Recent and Remote Memory Retrieval is Activity-Dependent. Hippocampus 35:e70004. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.70004

Gasalla P, Manahan-Vaughan D, Dwyer DM, Hall J, Méndez-Couz M (2023) Characterisation of the neural basis underlying appetitive extinction & renewal in Cacna1c rats. Neuropharmacology 227:109444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109444

Hagena H, Manahan-Vaughan D (2024) Interplay of hippocampal long-term potentiation and long-term depression in enabling memory representations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 379:20230229. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0229

Hagena H, Manahan-Vaughan D (2025) Oppositional and competitive instigation of hippocampal synaptic plasticity by the VTA and locus coeruleus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122:e2402356122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402356122

Haubrich J, Vera LD, Manahan-Vaughan D (2025) Cortico-subcortical networks that determine behavioral memory renewal are redefined by noradrenergic neuromodulation. Sci Rep 15:9692. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93263-3

Méndez-Couz M, Becker JM, Manahan-Vaughan D (2019) Functional Compartmentalization of the Contribution of Hippocampal Subfields to Context-Dependent Extinction Learning. Front Behav Neurosci 13:256. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00256

Méndez-Couz M, Krenzek B, Manahan-Vaughan D (2021) Genetic Depletion of BDNF Impairs Extinction Learning of a Spatial Appetitive Task in the Presence or Absence of the Acquisition Context. Front Behav Neurosci 15:658686. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.658686

Rayan A, Donoso JR, Mendez-Couz M, Dolón L, Cheng S, Manahan-Vaughan D (2022) Learning shifts the preferred theta phase of gamma oscillations in CA1. Hippocampus 32:695–704. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.23460

Strauch C, Böge J, Shchyglo O, Dubovyk V, Manahan-Vaughan D (2025) The Suprapyramidal and Infrapyramidal Blades of the Dentate Gyrus Exhibit Different GluN Subunit Content and Dissimilar Frequency-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity In Vivo. Hippocampus 35:e70002. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.70002