The central extended amygdala (EAc)-including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce)-plays a critical role in triggering fear and anxiety and is implicated in the development of a range of debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders. Although it is widely believed that these disorders reflect the coordinated activity of distributed neural circuits, th...

A detailed description is given of the distribution of vasopressin-immunoreactive structures in the brain of intact adult male rats. By application of a modified immunocytochemical procedure, vasopressin-immunoreactive fibers were detected in many new areas. In adult male rats which were castrated 15 weeks before death, vasopressin-immunoreactive cell bodies had disappeared from the bed nucleus...

Habituation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response to chronic intermittent restraint stress (30 min/day for 15 days) and the cross-sensitization to a heterotypic stress [i.p. lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] were investigated in intact male Sprague Dawley rats, and in rats bearing quinolinic acid lesions to the medial anterior bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BST) or anterior region o...

Dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play crucial roles in motivational control of behaviors, and their activity is regulated directly or indirectly via GABAergic neurons by extrinsic afferents from various sources, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST). Here, the neurochemical composition of VTA-projecting BST neurons and their outputs to the VTA...

Dynamic exercise evokes sustained blood pressure and heart rate (HR) increases. Although it is well accepted that there is a CNS mediation of cardiovascular adjustments during dynamic exercise, information on the role of specific CNS structures is still limited. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) is involved in exercise-evoked cardiovascular responses in rats. However, the specific n...

BACKGROUND The areas of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) with a high density of estrogen receptors are involved in cardiovascular regulation and send axonal projections to the rostroventrolateral medulla (RVLM). We aimed to find the contribution of the RVLM to cardiovascular responses elicited by glutamate microinjection into the BST. METHODS Experiments were done in α-chloralose...

Male hamsters in which the stria terminalis (ST) had been interrupted either by electrolytic lesions or knife cuts, or normal control males, received iontophoretic injections of horseradish peroxidase in either the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) or the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area (MPOAH). Comparison of intact and ST-lesioned brains revealed the existence of a ventral ...

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) is a cluster of nuclei within the extended amygdala, a forebrain macrostructure with extensive projection to motor nuclei of the hindbrain. The subnuclei of the BST coordinate autonomic, neuroendocrine, and somato-motor functions and receive robust neuromodulatory monoaminergic afferents, including 5-HT-, noradrenaline (NA)-, and dopamine (DA)-conta...