Ventral bed nucleus of the stria

Fendt, M., Siegl, S. Steiniger-Brach, B. (2005). Noradrenaline transmission within the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is critical for fear behavior induced by trimethylthiazoline, a component of fox odor. J. Neurosci., 25, 5998-6004. 

Deyama, S., Katayama, T., Ohno, A., Nakagawa, T., Kaneko, S., Yamaguchi, T., Yoshioka, M., and Minami, M. (2008). Activation of the beta-adrenoceptor-protein kinase A signaling pathway within the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis mediates the negative affective component of pain in rats. J. Neurosci. 28, 7728—7736. 

Figure 7.4 Summary of some of the wide array of afferent and efferent connections of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (SN/A9, RRF/A8, and VTA/A10 in center of figure). This emphasizes their potential involvement in coordination of seemingly disparate behaviors inclusive of the sleep-wake state of the organism. Abbreviations BP, blood pressure BST, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis CEA, central nucleus of the amygdala MEA, midbrain extrapyramidal area NTS, nucleus of the solitary tract O2, oxygen tension PPN, pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus RRF, retrorubral field SN, substantia nigra VTA, ventral tegmental area.

Basal forebrain accumbens nuclei, ventral palbdum, bed nucleus of the stria terminahs, diagonal band bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, diagonal band, ventral pallidum... 

The junction between the MPOA and lateral preoptic areas is the ventral part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (ventral BST), and excitotoxic lesions disrupt retrieval behaviors and other aspects of maternal behavior in postpartum rats (Numan and Numan, 1996). Strong ventral BST projections to the lateral septum, substantia innominata, PVN, VTA, periaque-dutal gray matter, retrorubral field, and the region surrounding the locus coeruleus (Numan and Numan, 1996). 

Medium-high density of D3 mRNA was described in the septal area, in the medial division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, in the nuclei of the horizontal and vertical limbs of the diagonal band, in the nucleus gelatinous and paracentral nucleus of the thalamus, in the medial and ventral lateral geniculate nuclei, and in the lateral portion of the SNc. 

Several areas express both the D2 and D3 receptors and the mRNAs however, overlap of the two receptors is rarely found (Bouthenet et ah, 1991). A comparative study of D3 and D2 mRNAs showed that in the islands of Calleja, where the D3 message is at the highest level, no D2 receptor message is detectable (Bouthenet et al., 1991 Landwehrmeyer et al., 1993b) (Fig. 27). In the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the cells of the medial division express selectively D3 receptors, whereas in the lateral and ventral divisions only D2 receptors are expressed (Bouthenet et al., 1991). 

In addition to the striatum, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and interface islands (apparent homolog to the islands of Calleja in rodents) within the ventral striatum show intense Di mRNA expression levels in the human brain (Hurd et al., 2001 Fig. 7). These regions are implicated in limbic function and thus have important relevance for the impaired Di transmission in psychiatric disorders. The Di mRNA is normally not detected in the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, pallidum, cerebellum, substantia nigra, pons, raphe and other brainstem nuclei of the normal human brain. 

Schematic diagram of the gustatory pathway in rodents. Taste receptor cells are innervated by one of three cranial nerves (VII, IX, or X), which project topographically into the rostral portion of nucleus of the solitary tract (NST). Cells within the NST send projections into the reticular formation (RF), through which connections are made to oral motor nuclei V, VII, and XII and the nucleus ambiguous (NA). Ascending fibers connect to the parabrachial nuclei (PbN) of the pons, from which two parallel pathways emerge. One pathway carries taste information to the insular cortex (IC) via the ventral posterior medial nucleus, parvicellularis (VPMpc), of the thalamus. The other pathway projects into areas of the limbic forebrain involved in food and water regulation, reinforcement, reward, and stress, including the lateral hypothalamus (LH), the central nucleus ofthe amygdala (CeA), and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST). These areas and the IC are interconnected and send descending projections back to both the PbN and NST...

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