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

Bangasser, Debra A.; Santollo, Jessica; Shors, Tracey J.

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.119.6.1459

Cited by 55 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is currently not clear response to this question, in part because very few studies have compared the influence of the amygdala and of the BNST on short-and long-duration threat. The BNST is clearly involved in the effect of stressors that last several minute (Sullivan et al 2004;Waddell et al 2006;Walker and Davis 1997a) to hours or days (Bangasser et al 2005;Hammack et al 2004). The earliest time of BNST involvement is unknown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Models and mechanisms of anxiety: evidence from startle studies

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rationale-Preclinical data indicates that threat stimuli elicit two classes of defensive behaviors, those that are associated with imminent danger and are characterized by avoidance or fight (fear), and those that are associated with temporally uncertain danger and are characterized by sustained apprehension and hypervigilance (anxiety).Objective-To 1) review evidence for a distinction between fear and anxiety in animal and human experimental models using the startle reflex as an operational measure of aversive states, 2) describe experimental models of anxiety, as opposed to fear, in humans, 3) examine the relevance of these models to clinical anxiety.Results-The distinction between phasic fear to imminent threat and sustained anxiety to temporally uncertain danger is suggested by psychopharmacological and behavioral evidence from ethological studies and can be traced back to distinct neuroanatomical systems, the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Experimental models of anxiety, not fear, are relevant to nonphobic anxiety disorders.Conclusions-Progress in our understanding of normal and abnormal anxiety is critically dependent on our ability to model sustained aversive states to temporally uncertain threat.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Models and mechanisms of anxiety: evidence from startle studies

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Results from animal studies indicate that the stress-induced facilitation of eyeblink conditioning might be mediated by a circuit including basolateral amygdala (Shors and Mathew 1998), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (Bangasser et al 2005), and hippocampus (Shors 2001;Shors et al 2001;Weiss et al 2005). The neurotransmitters implicated include corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) (Servatius et al 2005) and glutamate (Shors and Mathew 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute exposure to stress improves performance in trace eyeblink conditioning and spatial learning tasks in healthy men

Dunčko¹,

Cornwell²,

Cui³

et al. 2007

Learn. Mem.

115

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present study investigated the effects of acute stress exposure on learning performance in humans using analogs of two paradigms frequently used in animals. Healthy male participants were exposed to the cold pressor test (CPT) procedure, i.e., insertion of the dominant hand into ice water for 60 sec. Following the CPT or the control procedure, participants completed a trace eyeblink conditioning task followed by a virtual navigation Morris water task (VNMWT). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and sympathetic autonomic system (SAS) activity were assessed by measuring salivary cortisol, heart rate, and skin conductance at selected timepoints. Results revealed positive effects of stress on performance in both tasks. The stress group showed significantly more conditioned blinks than the control group during acquisition of trace eyeblink conditioning. The stress group also performed significantly better in the VNMWT than the control group, with the former showing significantly fewer failures to locate the hidden platform in the allotted time and smaller heading errors than the latter. Regression analyses revealed positive relationships between HPA axis and SAS activity during stress and eyeblink conditioning performance. Our results directly extend findings from animal studies and suggest potential physiological mechanisms underlying stress and learning.

show abstract

“…For example, the BNST is activated by acute stressors (Bonaz and Tache 1994;Campeau and Watson 1997;Kollack-Walker et al 1997;Martinez et al 1998Martinez et al , 2002, likely from excitatory glutamatergic and/or CRF-containing inputs from the amygdala, ventral subiculum and limbic cortices, and is essential for stress-induced learning (Bangasser et al 2005). Chronic stress, which is known to produce depressive-like symptoms such as anhedonia, elevates levels of CRF in the BNST (Chappell et al 1986;Stout et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, electrical stimulation of the BNST in rats produces behavioral and endocrine changes similar to those evoked by stress (Casada and Dafny 1991;Dunn 1987), whereas lesions or pharmacological inactivation of the BNST decrease behavioral and endocrine responses to conditioned or unconditioned stressful stimuli (Bangasser et al 2005;Davis et al 1997;Fendt et al 2003;Gewirtz et al 1998;Gray et al 1993;Hammack et al 2004;Henke 1984;Schulz and Canbeyli 1999;Sullivan et al 2004;Walker and Davis 1997; but see Treit et al 1998). Lesions of the BNST also enhance learned despair (Schulz and Canbeyli 2000), and thus this brain region may also mediate coping mechanisms in response to uncontrollable stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiogenic and aversive effects of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat: role of CRF receptor subtypes

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rationale-Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) produces anxiety-like and aversive effects when infused directly into the various regions of the brain, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). However, the CRF receptor subtypes within the BNST mediating these phenomena have not been established.Objectives-We used selective CRF receptor antagonists to determine the receptor subtypes involved in the anxiogenic-like and aversive effects CRF in the BNST. Methods-MaleLong-Evans rats were bilaterally infused with CRF (0.2 or 1.0 nmol) either alone or in combination with the CRF 1 receptor antagonist CP154,526 or the CRF 2 receptor antagonist anti-sauvagine 30 (AS30) prior to behavioral testing in the elevated plus maze or place conditioning paradigms.Results-Intra-BNST administration of CRF produced a dose-dependent reduction in open arm entries and open arm time in the elevated plus maze, indicating an anxiogenic-like effect. These effects were inhibited by co-infusion of CP154,526 but not AS30, indicating that the anxiogeniclike effects of CRF in the BNST are mediated by CRF 1 receptors. Place conditioning with intra-BNST administration of CRF produced a dose-dependent aversion to the CRF-paired environment that was prevented by co-infusion of either CP154,526 or AS30, indicating that both CRF receptor subtypes mediate the aversive effects of this peptide. Intra-BNST infusions of the CRF receptor antagonists alone produced no effects in either behavioral paradigm.Conclusions-CRF 1 receptors in the BNST mediate the anxiogenic-like effects CRF in this region, whereas both CRF 1 and CRF 2 receptor subtypes mediate the conditioned aversive effects of this peptide within the BNST.

show abstract

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

Cited by 55 publications

References 55 publications

Models and mechanisms of anxiety: evidence from startle studies

Models and mechanisms of anxiety: evidence from startle studies

Acute exposure to stress improves performance in trace eyeblink conditioning and spatial learning tasks in healthy men

Anxiogenic and aversive effects of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat: role of CRF receptor subtypes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About