dc.creator | Shields, Angela Delight | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-08-22T17:04:42Z | |
dc.date.available | 2011-06-15 | |
dc.date.issued | 2009-06-15 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/etd-06122009-161841 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12534 | |
dc.description.abstract | The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a region of the brain critical in mediating behavioral and physiological responses to stress and anxiety. Stress is a major cause of relapse for drug addicts attempting to abstain from drugs of abuse. The BNST receives a dense projection of the stress hormone norepinephrine (NE) from the nucleus tractus solitarus, and this projection is critical in stress-induced relapse to drug-seeking in rodent models. NE acts via adrenergic receptors (AR), including the alpha2A-AR subtype of the alpha2-ARs.
This thesis describes work utilizing electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry approaches to characterize the function and localization of the alpha2A-AR in the dorsal BNST. We provide evidence supporting a heterosynaptic localization of the alpha2A-AR on presynaptic glutamate terminals where it functions to regulate glutamate release. We also demonstrate that activation of alpha2-ARs modulates GABAergic transmission in the dorsal BNST. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.subject | extended amygdala | |
dc.subject | stress | |
dc.subject | adrenergic receptor | |
dc.subject | addiction | |
dc.subject | bed nucleus stria terminalis | |
dc.title | Characterization of the Function and Localization of the Alpha2A-Adrenergic Receptor in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis | |
dc.type | dissertation | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Randy Blakely | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Al Beth | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Roger Colbran | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Aurelio Galli | |
dc.type.material | text | |
thesis.degree.name | PHD | |
thesis.degree.level | dissertation | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Molecular Physiology and Biophysics | |
thesis.degree.grantor | Vanderbilt University | |
local.embargo.terms | 2011-06-15 | |
local.embargo.lift | 2011-06-15 | |
dc.contributor.committeeChair | Eric Delpire | |