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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Nov 13.
Published in final edited form as: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 May 23;33(8):1309–1320. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.05.013

Figure 8. An example showing that 5-HT changes the firing pattern of anterolateral BNST neurons without affecting membrane potential.

Figure 8

Although this neuron did not respond to 5-HT (50 μM) with a change in membrane potential (data not shown), the relative regular action potential firing induced by depolarizing current injection was dramatically altered to a higher frequency, burst firing pattern in the presence of 5-HT. The anterolateral BNST expresses many intrinsic membrane ion channels that could be modulated by 5-HT, and a reduction in A-type potassium channel function and/or an enhancement of T-type calcium channel function by 5-HT could enhance the excitability of BNST neurons upon depolarization to produce the phenotype observed here.