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Experimental Neurology Feb 1984The spontaneous discharge of 86 preoptic area (POA) neurons was recorded extracellularly in chronically prepared cats during wakefulness (W), slow-wave sleep (SWS), and... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
The spontaneous discharge of 86 preoptic area (POA) neurons was recorded extracellularly in chronically prepared cats during wakefulness (W), slow-wave sleep (SWS), and REM sleep. Of these, the percentage of units exhibiting maximal discharge rates in SWS and REM sleep (84%) was significantly greater than that of those exhibiting a maximal discharge rate in W (16%). Furthermore, those neurons that discharged rapidly in sleep (fast units) generally had a reduced discharge rate in W. Sixteen of the 86 units showed a strong tendency to discharge in bursts during SWS but not during W or REM sleep. The mean coefficient of variation and the mean discharge rate for these bursting cells in SWS were significantly greater than the corresponding values for the same cells in W and REM sleep, and for the nonbursting cells in SWS. Because POA stimulation is known to initiate behavioral and electrocortical signs of sleep, it is suggested that "fast units" in SWS with reduced discharge rates in W, may be "hypnogenic" cells.
Topics: Animals; Cats; Electrophysiology; Neurons; Preoptic Area; Sleep; Sleep Stages; Wakefulness
PubMed: 6692872
DOI: 10.1016/S0014-4886(84)90103-1 -
Brain Research Bulletin Jun 1988The preoptic area participates in many homeostatic systems, which include the regulation of body temperature, fluid and metabolite balance, and reproduction. Some... (Review)
Review
The preoptic area participates in many homeostatic systems, which include the regulation of body temperature, fluid and metabolite balance, and reproduction. Some preoptic neurons have been shown to be sensitive to either temperature, osmotic pressure, glucose, testosterone or estradiol. While previous studies have treated these as separate and distinct neuronal populations, this paper reviews recent experiments which show that many neurons have multiple sensitivities to these endogenous factors. Neurons in preoptic tissue slices were tested for their responses to changes in temperature, as well as various perfusion media containing 30 pg/ml testosterone or estradiol, low glucose (1.0 mM) or increased osmotic pressure (309 mosmol/kg). The steroid-sensitive, osmosensitive and glucosensitive neurons were not confined to the temperature insensitive neurons; but instead nearly half of the thermosensitive neurons responded to these nonthermal stimuli. In addition, many osmosensitive neurons showed glucosensitivity and steroid-sensitivity. This suggests that, even at the neuronal level, there is a basis for interactions between homeostatic systems.
Topics: Action Potentials; Body Temperature Regulation; In Vitro Techniques; Models, Neurological; Osmolar Concentration; Preoptic Area; Reproduction; Steroids; Water-Electrolyte Balance
PubMed: 3044526
DOI: 10.1016/0361-9230(88)90104-9 -
American Journal of Physiology.... Aug 2004
Review
Topics: Animals; Body Temperature Regulation; Preoptic Area
PubMed: 15271676
DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00141.2004 -
Physiology & Behavior Jul 2001In mice, the neuropeptide arginine-8-vasopressin (AVP) induces excessive grooming, scratching, and hyperactivity when administered intracerebroventricularly. In...
In mice, the neuropeptide arginine-8-vasopressin (AVP) induces excessive grooming, scratching, and hyperactivity when administered intracerebroventricularly. In hamsters, AVP infusion into the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (MPOA/AH) increases flank marking and flank mark grooming. We measured the behavioral effects of administration of AVP (0, 1, and 10 ng/250 nl) into the preoptic area (POA) of male C57BL/6 mice. Administration of AVP into the POA induced robust effects on grooming, including increased hindleg scratching and face washing. Rearing and olfactory investigation were inhibited by AVP into the POA. These findings indicate that the POA is one site in which AVP induces grooming behavior in mice.
Topics: Animals; Body Temperature Regulation; Exploratory Behavior; Grooming; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Motor Activity; Preoptic Area; Stereotaxic Techniques; Vasopressins
PubMed: 11495648
DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9384(01)00501-7 -
Behavioral Neuroscience Feb 2015While sexually experienced males copulate at a higher frequency than sexually inexperienced males, there is still a great deal of variability in their behavior. Within...
While sexually experienced males copulate at a higher frequency than sexually inexperienced males, there is still a great deal of variability in their behavior. Within the medial preoptic area (mPOA) of the hypothalamus, glutamate modulates some of this variability. Glutamate levels, for example, increase during sexual activity, peaking with ejaculation and falling precipitously during the post-ejaculation interval. Whereas lower glutamate levels after ejaculation translates to longer post-ejaculatory intervals, administration of glutamate uptake inhibitors into the mPOA increases the number of ejaculations a male rat achieves over a mating bout, and reduces the latency to ejaculate once mating begins. Because astrocytes modulate the availability of neuronal glutamate, we hypothesized that differences in the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes in the mPOA may account for variability in sexual behavior. To this end, we examined whether the number of astrocytes in the mPOA related to ejaculation latency as well as to the duration of the post-ejaculatory interval (PEI) in sexually experienced and sexually inexperienced males. Results indicate that the number of astrocytes negatively correlated with latency to reach ejaculations in sexually inexperienced but not sexually experienced rats while the number of astrocytes and PEI were not related. Astrocyte numbers did not vary between inexperienced and experienced subjects indicating that astrocyte processes may differentially project to sex-relevant glutamatergic synapses or that glutamatergic innervation of the mPOA changes as a function of sexual experience.
Topics: Animals; Astrocytes; Cell Count; Copulation; Ejaculation; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; Male; Preoptic Area; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans
PubMed: 25621794
DOI: 10.1037/bne0000026 -
Neuroscience Letters May 2010Administration of ethanol produces hypothermia. The preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (POA/AH) contains warm- and cold-sensitive neurons that are important for...
Administration of ethanol produces hypothermia. The preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (POA/AH) contains warm- and cold-sensitive neurons that are important for temperature regulation. The present study evaluated the effect of ethanol on Fos immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and the effect of lesions to the MPOA on ethanol-induced hypothermia. Rats receiving 1.5-g/kg ethanol showed an increase in Fos-ir in the MPOA. However, lesions to the MPOA did not affect core body temperature. These findings indicate that ethanol increases neural activity in the MPOA, but this increased activity does not influence ethanol-induced changes in core body temperature.
Topics: Animals; Body Temperature; Central Nervous System Depressants; Ethanol; Hypothermia; Male; Preoptic Area; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans
PubMed: 20302915
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.03.034 -
Current Neurovascular Research 2019The present study aimed at determining pericytes, a missing component in the previously proposed living neurovascular unit (NVU) of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the...
A Potential Role for the Existence of Pericytes in the Neurovascular Unit of the Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus of the Rat Preoptic Area to Control Blood-Brain Barrier Function.
BACKGROUND
The present study aimed at determining pericytes, a missing component in the previously proposed living neurovascular unit (NVU) of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA) in rats.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Calbindin D28K-immunoreactivities (CB28-irs) were used to delineate the SDN-POA in which CD13-immunoreactivities (CD13-irs) or alpha-smooth muscle actinimmunoreactivities (αSMA-irs), two pericyte biomarkers serving the indexes of pericytes, were tagged using two adjacent brain sections (90-micron intervals). In addition, the nestinimmunoreactive (nestin-ir) cells in the SDN-POA were counted as pericytes referring to additional standards: location and nucleic and cellular morphology. Male SDN-POA volume (5.0±0.3x10-3 mm3) was significantly larger than the female (1.7±0.3x10-3 mm3). Within the SDN-POA, the CD13-irs were characterized as dots, densely packed and net-like in distribution, while the αSMAirs, excluding pipe-like or circular structures, appeared as short rod-like structures that were sparsely distributed.
RESULTS
The immunoreactive counts of alpha-smooth muscle actin were 353±57/mm2 in males and 124±46/mm2 in females (p<0.05). On the other hand, densities of the dot-like CD13-irs were similar between males (4009±301/mm2) and females (4018±414/ mm2). There was no difference between the male and the female in the nestin-ir pericyte count in the SDN-POA.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the present study adds new information concerning pericytes to the living NVU of the SDN-POA. There is a difference of sex in the count of the αSMA-irs in the living NVU of the SDN-POA. However, why such a difference exists warrants further investigations.
Topics: Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Cell Count; Female; Male; Pericytes; Preoptic Area; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 31244439
DOI: 10.2174/1567202616666190627120135 -
Brain Research. Developmental Brain... Jun 1999While sex differences in neural morphology in the preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (POA/AH) have been demonstrated in many species, their existence in mice have been... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
While sex differences in neural morphology in the preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (POA/AH) have been demonstrated in many species, their existence in mice have been controversial. Given the increased use of transgenic and gene-disrupted mice, we characterized sex differences using Nissl stains, and the immunocytochemical location of estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha) and galanin in the POA/AH of two widely used strains, C57BL/6 and 129SvEv, and a mixed strain (C57BL/6x129Sv); the wild-type littermates of steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) gene-disrupted mice. Cell grouping was not a reliable marker of sex. In adults, cells located beneath the anterior commissure (AC) were reliably larger in females than males in 129SvEv, but not in the other strains. Caudally, cells in a group medial to the medial extension of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) were significantly larger in males than females in C57BL/6J and SF-1 gene-disrupted wild-types. Cell groups discernible by embryonic day (E) 18 were not sexually dimorphic for cell size in C57BL/6J mice at E18 or postnatal day (P) 4. The pattern of distribution of cells containing ER-alpha was similar among the strains, reduced in the group medial to the BST; a pattern established by P0. Galanin-containing cells and fibers were seen from E15 to adulthood ventral to the AC. Caudally, a smaller group ventromedial to the BST was found only in 129SvEv adults. Sex differences in neural morphology which develop within the POA/AH depend upon multiple factors, particularly including genetic background.
Topics: Animals; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Estrogen Receptor alpha; Female; Galanin; Hypothalamus, Anterior; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Preoptic Area; Receptors, Estrogen; Sex Characteristics; Species Specificity; Steroidogenic Factor 1
PubMed: 10407134
DOI: 10.1016/s0165-3806(99)00061-9 -
Sleep Sep 1998Changes in sleep after fetal preoptic (POA) tissue transplantation were studied in rats which had been made insomniac by a medial preoptic area (mPOA) lesion. Two days... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Changes in sleep after fetal preoptic (POA) tissue transplantation were studied in rats which had been made insomniac by a medial preoptic area (mPOA) lesion. Two days after the N-methyl D-aspartic acid (NMDA) lesion of the mPOA, fetal POA tissues (obtained from 14- to 17-day-old fetuses) were transplanted into the lesioned mPOA. Insomnia was less marked in these animals, as compared to nontransplanted lesioned rats, even on the 4th day after transplantation. The quantum of sleep nearly attained the prelesion level by the 20th day. Body weight also showed recovery after transplantation. Rectal temperature, which was increased by the lesion of the mPOA, remained unaltered even after the transplantation. These results suggest that the recovery of sleep and rectal temperature may follow different time courses. Surviving transplanted neurons were seen at the site of lesion on postmortem examination. Humoral interaction between the host and the transplant may be responsible for the early recovery of sleep, though the establishment of neural connections between the host and transplant might have contributed to the later recovery. This is the first study to show the recovery of sleep function in insomniac animals after fetal preoptic tissue transplantation. However, the specificity of the POA fetal tissue, in comparison with other neural tissues to promote sleep recovery, remains to be established.
Topics: Animals; Body Temperature; Fetal Tissue Transplantation; Male; N-Methylaspartate; Postoperative Period; Preoptic Area; Rats; Sleep, REM; Wakefulness
PubMed: 9779519
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/21.6.601 -
The Journal of Comparative Neurology Dec 2004In this study and the accompanying article (Folgueira et al., 2004a), the fluorescent carbocyanine dye 1,1'-dioctadecyl 3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate...
In this study and the accompanying article (Folgueira et al., 2004a), the fluorescent carbocyanine dye 1,1'-dioctadecyl 3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) was used in fixed tissue to comprehensively analyze the connections of the different regions of the telencephalic lobes and the preoptic region of the rainbow trout. Here, we analyze the connections of the dorsal area (D; pallium) of the telencephalon, and the preoptic region, as well as the telencephalic connections of several structures in the diencephalon and brainstem of juvenile trout. The dorsal plus dorsolateral pallial zone of D (Dd+Dl-d) receives afferents from contralateral Dd+Dl-d, the ventral area of the telencephalon, preoptic nucleus, suprachiasmatic nucleus, medial thalamus, preglomerular complex, anterior and lateral tuberal nuclei, posterior tuberal nucleus, posterior hypothalamic lobe, superior raphe nucleus, and the rhombencephalic central gray and reticular formation, and projects to the central zone of D (Dc), medial thalamus, and some caudomedial hypothalamic regions. The medial zone of D (Dm) maintains reciprocal connections with the preglomerular complex and also receives afferents from the preoptic nucleus, suprachiasmatic nucleus, anterior tuberal nucleus, preglomerular tertiary gustatory nucleus, posterior tubercle, superior raphe nucleus, locus coeruleus, and the rhombencephalic central gray, and reticular formation. Dc receives fibers mainly from Dd+Dl-d, preoptic nucleus, preglomerular complex, and torus semicircularis and projects to several extratelencephalic centers, including the paracommissural nucleus, optic tectum, torus semicircularis, thalamus, preglomerular complex, posterior tubercle nuclei, and inferior hypothalamic lobes. The posterior zone of D (Dp) is mainly connected with the olfactory bulbs, the ventral and supracommissural nuclei of the ventral area (subpallium), the preoptic nucleus, and the preglomerular complex and projects to wide hypothalamic and posterior tubercular regions. The preoptic nucleus projects to the olfactory bulb, to most regions of the telencephalic lobes, and to several diencephalic and brainstem structures. These results reveal complex and specialized connectional patterns in the rainbow trout dorsal telencephalon and preoptic region. Most of these connections have not been described previously in salmonids. These connections indicate that the salmonid telencephalon is involved in multisensorial processing and modulation of brain activity.
Topics: Animals; Neural Pathways; Oncorhynchus mykiss; Preoptic Area; Telencephalon
PubMed: 15514931
DOI: 10.1002/cne.20341