Ueda Shuhei, Takemoto-Kimura Sayaka
Department of Neuroscience I, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University.
Department of Molecular/Cellular Neuroscience, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine.
Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi. 2024;159(5):316-320. doi: 10.1254/fpj.23052.
The central extended amygdala, including the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the lateral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTL), is a pivotal brain region involved in the threat processing responsible for emotional states such as fear and anxiety. These brain regions alter their circuit activities and exhibit necessary functions to adapt to environmental changes. When faced with excessive threats or stress, it is thought that these neural circuit functions are disrupted and cause various stress-related psychiatric disorders. The CeA and BNSTL were suggested to be the same nuclei separated during development because of their dense neural connections, and the similarities in cellular composition and connectivity patterns with other brain regions. On the other side, some recent studies suggested functional differences between these two regions in controlling emotional behaviors. However, functional segregation at the subnuclei level was insufficient since the two regions have complex circuit structures composed of multiple subnuclei. In this review, we introduce the similarities and differences between the CeA and BNSTL that have been clarified from our recent comparative studies of gene expression profiles and circuit functions at the subnuclei level. Additionally, we also discuss how it can contribute to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders, including stress-related psychiatric disorders.
中央扩展杏仁核，包括杏仁核中央核（CeA）和终纹床核外侧部（BNSTL），是一个关键的脑区，参与威胁处理，负责恐惧和焦虑等情绪状态。这些脑区会改变其回路活动并展现出适应环境变化的必要功能。当面临过多威胁或压力时，人们认为这些神经回路功能会受到干扰，进而引发各种与压力相关的精神疾病。由于CeA和BNSTL之间存在密集的神经连接，以及在细胞组成和与其他脑区的连接模式上的相似性，它们被认为是在发育过程中分离的同一核团。另一方面，最近的一些研究表明这两个区域在控制情绪行为方面存在功能差异。然而，由于这两个区域具有由多个亚核组成的复杂回路结构，在亚核水平上的功能分离并不充分。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了从我们最近在亚核水平上对基因表达谱和回路功能的比较研究中所阐明的CeA和BNSTL之间的异同。此外，我们还讨论了它如何有助于理解神经精神疾病的分子发病机制，包括与压力相关的精神疾病。
