PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Karl T. Schmidt AU - Viren H. Makhijani AU - Kristen M. Boyt AU - Dipanwita Pati AU - Melanie M. Pina AU - Isabel M. Bravo AU - Jason L. Locke AU - Sara R. Jones AU - Joyce Besheer AU - Zoé A. McElligott TI - Stress-induced alterations of norepinephrine release in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of mice AID - 10.1101/335653 DP - 2018 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 335653 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/31/335653.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/31/335653.full AB - Stress can drive adaptive changes to maintain survival during threatening stimuli. Chronic stress exposure, however, may result in pathological adaptations. A key neurotransmitter involved in stress signaling is norepinephrine. Previous studies show that stress elevates norepinephrine levels in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a critical node regulating anxiety and upstream of stress responses. Here, we use mice expressing channelrhodopsin in norepinephrine neurons to selectively activate terminals in the BNST, and measure norepinephrine release with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Mice exposed to a single restraint session show an identical norepinephrine release profile compared to that of unexposed mice. Mice experiencing five days of restraint stress, however, show elevated noradrenergic release across multiple stimulation parameters, and reduced sensitivity to the α2-adrenergic receptor antagonist idazoxan. These data are the first to examine norepinephrine release in the BNST to tonic and phasic stimulation frequencies, and confirm that repeated stress alters autoreceptor sensitivity.