The role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in anxiety: electrical stimulation and characterization of neural activity in a rat model

With a total lifetime prevalence of 12 % and nearly 70 million people affected in Europe alone, anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. Despite the advances in psycho- and pharmacotherapy, a considerable group of patients remains symptomatic (30-60 %) and is considered treatment-refractory. A last-resort option for these patients is deep brain stimulation (DBS), which has therapeutic effects in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depression. In this project, we aim to investigate the usefulness of DBS for anxiety in an animal model and refine the method of stimulation. For this purpose, we target the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), a brain region with a key role in the expression of anxiety. First, we will electrically stimulate the BST in a rat model of anxiety and evaluate its anxiolytic effects through freezing and startle measurements. Next, we will measure local field potentials (LFPs) in anxious and control rats, in search of a biomarker of anxiety. Identification of such a biomarker can improve DBS effects since stimulation should only occur during symptomatic intervals (i.e. during biomarker expression), rather than continuously, which is currently the case. In summary, this project aims to (1) strengthen the evidence for DBS-in-BST therapy for patients suffering from pathological anxiety and (2) refine current DBS techniques.status: publishe