| Abstract: | The authors investigated whether corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) within the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a critical component of the neural circuitry mediating conditioned defeat. In this model, hamsters that have experienced social defeat subsequently display only submissive-defensive agonistic behavior instead of territorial aggression. Conditioned defeat was significantly reduced following infusion of the CRF receptor antagonist D-Phe CRF(12-41) into the BNST but not into the CeA. In another experiment, hamsters given unilateral lesions of the CeA and infusions of D-Phe CRF(12-41) into the contralateral BNST displayed significantly less submissive behavior than did controls. These data suggest that CRF acts within a neural circuit that includes the amygdala and the BNST to modulate agonistic behavior following social defeat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
