For several years it has been known that somatostatin is synthesized by paraventricular cells in the wall of the third ventricle (Elde these cells are not aggregated into a nucleus, but are always located separately in maximally three to four short lines that run parallel to the ventricular wall within an area extending from the preoptic nucleus to the rostral pole of the median eminence. In a ...

Hypothalamic energy balance genes have been examined in the context of seasonal body weight regulation in the Siberian hamster. Most of these long photoperiod (LD)/short photoperiod (SD) comparisons have been of tissues collected at a single point in the light-dark cycle. We examined the diurnal expression profile of hypothalamic genes in hamsters killed at 3-h intervals throughout the light-da...

Using in situ hybridization and immunoblot analysis, the present studies identified G(z) mRNA and G(z)-protein in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. The role of G(z)-proteins in hypothalamic 5-HT(1A) receptor signaling was examined in vivo. Activation of 5-HT(1A) receptors increases the secretion of oxytocin and ACTH, but not prolactin. Intracerebroventricular infusion (3-4 d) of G(z) an...

The role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in feeding behavior and zinc deficiency-induced anorexia has been controversial because hypothalamic NPY levels are elevated in both zinc deficiency and food restriction. A recent report shows that while NPY is released from terminals in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus of food-restricted animals, this release is significantly impaired in zinc-def...

Because of the reported presence of both CART peptide and NOS activity in the same hypothalamic nuclei, their colocalization was examined. Eighteen percent of the neurons in the supraoptic nuclei, and 16% of the neurons in the paraventricular nucleus contained both CART immunoreactivity and NOS activity. Many other neurons in these regions stained for only one marker although they were often cl...

Hypoxia-sensitive peripheral carotid chemoreceptors, which regulate sympathetic outflow from the brain stem, are promising antihypertensive treatment targets. However, central nervous pathways integrating human chemoreflexes poorly understood. We combined high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging with physiological profiling to elucidate hypothalamic and medullary responses acute hy...