Species-specific diversity in the anatomical and physiological organisation of the BNST-VTA pathway.
Eur J Neurosci. 2017-03-28; 45(9): 1230-1240
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13554
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1. Eur J Neurosci. 2017 May;45(9):1230-1240. doi: 10.1111/ejn.13554. Epub 2017 Mar
28.
Species-specific diversity in the anatomical and physiological organisation of
the BNST-VTA pathway.
Kaufling J(1)(2), Girard D(1)(2), Maitre M(3), Leste-Lasserre T(3), Georges
F(4)(5).
Author information:
(1)UMR5297, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, Université de Bordeaux,
Bordeaux, France.
(2)UMR 5297, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, Bordeaux, France.
(3)Neurocentre Magendie U1215, INSERM, Bordeaux, France.
(4)UMR 5293, Neurodegeneratives Diseases Institute, Université de Bordeaux,
F-33076 Bordeaux, France.
(5)UMR 5293, Neurodegeneratives Diseases Institute, Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, Bordeaux, France.
The anteromedial part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (amBNST) is a
limbic structure innervating the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that is remarkably
constant across species. The amBNST modulates fear and anxiety, and activation of
VTA dopamine (DA) neurons by amBNST afferents seems to be the way by which stress
controls motivational states associated with reward or aversion. Because fear
learning and anxiety states can be expressed differently between rats and mice,
we compared the functional connectivity between amBNST and the VTA-DA neurons in
both species using consistent methodological approaches. Using a combination of
in vivo electrophysiological, neuroanatomical tracing and laser capture
approaches we explored the BNST influences on VTA-DA neuron activity. First, we
characterised in rats the molecular phenotype of the amBNST neurons projecting to
the VTA. We found that this projection is complex, including both GABAergic and
glutamatergic neurons. Then, VTA injections of a conventional retrograde tracer,
the β-sub-unit of the cholera toxin (CTB), revealed a stronger BNST-VTA
projection in mice than in rats. Finally, electrical stimulations of the BNST
during VTA-DA neuron recording demonstrated a more potent excitatory influence of
the amBNST on VTA-DA neuron activity in rats than in mice. These data illustrate
anatomically, but also functionally, a significant difference between rats and
mice in the amBNST-VTA pathway. More generally, together with previous findings,
our research highlights the importance of species differences for the
interpretation and the generalisation of research data.
© 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13554
PMID: 28263413 [Indexed for MEDLINE]