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The Journal of Neuroscience, April 5, 2006, 26(14):3855-3863; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4957-05.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Behavioral and Anatomical Interactions between Dopamine and Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in the Rat

Edward G. Meloni, Lyle P. Gerety, Allison T. Knoll, Bruce M. Cohen, and William A. Carlezon, Jr

Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478

Correspondence should be addressed to Edward Meloni, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478. Email: emeloni{at}mclean.harvard.edu

The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is believed to play a role in a number of psychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders and depression. In the present study, male Sprague Dawley rats were used to examine the behavioral effects of altering dopamine transmission on CRF-enhanced startle, a behavioral assay believed to reflect stress- or anxiety-like states. Systemic administration of the selective dopamine D₁ receptor antagonist SCH 23390 [R(+)-7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine hydrochloride] (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 mg/kg) dose dependently blocked the effect of CRF (1 µg, i.c.v.) on startle at doses that had no effect on baseline startle response. Immunohistochemical studies showed that most CRF-containing cells in the dorsolateral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTld), part of the critical brain area mediating CRF-enhanced startle, are surrounded by a dense plexus of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive fibers. Intra-BSTld injections of the retrograde tracer Fluorogold (FG) into the TH field identified neurons in the major dopaminergic areas (A8-A10), but not the major noradrenergic areas [A5, A6 (locus ceruleus), A7], as a significant source of TH-positive innervation. The majority of FG-filled cells double-labeled for TH were found in the dorsocaudal A10 cell group (A10dc) located in the periaqueductal gray area. Together, these data suggest that neuronal regulation of the BSTld by specific dopaminergic pathways and receptors may be an important mechanism for controlling CRF-dependent moods and affective states. These data also suggest that compounds with D₁ receptor antagonist properties might have anxiolytic-like effects that could be useful for treating conditions associated with hyperactive CRF systems.

Key words: anxiety; CRH; BNST; SCH 23390; startle; D₁

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Received Nov. 21, 2005; revised Jan. 31, 2006; accepted Feb. 25, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Edward Meloni, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478. Email: emeloni{at}mclean.harvard.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. T. Knoll, E. G. Meloni, J. B. Thomas, F. I. Carroll, and W. A. Carlezon Jr. Anxiolytic-Like Effects of {kappa}-Opioid Receptor Antagonists in Models of Unlearned and Learned Fear in Rats J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., December 1, 2007; 323(3): 838 - 845. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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