The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a sexually dimorphic, neuropeptide-rich node of the extended amygdala that has been implicated in responses to stress, drugs of abuse, and natural rewards. Its function is dysregulated in neuropsychiatric disorders that are characterized by stress- or drug-induced alterations in mood, arousal, motivation, and social behavior. However, compared to the BNST’s role in mood, arousal, and motivation, its role in social behavior has remained relatively understudied. Moreover, the precise cell types and circuits underlying the BNST’s role in social behavior have only recently begun to be explored using modern neuroscience techniques. Here, we systematically review the existing literature investigating the neurobiological substrates within the BNST that contribute to the coordination of various sex-dependent and sex-independent social behavioral repertoires, focusing largely on pharmacological and circuit-based behavioral studies in rodents. We suggest that the BNST coordinates social behavior by promoting appropriate assessment of social contexts to select relevant behavioral outputs and that disruption of socially relevant BNST systems by stress and drugs of abuse may be an important factor in the development of social dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders.

中文翻译：

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终纹床核对社会行为的协调

终纹床核 (BNST) 是扩展杏仁核的一种性二态性、富含神经肽的节点，与对压力、滥用药物和自然奖励的反应有关。它的功能在以压力或药物引起的情绪、觉醒、动机和社会行为改变为特征的神经精神疾病中失调。然而，与 BNST 在情绪、唤醒和动机中的作用相比，它在社会行为中的作用仍未得到充分研究。此外，直到最近才开始使用现代神经科学技术探索 BNST 在社会行为中的作用所依据的精确细胞类型和回路。这里，我们系统地回顾了调查 BNST 内神经生物学底物的现有文献，这些底物有助于协调各种性别依赖和性别独立的社会行为库，主要侧重于啮齿动物的药理学和基于电路的行为研究。我们建议 BNST 通过促进对社会环境的适当评估以选择相关的行为输出来协调社会行为，并且压力和滥用药物对社会相关 BNST 系统的破坏可能是神经精神疾病社会功能障碍发展的重要因素。