Electrical signaling in central orexin/hypocretin circuits: tuning arousal and appetite to fit the environment.
In mammals, alertness and foraging are linked to the light-dark cycle and body energy levels. This link is crucially dependent on the novel peptide transmitters orexins/hypocretins. The firing of orexin neurons encodes the overall internal (body energy levels) and external (time of day) environment. In turn, orexins modulate arousal and appetite by innervating and electrically exciting wakeand appetite-promoting neurons. Electrical signaling in orexin circuits thereby couples arousal to the environment and synchronizes foraging with states of high alertness.
University Laboratory of Physiology, University of Oxford, UK. denis.burdakov@physiol.ox.ac.uk
Denis
D
Burdakov
D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000502:physiology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000068797:Orexins; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins