Topic: lateral hypothalamic area

Designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) are chemogenetic tools that enable the selective activation or silencing of neurons in a given brain area. According to classical findings on the role of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) in hunger, we hypothesized that selective silencing of the LHA may decrease food intake.We bilaterally injected adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors carrying the gene of a modified M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor into the LHA of rats. Later, rats were treated with DREADD actuator agents and food intake was measured in a 30 min time-win

Hypocretin(orexin)-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area are important for sleep regulation and their damage manifests clinically as narcolepsy in humans. In animal experiments, extensive lesions of these neurons confirmed and clarified their physiological importance. Smaller, partial lesions of hypocretinergic neurons may uncover more subtle mechanisms of function of hypocretin system and may help understand more delicate processes in early stages of pathogenesis of narcolepsy. In a lesioned group of rats (N=9) bilateral injections of hypocretin-2-saporin (Hcrt2-SAP) conjugate in

Social defence is an essential behaviour for social animals. It allows the existence of winners and losers in agonistic encounters, without deaths, promoting the group's stability. As for other aversive contexts, the environmental cues (e.g. the distance to the aggressor) are essential for a proper expression of defence. Understanding how the brain processes these cues, associating them with other stimuli and defining the defensive response, is a fundamental step towards a better comprehension of the neural bases of social defence. Previous work suggests that, in C57Bl/6 mice, a septo-hippocam

Sleep is an essential biological need that is regulated by multiple brain networks. The hypothalamus is a structure that is essential for the maintenance of physiological homeostasis including food intake, reproduction and sleep-wake states. The lateral hypothalamic area (LH) encompasses various cell groups critical for the coordination of arousal and REM sleep. In contrast, the preoptic area (POA) of the anterior hypothalamus is involved in the NREM sleep regulation. The predominant concept is that hypothalamic cells that govern sleep-wake states are clustered into wake-on, NREM-on or REM-on