title: Resting state connectivity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis at ultra-high field.
abstract: The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a portion of the "extended amygdala," is implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety and addiction disorders. Its small size and connection to other small regions prevents standard imaging techniques from easily capturing it and its connectivity with confidence. Seed-based resting state functional connectivity is an established method for mapping functional connections across the brain from a region of interest. We, therefore, mapped the BNST resting state network with high spatial resolution using 7 Tesla fMRI, demonstrating the in vivo reproduction of many human BNST connections previously described only in animal research. We identify strong BNST functional connectivity in amygdala, hippocampus and thalamic subregions, caudate, periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, and cortical areas such as the medial PFC and precuneus. This work, which demonstrates the power of ultra-high field for mapping functional connections in the human, is an important step toward elucidating cortical and subcortical regions and subregions of the BNST network.
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torrisi
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Scientific and Statistical Computing Core, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Balderston
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
authors.forename: Julie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fudge
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grillon
authors.affiliation: Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004244:Dizziness; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D015588:Observer Variation; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D012686:Septal Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 7 Tesla; bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; resting state