| Research Abstract |
After combined injections of biotinylated dextranamine (BDA) into the central amygdaloid nucleus (CeA) and cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) into the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH), good overlapping distributions of BDA-labeled axon terminals and CTb-labeled neurons were observed in the bed nucleus of the stria terminals (BST) region, mainly in the ventrolateral part of the middle BNST (BSTvl) and the parastriatal nucleus (PS). It was further revealed that the PS innervated the PV heavily, whereas the BSTvl did moderately. After CTb injection into the PS, labeled neurons were widely distributed in the forebrain region including the infralimbic cortex (IL), lateral septal nucleus (LS), shell of the accumbens nucleus (AcSh), medial preoptic area (MPA), anterior medial division of the BST (BSTam), dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH) and central amygdaloid nucleus (Ace). Dense or moderate anterograde labeling was found in the-PS after BDA injection into the DMH or into the IL, MPA, AcSh, BSTam and Ace, respectively. These data suggest that outputs of the CeA are transmitted to the PV via the PS and the BNSTvl, and those from the limbic forebrain structures revealed here are integrated in the PS for regulating endocrine and autonomic aspects of emotional responses.
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