Figure 1.

Experimental timeline (upper panel) and representative brain sections with a track of microdialysis probe targeting BNST_dl (bottom panel). Upon completion of the microdialysis experiments the probes were perfused with Chicago Sky Blue 6B dye. All extracted brains were sliced and all BNST sections were photographed to confirm proper placement of the probe. (A) Only rats with cannula tip located in the BNST_dl (Bregma + 0.10 mm to Bregma − 0.36 mm) have been included in the analysis. Modified from Paxinos and Watson (2009). (B) An example of confirmed cannula location in the BNST_dl, which met the following criteria: above the anterior commissure (ac), below the lateral ventricle and medially to the internal capsule as indicated by the arrow (included in the analysis). (C) An example of misplaced cannula location with cannula track too lateral to the BNST_dl as indicated by the arrow (excluded from the analysis). (D) An example of unconfirmed cannula location due to inability to see the tip of the cannula as indicated by the arrow (excluded from the analysis).