A comparative analysis of the physiological properties of neurons in the anterolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, and Macaca mulatta.

The anterolateral group of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST ) is a critical modulator of a variety of rodent and primate behaviors spanning anxiety behavior and drug addiction. Three distinct neuronal cell types have been previously defined in the rat BNST based on differences in the voltage-response to hyperpolarizing and depolarizing current injection. Differences in genetic expression profile between these three cell types suggest electrophysiological cell type may be an indicator for functional differences in the circuit of the rat BNST . Although the behavioral role of the BNST is conserved across species, it is unknown if the same electrophysiological cell types exist in the BNST of the mouse and nonhuman primate. Here, we used whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology and neuronal reconstructions of biocytin-filled neurons to compare and contrast the electrophysiological and morphological properties of neurons in the BNST from the mouse, rat, and rhesus macaque. We provide evidence that the BNST of all three species contains neurons that match the three defined cell types found in the rat; however, there are intriguing differences in the relative frequency of these cell types as well as electrophysiological and morphological properties of the BNST neurons across species. This study suggests that the overall landscape of the BNST in the primate and mouse may be similar to that of the rat in some aspects but perhaps significantly different in others.