Complementary stable and dynamic prelimbic ensembles encode learned threat value underlying generalization and discrimination.

Stable threat-value coding persists in prelimbic cortex populations despite 30 days of ensemble turnover during fear learning and retrieval in mice.

• Why it matters: Understanding how stable neural representations form amid ongoing neuronal reorganization is crucial for grasping how emotional memories and threat discrimination are maintained over time.
• What they did: Longitudinal calcium imaging was used to track prelimbic cortex activity in freely moving mice over 30 days during auditory fear learning and retrieval, analyzing ensemble stability and coding.
• The result: Despite ensemble turnover, stable graded threat representations persisted, with population similarity highest for shock-associated tones, enabling consistent threat-value coding amid ongoing neural reorganization.