This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. During the reporting period, we completed experiments showing that infusions of the neuroactive peptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis increases startle amplitude in rats and open arm avoidance in the plus maze (both are behavioral measures of anxiety). We found that these effects were blocked by co-infusion of a CGRP receptor antagonist, thereby demonstrating pharmacological specificity. We also found that the antagonist disrupted anxiety produced by trimethylthiazoline (a component of fox feces which may increase anxiety in rats). CGRP infusions also increased fos responses (a marker of neural activation) in several anxiety-related brain areas. These results suggest that CGRP is both necessary and sufficient for some anxiety responses and that inhibition of these receptors may be a clinically useful strategy for anxiety reduction.
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