Theta oscillations synchronize human medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala during fear learning

Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that fear acquisition and expression rely on the coordinated activity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala and that theta oscillations support interregional communication within the fear network. However, it remains unclear whether these results can be generalized to fear learning in humans. We addressed this question using intracranial electroencephalography recordings in 13 patients with epilepsy during a fear conditioning paradigm. We observed increased power and inter-regional synchronization of amygdala and mPFC in theta (4 to 8 hertz) oscillations for conditioned stimulus (CS+) versus CS-. Analysis of information flow revealed that the dorsal mPFC (dmPFC) led amygdala activity in theta oscillations. Last, a computational model showed that trial-by-trial changes in amygdala theta oscillations predicted the model-based associability (i.e., learning rate). This study provides compelling evidence that theta oscillations within and between amygdala, ventral mPFC, and dmPFC constitute a general mechanism of fear learning across species.