Johnson A K, Gross P M
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
FASEB J. 1993 May;7(8):678-86. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.7.8.8500693.
Circumventricular organs (CVOs), small structures bordering the ventricular spaces in the midline of the brain, have common morphological and endocrine-like characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the nervous system. Among their unique features are cellular contacts with two fluid phases--blood and cerebrospinal fluid--and neural connections with strategic nuclei establishing circuitry for communications throughout the neuraxis. A variety of additional morphological and functional characteristics of the CVOs implicates this group of structures in a wide array of homeostatic processes. For three of the circumventricular organs--the subfornical organ (SFO), the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), and the area postrema (AP)--recent findings demonstrate these structures as targets for blood-borne information reaching the brain. We propose that these three sensory CVOs interact with other nuclei in the maintenance of several homeostatic processes by way of neural and humoral links. We emphasize the collective role of brain CVOs in the maintenance of body fluid homeostasis as a model for the functional integration of these fascinating "windows of the brain" within central neurohumoral systems.
室周器官（CVOs）是位于脑中线脑室空间边缘的小结构，具有共同的形态学和类内分泌特征，使其有别于神经系统的其他部分。它们的独特特征包括与血液和脑脊液这两种液相的细胞接触，以及与关键核团的神经连接，从而建立起贯穿神经轴的通讯回路。室周器官的多种其他形态学和功能特征表明，这组结构参与了广泛的稳态过程。对于其中三个室周器官——穹窿下器官（SFO）、终板血管器（OVLT）和最后区（AP）——最近的研究结果表明，这些结构是血源性信息进入大脑的靶点。我们提出，这三个感觉性室周器官通过神经和体液联系，在维持多种稳态过程中与其他核团相互作用。我们强调脑内室周器官在维持体液稳态中的集体作用，以此作为这些迷人的“脑窗”在中枢神经体液系统中功能整合的模型。
