The Faculty of Life Sciences and the Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Front Neurol Neurosci. 2021;45:61-74. doi: 10.1159/000514964. Epub 2021 May 28.
The multifunctional, hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin (HCRT)-producing neurons regulate an array of physiological and behavioral states including arousal, sleep, feeding, emotions, stress, and reward. How a presumably uniform HCRT neuron population regulates such a diverse set of functions is not clear. The role of the HCRT neuropeptides may vary depending on the timing and localization of secretion and neuronal activity. Moreover, HCRT neuropeptides may not mediate all functions ascribed to HCRT neurons. Some could be orchestrated by additional neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that are expressed in HCRT neurons. We hypothesize that HCRT neurons are segregated into genetically, anatomically and functionally distinct subpopulations. We discuss accumulating data that suggest the existence of such HCRT neuron subpopulations that may effectuate the diverse functions of these neurons in mammals and fish.
下丘脑多功能促食欲肽/食欲素（HCRT）神经元调节包括觉醒、睡眠、进食、情绪、应激和奖赏在内的一系列生理和行为状态。目前还不清楚一个假定的均匀 HCRT 神经元群体如何调节如此多样化的功能。HCRT 神经肽的作用可能取决于分泌和神经元活动的时间和定位。此外，HCRT 神经肽可能不会介导归因于 HCRT 神经元的所有功能。其中一些功能可能是由 HCRT 神经元中表达的其他神经递质和神经肽来协调的。我们假设 HCRT 神经元可以分为在遗传上、解剖学上和功能上不同的亚群。我们讨论了越来越多的数据，这些数据表明存在这样的 HCRT 神经元亚群，它们可能在哺乳动物和鱼类中实现这些神经元的各种功能。
