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Morphine induces an increase in extracellular serotonin in the rat diencephalon.

The effect of systemic morphine on extracellular serotonin (5-HT) in the diencephalon of unanesthetized, unrestrained rats was investigated by in vivo microdialysis coupled to high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Administration of morphine resulted in a dose dependent increase in extracellular 5-HT. Significant increases were first seen at a dose of 5 mg/kg, and a maximal increase occurred at 10 mg/kg. This increase was blocked by pretreatment with naltrexone, indicating that the effect of morphine on 5-HT was mediated by opiate receptors. Morphine also had a significant effect on extracellular 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), leading to a gradual increase across a range of doses. The effect of morphine on 5-HT was compared to effects of morphine on nociception and catalepsy. Increases in 5-HT and 5-HIAA were first detected at doses that were analgesic but too low to elicit catalepsy. Consistent with many reports that opioids cause an increase in synthesis and turnover of 5-HT in the rat forebrain, the present results provide more direct evidence that 5-HT release is increased after morphine administration.

Animals↗

Concordance of quantitative damage within the diencephalon and telencephalon following systemic pilocarpine (380 mg/kg) or lithium (3 mEq/kg)/pilocarpine (30 mg/kg) induced seizures.

We tested the hypothesis that a single systemic injection of 380 mg/kg of the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine would produce more diffuse and severe seizure-induced brain damage than a single injection of lithium (3 mEq/kg) followed 4 h later by < 1/10 the dosage of pilocarpine. The hypothesis was not supported; the pattern of quantitative brain damage 50-60 days after the seizures were elicited by either treatment was comparable within the limits of measurement error. Within the diencephalon and subcortical telencephalon the same structures were either damaged in a similar quantitative manner or were spared. Only five of the 119 damaged structures exhibited statistically significant treatment differences at P < 0.01. The results are compatible with the explanation that lithium may enhance the excitotoxic effects of subsequent muscarinic stimulation.

Acepromazine↗

Intravenous administration of the serotonin agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) increases extracellular serotonin in the diencephalon of awake rats.

The serotonin (5-HT) agonist 1-(m-chlorophenyl)piperazine (mCPP) has been widely used as a pharmacological probe to assess 5-HT function. Although mCPP is known to interact with 5-HT receptors, this drug is also reported to exhibit presynaptic actions that increase extraneuronal 5-HT in vitro. In the present study, we used in vivo microdialysis to examine the effects of mCPP on extracellular 5-HT in the ventromedial diencephalon of awake rats. Intravenous mCPP (1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg) increased dialysate 5-HT in a dose-related manner, with extracellular 5-HT levels rising 8-fold above baseline after the high dose of drug. The stimulatory effect of mCPP on dialysate 5-HT was abolished by pretreatment with the 5-HT uptake blocker fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, i.p.). In complementary experiments, mCPP elevated plasma prolactin at doses equivalent to those that increased dialysate 5-HT, and fluoxetine pretreatment caused a partial, though significant, attenuation of mCPP-induced prolactin release. These results indicate that mCPP increases extracellular 5-HT in rat brain by a presynaptic mechanism involving 5-HT transporters. Moreover, the plasma prolactin response to mCPP is at least partially mediated by the presynaptic actions of the drug. Our data further suggest the possibility that mCPP exhibits indirect agonist properties in human brain. Therefore, clinical studies designed to evaluate postsynaptic 5-HT receptor sensitivity based on responsiveness to mCPP should be interpreted with caution.

Animals↗

Transplanted mesencephalic quail cells colonize selectively all primary visual nuclei of chick diencephalon: a study using heterotopic transplants.

A portion of the quail mesencephalic alar plate (10-12 somites embryos, second day of incubation) was heterotopically transplanted to replace a portion of the diencephalic alar plate of a similar stage chick embryo. Analysis of the chimeric embryos on day 18 of incubation was performed both by Feulgen and Rossenbeck histochemical staining to recognize the transplanted cells, and by cytoarchitectonic methods. The heterotopically transplanted neuroepithelia were integrated in the host pretectal area, although their precise location, substituting some missing host pretectal nuclei, varied slightly from case to case. The cytoarchitecture of the graft and its extension allowed to distinguish two types of transplants: in 50% of the cases the graft developed a laminated, tectal-like structure appearing as a supernumerary optic tectum, whereas in the other 50% of the cases it gave rise to a smaller, not well-defined, non-laminated structure, which could not be recognized as tectal. Independent of the extension and cytoarchitecture of the grafts, in all cases numerous transplanted quail cells were observed beyond the limits of the graft spreading along the optic tract, into all the retino-recipient diencephalic nuclei and into the mesencephalic tectal gray. Conversely, the host optic tectum and the non-primary visual nuclei, even those in close apposition to the transplant, were always devoid of transplanted cells. Analysis of 5- to 10-day-old chimeric embryos has shown that the ectopically located mesencephalic quail cells start migrating from the transplant on day 7 of incubation and follow a tangential pathway at the surface of the diencephalon, throughout the optic tract and between the optic tract and the incipient primary visual nuclei. On day 10, many of these cells have already invaded most of the host retino-recipient nuclei. These observations are discussed with respect to both the phenotypic expression of the transplanted primordium and the tangential migration of tectal cells previously observed in homotopically transplanted chimeric embryos. The possible significance of these results is also discussed.

Animals↗

Spatial-temporal appearance of developing immunoreactive TRH neurons in the neuroepithelial wall of the diencephalon.

Using an anti-pro-thyrotrophic hormone-releasing hormone (TRH) serum for immunohistochemical analysis, we examined the ontogenesis of TRH-producing neurons in the rat diencephalon, and distinguished three waves in the neurogenesis corresponding to the time and place of their origin. The first wave started on day 12.5 of embryonic age (E12.5); the neurons appeared within the neuroepithelium in both the anterior and posterior walls of the optic recess. These cells then migrated anteriorly into the marginal layer of the developing preoptic area (group 1 cells) and posteriorly into the hypothalamus (group 2 cells). The second and third waves occurred on E13.5-14.5 and E16.5-17.5, respectively. We named the cells that appeared in the neuroepithelium of the anterior portion of the hypothalamus as group 3 and 5 cells, and those in the posterior portion as group 4 and 6 cells. Group 1 and 3 cells generated the lateral and medial preoptic TRH neurons, and group 2 and 4 cells generated the cells in the lateral hypothalamic nucleus. Group 6 cells were involved in the development of the dorso-medial hypothalamic nucleus. Group 5 cells gave rise to the hypophysiotrophic secretory neurons in the parvocellular paraventricular nucleus. The cells derived from each cell group showed distinct morphological characteristics. These findings suggest that the ventricular wall of the hypothalamus is protomapped in a spatial-temporal manner to generate TRH neurons with distinct functional properties.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the diencephalon of the adult male cat.

Using an indirect immunoperoxidase technique, the location of neurotensin-like fibers and cell bodies was studied in the diencephalon of the cat. The findings showed that the hypothalamus is richer in neurotensin-like-immunoreactive structures than the thalamus, and that neurotensin-like-immunoreactive structures are more widely distributed in the hypothalamus than in the thalamus. A high density of immunoreactive fibers was observed in the hypothalamic regions, area hypothalamica dorsalis, hypothalamus posterior, nucleus (n.) filiformis and n. arcuatus, whereas a moderate density was found in the n. parafascicularis, n. paraventricularis anterior, hypothalamus lateralis, median eminence and n. paraventricularis hypothalami. Other diencephalic regions such as n. lateralis posterior, n. lateralis dorsalis, n. medialis dorsalis, n. habenularis lateralis, n. centrum medianum, n. rhomboidens, n. reuniens, hypothalamus anterior, n. supra chiasmaticus, hypothalamus ventromedialis, n. supraopticus and hypothalamus dorsomedialis had the lowest density of immunoreactive fibers. In addition, the densest clusters of neurotensin-like perikarya were found in the n. arcuatus, n. centralis medialis and hypothalamus posterior, whereas the n. medialis dorsalis, n. paraventricularis anterior, n. reuniens, hypothalamus lateralis and hypothalamus ventromedialis had the lowest density. In the n. lateralis dorsalis, n. supraopticus, area hypothalamica dorsalis and n. supra chiasmaticus the density of immunoreactive perikarya was moderate.

Animals↗

New somatostatin-containing sites in the diencephalon of the neonatal rat.

Using an immunohistochemical technique, the present study demonstrated several new somatostatin-containing sites in the diencephalon of neonatal rats which have not been reported in adult animals. These areas are the area just lateral to the commissura posterior, the area between the optic tract and capsula interna, pars retrolenticularis and n. peripeduncularis.

Animals↗

Retino-petal neurons in the diencephalon of juvenile Lobotes surinamensis (teleostei).

Diencephalic retino-petal neurons in juvenile specimens of the teleost Lobotes surinamensis are not segregated into subpopulations that form discrete nuclei. A continuous band of such cells extends from the rostral to the caudal diencephalon. It includes some locations previously described as retino-petal nuclei in other teleosts. The vast majority of diencephalic retino-petal cells only projects to the contralateral eye in Lobotes.

Animals↗

Enzymehistochemical demonstration of nitric oxide synthase in the diencephalon of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mickiss).

Nitric oxide, a free radical, has recently been shown to exert major influences on CNS functions in mammals. It is synthesized by NO-synthase. For the first time, this study reveals this enzyme's existence in the CNS of a teleost fish and describes its distribution in the diencephalon, where the paraventricular organ displays an extraordinarily high activity. The study contributes to an evolutionary perspective of the biological role played by nitric oxide in the vertebrate CNS, and raises questions regarding the significance of this gas in cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

Localization of chick retinal visinin-like immunoreactivity in the rat forebrain and diencephalon.

The present study is an examination, using an indirect immunofluorescence method, of the distribution of visinin, a 24,000 dalton peptide, in the rat forebrain and diencephalon. Immunoreactive structures were localized in the neuronal elements showing an uneven distribution. Immunoreactive neurons were found in the olfactory bulb, anterior olfactory nucleus, cerebral cortex, amygdaloid complex, ventral portion of the nucleus caudatus putamen, septal area, nucleus accumbens, nucleus paratenialis, nucleus rhomboideus, nucleus reuniens, nucleus paraventricularis hypothalami, nucleus supraopticus, nucleus anterior hypothalami, preoptic area, hypothalamic periventricular nucleus, nucleus mammillaris medialis, medial habenular nucleus, zona incerta, nucleus lateralis thalami, nucleus tractus optici and gyrus dentatus. Immunoreactive fibers were observed in the above areas, particularly near the labelled cells, forming fiber plexuses of varying density. In addition, dense plexuses were also seen in the globus pallidus, anteroventral nucleus of the thalamus, substantia nigra and hippocampus. In the former three structures, no labelled cells were present and in the latter, a few scattered neurons were found, indicating that these fibers originate from extrinsic sources.

Animals↗

Projections from the diencephalon and mesencephalon to nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis in the cat.

The distribution of labelled cells in the diencephalon and mesencephalon has been mapped following injections of horseradish peroxidase into nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis in the cat. Most of the labelled cells were found ipsilateral to the injection site. A group of small and medium-sized labelled perikarya (11-40 microns in diameter) was present in the caudal part of the periaqueductal grey matter (A3-P2) and in the adjacent tegmentum. Small, round or fusiform cells (8-25 microns were labelled in the tuberal region of the hypothalamus in the dorsomedial hypothalamus and in the lateral hypothalamic area. It is suggested that the cardiovascular responses which can be elicited by stimulation in these regions of the periaqueductal grey and hypothalamus are mediated via a relay on to spinally projecting neurones in nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis which synapse on sympathetic preganglionic neurones in the intermediolateral cell column.

Agonistic Behavior↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptidergic projection from the parabrachial area to the forebrain and diencephalon in the rat: an immunohistochemical analysis.

We investigated ascending fiber projections of calcitonin gene-related peptide from the parabrachial area to the forebrain and diencephalon in the rat using immunocytochemistry. Destruction of the lateral portion of the dorsal parabrachial area resulted in a marked ipsilateral decrease in the fibers containing calcitonin gene-related peptide in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, indicating that cells containing calcitonin gene-related peptide in the lateral portion of the dorsal parabrachial area projected to the ipsilateral ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Destruction of the ventral portion of the parabrachial area resulted in a marked decrease of fibers containing calcitonin gene-related peptide in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the central amygdaloid nucleus and the lateral hypothalamus just medial to the crus cerebri (the far-lateral hypothalamus), and a less marked decrease in the ventromedial thalamic nucleus. This means that there are projections from cells containing calcitonin gene-related peptide in the ventral portion of the parabrachial area to the first three regions just mentioned, and to some extent to the last.

Afferent Pathways↗

Immunocytochemical localization of serotonin-containing neurons in the myelencephalon, brainstem and diencephalon of the sheep.

Using immunocytochemistry, morphological characteristics and distribution of serotonin-containing neurons and fibers of the sheep myelencephalon, brainstem and diencephalon were studied, employing highly specific antibodies to serotonin. The immunocytochemical procedure described here allowed the visualization of endogenous, and thus presumably physiological, pools of serotonin, because no pharmacological treatments (colchicine, inhibitors of monoamine oxidase or 5-hydroxytryptophan) were used to increase the endogenous amount of antigen. The distribution of serotonin cell bodies observed in the study is in agreement with that described by other authors in the rat using a similar method. The present work also shows more numerous groups than the formaldehyde-induced fluorescence method, because five additional groups were revealed, designated S1 to S5. Compared with those in the rat, sheep serotonergic structures exhibit striking specific characteristics: (1) greater scattering of cell bodies within the different groups visualized, (2) absence of group B4 and hypothalamic groups, (3) only a weak serotonergic innervation of the suprachiasmatic nuclei area.

Animals↗

Location of neurons that express regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 in the rat diencephalon.

In situ hybridization for regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 messenger RNA showed a distinct and limited pattern of expression in the hypothalamus, midline thalamus, amygdala and hippocampus of the rat. High levels of regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 messenger RNA were found in the magnocellular neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular, supraoptic and accessory nuclei, in the neurons of the periventricular, medial tuberal, arcuate, lateral and perifornical nuclei, infundibular stalk, and in the ventrolateral division of the ventromedial nucleus and compact division of the dorsomedial nucleus. Lower levels of regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 messenger RNA were found in the parvocellular divisions of the paraventricular nucleus as well as in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, median preoptic nucleus, medial preoptic nucleus, medial and lateral preoptic areas, subfornical organ, suprachiasmatic nucleus, anterior hypothalamic area, zona incerta, ventromedial nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus and tuber cinereum. Regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 messenger RNA was also found in thalamic structures including the paraventricular, central medial, intermediodorsal, anterodorsal, rhomboid and reticular nuclei. Signal was also identified in the medial and lateral habenula, in the central, medial, basomedial and anterior cortical nuclei of the amygdala, and in the CA1-CA3 and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Dopamine may regulate regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 expression in the CNS because (i) regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 was originally identified in melanotropes based on its regulation by dopaminergic agents and (ii) many of the nuclei that contain regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 also receive dopaminergic input. The localization of regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 in the diencephalon suggests that regulated endocrine-specific protein-18 is involved in regulation of limbic and autonomic function, neuroendocrine control of salt and water balance, reproductive function and feeding behavior.

Amygdala↗

Immunocytochemical distribution of [Met]enkephalin-Arg-Gly-Leu immunoreactivity in the rat diencephalon.

Recently, [Met]Enkephalin-Arg-Gly-Leu (MEAGL) was isolated from bovine adrenal glands, and it was found to be derived exclusively from proenkephalin. Therefore, we investigated the distribution of MEAGL-like immunoreactive neuronal perikarya and fibers in the rat diencephalon pretreated with colchicine by PAP immunocytochemistry. In the thalamus MEAGL immunoreactive neuronal perikarya were distributed in the paraventricular nucleus and the ventral part of the lateral geniculate nucleus. Immunoreactive fibers were found in the paraventricular, paracentral, anteroventral, reuniens and rhomboid nuclei. In addition, immunoreactive fibers were also noted in the anterior pretectal nucleus. In the hypothalamus, immunoreactive neuronal perikarya were observed in the medial preoptic area, anterior and lateral hypothalamic nuclei, perifornical region, parvocellular and postero-magnocellular regions of paraventricular nucleus, ventromedial nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, arcuate nucleus, premammillary, medial mammillary and lateral mammillary nuclei. The distribution of immunoreactive fibers was similar to that of neuronal perikarya. However, immunoreactive fibers were also observed in the supraoptic and suprachiasmatic nuclei where no immunoreactive neuronal perikarya were detected. Numerous immunoreactive fibers were detected in the external layer of the median eminence, but there were few in the internal layer. The similarity and difference in the distribution between MEAGL and other proenkephalin peptides such as [Met]enkephalin were also discussed.

Animals↗

Mapping of somatostatin receptor localization in rat brain: forebrain and diencephalon.

Using quantitative in vitro receptor autoradiography, minute distributions of 125I-Tyr11-somatostatin (SS)-14 binding sites were investigated in the rat forebrain and diencephalon. In the cerebral cortex, there was a high density of receptors observed in layers V-VI and a low density in layers I-IV. The entorhinal cortex displayed the highest receptor density of the cerebral cortices. The olfactory system had a high SS receptor density. The anterior olfactory nucleus, nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, medial habenular nucleus and the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus showed moderate densities. In the limbic system, the CA1 and subiculum regions had high receptor densities. More detailed observations revealed high receptor densities in the oriens, radiatum and lacunosum layers and a much lower density in the pyramidal cell layer. The caudate putamen and substantia nigra showed low receptor densities, while the claustrum displayed the highest density of receptors in the rat brain. These data were not consistent with those of previous studies using 125I-SS-28 and 125I-201-995, which had shown that the high receptor density area in the basolateral amygdaloid group was identified as the lateral amygdaloid nucleus, and that the pyramidal cell layer in the hippocampus showed high receptor densities.

Animals↗

Distribution of neurokinin A in the cat diencephalon: an immunocytochemical study.

The distribution of neurokinin A-like immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers in the diencephalon of the cat was studied using an indirect immunoperoxidase technique. A high or moderate density of immunoreactive neurons was observed in the nuclei habenularis lateralis, medialis dorsalis, parafascicularis, hypothalamus posterior, area hypothalamica dorsalis, hypothalamus lateralis, periventricularis hypothalami, above the corpus mamillare, and in the perifornical area, whereas scarce immunoreactive perikarya were visualized in the nuclei reuniens, hypothalami ventromedialis, hypothalamus dorsomedialis, and mamillaris lateralis. The highest density of fibers containing neurokinin A was found in the nuclei periventricularis anterior, rhomboidens, centralis medialis, periventricularis hypothalami, and supraopticus. In the regio praeoptica, area hypothalamica dorsalis, hypothalamus posterior, and in the perifornical area a moderate density of immunoreactive fibers was observed, whereas the nuclei habenularis lateralis, medialis dorsalis, mamillaris lateralis, parataenialis, reuniens, habenularis medialis, filiformis, hypothalamus dorsomedialis, hypothalami ventromedialis, arcuatus, and suprachiasmaticus showed a low density of neurokinin A immunoreactive fibers.

Animals↗

Distribution of parvalbumin immunoreactivity in the cat diencephalon.

The distribution of parvalbumin-immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers in the cat diencephalon has been analyzed by using the avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase technique. The thalamus showed a higher density of immunoreactive cell bodies than the hypothalamus. A high or moderate density of perikarya and a high density of fibers containing parvalbumin was observed in the nuclei lateralis posterior, lateralis dorsalis, pulvinar, corpus geniculatum laterale, reticularis, medialis dorsalis, centrum medianum, subparafascicularis, ventralis postero-medialis, ventralis postero-lateralis, habenularis medialis, parafascicularis, corpus geniculatum mediale, centralis lateralis, rhomboidens, reuniens, centralis medialis, ventralis medialis, ventralis lateralis, parataenialis, anterior ventralis, anterior medialis, ventralis anterior, hypothalamus posterior, corpus mamillare, area hypothalamica dorsalis, and in the nucleus suprachiasmaticus. Moreover, a high or moderate density of immunoreactive fibers and a low density of parvalbumin-immunoreactive cell bodies was observed in the nuclei periventricularis anterior, anterior dorsalis, habenularis lateralis, corpus geniculatum laterale (pars ventralis), periventricularis hypothalami, hypothalamus lateralis, hypothalamus anterior, and in the hypothalamus dorsomedialis.

Animals↗