Double-dissociation of the catecholaminergic modulation of synaptic transmission in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.
Journal of Neurophysiology. 2011-01-01; 105(1): 145-153
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00710.2010
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1. J Neurophysiol. 2011 Jan;105(1):145-53. doi: 10.1152/jn.00710.2010. Epub 2010 Nov
3.
Double-dissociation of the catecholaminergic modulation of synaptic transmission
in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.
Krawczyk M(1), Georges F, Sharma R, Mason X, Berthet A, Bézard E, Dumont EC.
Author information:
(1)Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and Center for
Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.
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)-containing terminals. In contrast to 5-HT and NA, little is known about how
DA modulates neuronal activity or synaptic transmission in the BST. DA-containing
afferents to the BST originate in the ventral tegmental area, the periaqueducal
gray, and the retrorubral field. They form a fairly diffuse input to the
dorsolateral BST with dense terminal fields in the oval (ovBST) and juxtacapsular
(jxBST) nuclei. The efferent-afferent connectivity of the BST suggests that it
may play a key role in motivated behaviors, consistent with recent evidence that
the dorsolateral BST is a target for drugs of abuse. This study describes the
effects of DA on synaptic transmission in the ovBST. Whole cell voltage clamp
recordings were performed on ovBST neurons in brain slices from adult rats in the
presence or absence of exogenous DA and receptor-targeted agonists and
antagonists. The results showed that DA selectively and exclusively reduced
inhibitory synaptic transmission in the ovBST in a dose-dependent and D2-like
dopamine receptor-dependent manner. DA also modulated excitatory synaptic
transmission in a dose-dependent dependent manner. However, this effect was
mediated by α2-noradrenergic receptors. Thus these data reveal a double
dissociation in catecholaminergic regulation of excitatory and inhibitory
synaptic transmission in the ovBST and may shed light on the mechanisms involved
in neuropathological behaviors such as stress-induced relapse to consumption of
drugs of abuse.
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00710.2010
PMCID: PMC4011827
PMID: 21047935 [Indexed for MEDLINE]