The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and immobilization-stress: unit activity, escape behaviour, and gastric pathology in rats.

Multiple unit-activity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis was increased or decreased, relative to baselines, during physical restraint in rats. Changes in unit-activity were also obtained by presenting an auditory stimulus that had been paired with the immobilization treatment. The animals escaped from that stimulus in behavioural tests, and bilateral lesions in the bed nucleus reduced the latencies of escape responses. The lesion also increased the severity of restraint-induced mucosal erosions. The latter effect was most pronounced when the damage was in the lateral portion of the bed nucleus. It was concluded that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is part of a coping system which responds when the organism is placed in a stressful situation.