Imaging Cholinergic Mechanisms of Fear Learning in People with Trauma Exposure

This project will characterize brain α₇ nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in people with trauma exposure and receptor associations with fear learning and memory processes that are impaired in people with PTSD. This will be done with [¹⁸F]ASEM PET imaging and an established fear reversal task conducted during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The findings will determine α₇ nAChR roles in the pathophysiology of fear extinction and its brain circuits in living people, informing future therapeutic development to address fear extinction impairments that underlie chronic PTSD symptoms. This project is funded by R01MH131551 (PI: Hillmer).