Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: Cytoarchitecture, immunohistochemistry, and projection to the parabrachial nucleus in the rat

Abstract

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) sends a dense projection to the parabrachial nucleus (PB) in the pons. The BST contains many different types of neuropeptidelike immunoreactive cells and fibers, each of which exhibits its own characteristic distribution within cytoarchitecturally distinct BST subnuclei. Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-, neurotensin (NT)-, somatostatin (SS)-, and enkephalin (ENK)-like immunoreactive (ir) neurons are particularly numerous within areas of the BST that project to the PB. In this study, we use the combined retrograde fluorescence-immunofluorescence method to determine whether neurons in the BST that project to the PB contain these immunoreactivities. After Fast Blue injections into PB, retrogradely labeled neurons were numerous throughout the lateral part of the BST, particularly in the dorsal lateral (DL) and posterior lateral subnuclei. Retrogradely labeled neurons were also present in the preoptic, ventral lateral, and supracapsular BST subnuclei and in the parastrial nucleus. Many of the CRF-ir, NT-ir, and SS-ir neurons in DL were retrogradely labeled. A few double-labeled cells of each type were also found in the posterior lateral, ventral lateral and supracapsular BST subnuclei ENK-ir neurons were never retrogradely labeled. Our results show that BST neurons that project to the PB stain for the same neuropeptides as those in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) that project to the PB, demonstrating further the close anatomical relations between these two structures.

Central neural distribution of immunoreactive Fos and CRH in relation to plasma ACTH and corticosterone during sepsis in the rat

“…Many Fos-positive cells in this region were found among CRH-containing processes, and occasional small cells in the dorso-and central lateral subnuclei were double-stained for Fos and CRH after CLP. The CRHcontaining terminals in the lateral parabrachial region originate in part from the medial and commissural subnuclei of the NTS and also from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (Moga et al, 1989), the central nucleus of the amygdala (Moga and Gray, 1985), and the lateral hypothalamus . The enhanced detection of CRH in the NTS and the colocalization of CRH with Fos in the bed nucleus after CLP suggest that the projections from these areas to the parabrachial nucleus are activated during sepsis.…”

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is critically involved in enhancing associative learning after stressful experience.

“…Furthermore, BNST inactivation during the stressor did not prevent the corticosterone response. These results are somewhat unexpected given the projections from the BNST to hypothalamic and brainstem areas associated with the stress response (Gray, Carney, & Magnuson, 1989;Gray & Magnuson, 1987;Han & Ju, 1990;Moga, Saper, & Gray, 1989;Sawchenko & Swanson, 1983;Silverman, Hoffman, & Zimmerman, 1981;Sofroniew, 1983). Moreover, others have shown that electrical stimulation of the BNST can alter plasma corticosterone levels (Dunn, 1987), and that lesions of the BNST prevent the corticosterone response in contextual, but not cued, fear conditioning (Sullivan, Apergis, Bush, Johnson, Hou, & LeDoux, 2004).…”

Role of the Hippocampus, the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, and the Amygdala in the Excitatory Effect of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone on the Acoustic Startle Reflex

“…The BNST is a primary target of the amygdala (de Olmos et al, 1985;Sun et al, 1991;Alheid et al, 1995), and both the BNST and the amygdala share almost identical brainstem target areas implicated in stress and anxiety responses (Schwaber et al, 1980;Takeuchi et al, 1982Takeuchi et al, , 1983Sofroniew, 1983;Swanson et al, 1984;Veening et al, 1984;Holstege et al, 1985;Magnuson, 1987, 1992;Moga et al, 1989). Interestingly, some of the projections to the amygdala (cf.…”