that BDNF reduced fear independent of extinction training
The purpose of extinction training is to subject the animals to the tone enough times to allow them to form a new memory. They realize that the tone is not followed by a shock and therefore is not associated with a threat. This concept forms the basis of exposure therapy, which is used to treat humans with anxiety disorders by progressively re-exposing them to a traumatic memory while in a safe environment.
In this experiment, the BDNF animals show reduced freezing prior to extinction training. This allows the authors to conclude that at least some of the effects that BDNF infusion has on fear expression occur regardless of whether the animals receive extinction training.