The present study was performed to explore the role of galanin and galanin receptor 2 in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of normal rats and rats with mononeuropathy. Intra-ACC injection of galanin induced significant increases in hindpaw withdrawal latencies (HWLs) to thermal and mechanical stimulations in both normal rats and rats with mononeuropathy, the increased HW...

Although intrathecally administrated galanin modulates nociceptive transmission in a biphasic manner, this has not been fully examined previously. In the present study, the action of galanin on synaptic transmission in the substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons of adult rat spinal cord slices was examined, using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. Galanin concentration-dependently increased the f...

It is over 30years since the regulatory peptide galanin was discovered by Professor Mutt and co-workers. Galanin exerts its effects by binding to three galanin G-protein coupled receptors, namely GAL1R, GAL2R and GAL3R. Each galanin receptor has a different distribution in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system as well as distinctive signaling pathways, which implicates th...

Galanin plays an important role in the regulation of food intake, energy balance, and body weight. Many galanin-positive fibers as well as galanin-positive neurons were seen in the dorsal vagal complex, suggesting that galanin produces its effects by actions involving vagal neurons. In the present experiment, we used tract-tracing and neurophysiological techniques to evaluate the origin of the ...

The present study investigated the effect of galanin on wide-dynamic range (WDR) neuron activity in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord of rats. The evoked discharge of WDR neurons was elicited by transdermic electrical stimulation applied on the ipsilateral hindpaw of rats. Galanin was administered directly on the spinal dorsal surface of L3-L5. The evoked discharge frequency of the WDR neurons...

In the present study we have investigated the effects of galanin and/or oxytocin on carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia, the relationship between oxytocin and galanin-containing nerve fibers in the spinal cord and the influence of galanin on oxytocin secretion. Galanin (1 microgram) given intrathecally (i.t.) decreased significantly the mechanical nociceptive threshold of the carrageenan-treated h...

Galanin is associated with multiple projection neurons, and its immunoreactivity in the cerebral cortex may be derived from diverse sources. We investigated the effects of subcortical lesions on cerebral cortical galanin concentrations. Lesions of the anterior noradrenergic bundle (ANB) comparably reduced cerebral cortical galanin and norepinephrine (NE) concentrations. The effects of the ANB l...

Galanin, a 29-30-amino acid neuropeptide, is widely distributed in central and peripheral systems and mediates a variety of physiological functions. Pharmacological studies have suggested the existence of multiple receptor subtypes but only the type I (GalR1) galanin receptor has been cloned. Now we report the cloning by a combination of sib selection and rapid amplification of cDNA ends of a c...

The neuropeptide galanin has been implicated in the regulation of processes such as nociception, cognition, feeding behavior, and hormone secretion. Multiple galanin receptors are predicted to mediate its effects, but only two functionally coupled receptors have been reported. We now report the cloning of a third galanin receptor distinct from GALR1 and GALR2. The receptor, termed GALR3, was is...

We examined the role of hippocampal galanin in an animal model of status epilepticus (SE). Control rats showed abundant galanin-immunoreactive (Gal-IR) fibers in the dentate hilus, whereas no Gal-IR neurons were observed. Three hours after the onset of self-sustaining SE (SSSE), induced either by intermittent stimulation of the perforant path for 30 min (PPS) or by injection of lithium and pilo...