{
  "abstract": "Persistent fear responses and impaired fear extinction are characteristic features of stress-related disorders. Dopaminergic signalling within amygdala-centred circuits contributes to fear extinction, but the associated molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated whether selective dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibition with CE-123 (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) facilitates fear extinction and induces region-specific molecular adaptations. Adolescent male rats were subjected to a modified stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL)-like paradigm followed by extinction training. Rats exposed to high-intensity fear conditioning (STRESSED groups) displayed persistent freezing and increased anxiety-like behaviour compared with non-shocked controls (NON-STRESSED groups). Repeated CE-123 administration during extinction significantly reduced freezing in stressed rats without affecting non-stressed animals. Quantitative proteomic analyses of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and hippocampus (HPC) revealed marked region-specific effects. Stress-related fear enhancement induced extensive proteomic remodelling in the BLA, involving proteins associated with glutamatergic signalling, synaptic plasticity, and axonal organization, whereas the hippocampal proteome was largely unaffected. CE-123 also produced BLA-specific molecular effects, reducing the abundance of proteins associated with mitochondrial ATP synthesis in non-stressed animals and with ribosomal, mitochondrial, and RNA-processing pathways in stressed rats. These findings identify the BLA as a key substrate of fear-related molecular adaptations and demonstrate that selective DAT inhibition modulates amygdala proteomic architecture during fear extinction. Overall, the results support further investigation of DAT modulation as a potential strategy for facilitating fear extinction in stress-related disorders.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a st., 20-093 Lublin, Poland",
    "Department of Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Materials Sciences and Ceramics, AGH University of Krakow, Mickiewicza 30 Avenue, 30-059 Krakow, Poland",
    "Experimental Medicine Center, Medical University, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-090 Lublin, Poland",
    "Department of Neuroproteomics, Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pawel Grochecki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Malgorzata Hopcias",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-2042-3163"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Justyna Lubinska",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-9562-6966"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tymoteusz Slowik"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Gert Lubec",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6333-9461"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Joanna Listos"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Piotr Suder",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4511-1241"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jolanta H. Kotlinska"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ew266h6q2e32.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27188352",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9ew266h6q2e32",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/18/8352",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Memory and Neural Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214491961",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-19",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ew266h6q2e32.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27188352",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/18/8352"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Memory and Neural Mechanisms",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Selective Dopamine Transporter Inhibition with CE-123 Promotes Fear Extinction and Alters the Basolateral Amygdala Proteome Following Fear Extinction in Adolescent Male Rats",
  "title_text": "Selective Dopamine Transporter Inhibition with CE-123 Promotes Fear Extinction and Alters the Basolateral Amygdala Proteome Following Fear Extinction in Adolescent Male Rats",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ew266h6q2e32",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}