The locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system supplies norepinephrine throughout the central nervous system. State-dependent neuronal discharge activity of locus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons has long-suggested a role of this system in the induction of an alert waking state. Work over the past two decades provides unambiguous evidence that the locus coeruleus, and likely other noradrenergic nuclei...

Orexin-A and Orexin-B (also known as hypocretin 1 and 2) are, respectively, 33and 28-amino acid residue peptides that activate a G-protein-coupled ‘orphan’ receptor, i.e. which has no known ligand.1 Immuno-cytochemical studies show that orexin-positive neurons are located in the lateral hypothalamic area and arcuate and perifornical nuclei.2 They are also found in various sites beyond the hypot...

Introduction. Histaminergic neurones are located in the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) of the posterior hypothalamus and project to most areas of the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hypothalamus, and many brain stem nuclei (1,2). The central histaminergic neurones have important roles in the regulation of arousal, endrocrine and autonomic functions. The ascending histaminergic projection exerts a ...

Recently, we found that greater norepinephrine transporter (NET) availability in the locus coeruleus of trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was associated with increased severity of anxious arousal (i.e., hypervigilance and exaggerated startle) symptoms, but not any of the other empirically-derived symptom clusters that characterize this disorder.1 This finding suggests t...

OBJECTIVES We investigated the locus coeruleus complex in the brainstems of 78 subjects aged from 24 gestational weeks to 8 postnatal months, who died of unknown (sudden unexplained fetal and infant deaths) and known causes (controls). The goals of this study were: (1) to obtain basic information about the morphology of the locus coeruleus complex and the expression of different biological par...

Adaptation of the skin colour to the background light condition in the amphibian Xenopus laevis is achieved by migration of pigment granules in the skin melanophores, a process regulated by alpha-MSH secretion from melanotrope cells in the pituitary pars intermedia (PI). alpha-MSH secretion in turn, is regulated by various stimulatory and inhibitory messengers synthesized in brain nuclei, espec...