The immunocytochemical distribution of [Leulenkephalin and an adrenal enkephalin precursor fragment (BAM-22P) immunoreactivity was investigated in the diencephalon and brainstem of rats pretreated with relatively high doses of colchicine (300-400 pgil0 pl intracerebroventricularly). The higher ranges of colchicine pretreatment allowed the visualization of extensive enkephalincontaining systems ...

We have localized muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the rat brainstem by a light microscopic autoradiographic method. Initially, we examined the kinetics and specificity of the binding of radiolabeled quinuclidinyl benzilate ([3H]QNB) in slide-mounted, frozen tissue sections to determine that we were labeling the muscarinic cholinergic receptors as they had been described previously in bioche...

The locus coeruleus (LC) is the major noradrenergic nucleus of the brain, giving rise to fibres innervating extensive areas throughout the neuraxis. Recent advances in neuroscience have resulted in the unravelling of the neuronal circuits controlling a number of physiological functions in which the LC plays a central role. Two such functions are the regulation of arousal and autonomic activity,...

Background Depression is a common manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frequently observed at the early phase disease. Several postmortem studies demonstrated that tau deposition was found brainstem nuclei including locus coeruleus (LC) dossal raphe nucleus (DRN) (3, 4), even before Braak stages neurofibrillary tangle pathology. Given disturbance monoaminergic system related to depress...

Introduction: Estradiol is a neuroactive steroid, which is found in several brain areas such as locus coeruleus (LC). Estradiol modulates nociception by binding to its receptors and also by allosteric interaction with other membranebound receptors like glutamate and GABAA receptors. LC is involved in noradrenergic descending pain modulation. Methods: In order to study the effect of 17β-estra...

Brain areas expressing c-fos messenger RNA were mapped by quantitative in situ hybridization after 1-2 h of intoxication with 10 μg/kg Tx2-6, a toxin obtained from the venom of the spider Phoneutria nigriventer. Relative to saline-treated controls, brains from toxin-treated animals showed pronounced c-fos activation in many brain areas, including the supraoptic nucleus, the paraventricular nucl...

Sleep is influenced by diverse factors such as circadian time, affective states, ambient temperature, pain, etc., but pathways mediating these influences are unknown. To identify pathways that may influence sleep, we examined afferents to the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO), an area critically implicated in promoting sleep. Injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)...