Gao Xiao-Bing, Hermes Gretchen
Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT, USA ; Program on Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism (ICSNM), Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT, USA.
Front Syst Neurosci. 2015 Oct 21;9:142. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00142. eCollection 2015.
The neuronal system that resides in the perifornical and lateral hypothalamus (Pf/LH) and synthesizes the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin participates in critical brain functions across species from fish to human. The hypocretin system regulates neural activity responsible for daily functions (such as sleep/wake homeostasis, energy balance, appetite, etc.) and long-term behavioral changes (such as reward seeking and addiction, stress response, etc.) in animals. The most recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system undergoes substantial plastic changes in response to both daily fluctuations (such as food intake and sleep-wake regulation) and long-term changes (such as cocaine seeking) in neuronal activity in the brain. The understanding of these changes in the hypocretin system is essential in addressing the role of the hypocretin system in normal physiological functions and pathological conditions in animals and humans. In this review, the evidence demonstrating that neural plasticity occurs in hypocretin-containing neurons in the Pf/LH will be presented and possible physiological, behavioral, and mental health implications of these findings will be discussed.
位于穹窿周和外侧下丘脑（Pf/LH）并合成神经肽食欲素/下丘脑泌素的神经元系统，参与了从鱼类到人类等不同物种的关键脑功能。食欲素系统调节动物日常功能（如睡眠/觉醒稳态、能量平衡、食欲等）以及长期行为变化（如寻求奖励和成瘾、应激反应等）所涉及的神经活动。最新证据表明，食欲素系统会因大脑神经元活动的日常波动（如食物摄入和睡眠-觉醒调节）以及长期变化（如寻求可卡因）而发生显著的可塑性变化。了解食欲素系统的这些变化，对于认识其在动物和人类正常生理功能及病理状况中的作用至关重要。在本综述中，将展示证明Pf/LH中含食欲素神经元发生神经可塑性的证据，并讨论这些发现可能对生理、行为和心理健康产生的影响。
