Orexins are peptides controlling feeding, sleep, and neuroendocrine functions. They are synthesized by the hypothalamus with projections throughout the brain. Orexins and their orexin 1 (OX(1)) and orexin 2 receptors (OX(2)) are present outside the central nervous system. Here the expression of preproorexin (PPO), OX(1), and OX(2) was studied in rat ovaries. PPO, OX(1), and OX(2) were determine...

Work from our laboratory has shown that orexin (ORX; or hypocretin) neurons in the lateral hypothalamus are involved in preference for morphine, cocaine, and food. Other groups have demonstrated a connection between the ORX system and ethanol-related behaviors. Here, we extended those results to investigate, in outbred Sprague-Dawley rats, the relationship between ethanol preference and the ORX...

Orexins (OXs) are peptides produced by perifornical (PeF) and lateral hypothalamic neurons that exert a prominent role in arousal-related processes, including stress. A critical role for the orexin-1 receptor (OX1R) in complex emotional behavior is emerging, such as overactivation of the OX1R pathway being associated with panic or anxiety states. Here we characterize a brain-penetrant, selectiv...

Hypocretin-1 and -2 (Hcrt-1 and Hcrt-2), also referred to as orexin-A and -B, are neuropeptides synthesized by a few thousand neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Hypocretin-containing neurons project throughout the brain, with a prominent input to basal forebrain structures involved in motivation, reward, and stress. However, the role of hypocretins in addiction-related behaviors remains large...

Introduction: It is known that acute and chronic stress induce hormonal and neuronal changes which affecting both pain threshold and nociceptive behaviours. Orexin plays an important role in modulation of pain and stress. Considering pain modulation during stress and the role of orexin in pain and stress, orexin might be involved in pain modulation during stress.We evaluated the involvement ...

The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) acts a key role in the descending inhibitory pain modulation. Neuropeptide orexin-A (ORXA) is confined to thousands of neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LH). While RVM gets the orexinergic projections, the orexin receptors are also expressed in this structure. The aim of this study was to specify the cellular effects of ORXA on RVM neurons in vitro by u...

Orexinergic system may play an important role in the regulation of anesthesia-arousal. However, which region or which pathway mediated the effect of orexins was still unclear. In current study, we investigated whether activation of orexin signals in basal forebrain (BF) may alter electroencephalographic activity, induction and emergence time to sevoflurane anesthesia in rats. Either orexin-A or...