Hypothalamic medial preoptic areas

By contrast, the accessory olfactory system is thought to be involved in the detection of odors that influence a variety of reproductive and aggressive behaviors (Keverne 1999). Sensory neurons are located in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and detect pheromones which gain access to the VNO by a pumping mechanism (Meredith and O Connell, 1979). VNO neurons send projections to the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). Mitral cells of the AOB project in turn to the medial nucleus of the amygdala olfactory information is then dispatched to several hypothalamic regions such as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the medial preoptic area and the ventromedial hypothalamus (Scalia and Winans 1975). 

Angiotensin II produces changes in body hydration and thirst by a direct action in the central nervous system. The administration of angiotensin II into the septal, anterior hypothalamic, and medial preoptic areas stimulates drinking behavior in several species. Part of the volume response also may be caused by the antinatriuretic and antidiuretic effects of angiotensin II. 

Horvath TL, Naftolin F, Leranth C (1992a) GABAergic and catecholaminergic innervation of mediobasal hypothalamic P-endorphin cells projecting to the medial preoptic area. Neuroscience 57 391-399. 

Fig. 4. (A-J) Distribution of kainate receptor subunit mRNAs in the adult rat brain (X-ray film autoradiographs, coronal sections). Arrowheads in E and F mark neocortical layer III cells expressing the GluR7 gene. AV, anteroventral thalamic nucleus BST, bed nucleus stria terminalis CC, corpus callosum white matter tract Cg. cingulate cortex Cpu, caudate putamen DG, denate granule cells DM, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus GP, globus pallidus MPA, medial preoptic area Pir, piriform cortex Rt, reticular thalamic nucleus SCh, suprachiasmatic nucleus. Scale bar, 3.2 mm (Wisden and Seeburg, 1993a).

Preoptic region and hypothalamus Lateral preoptic area Medial preoptic area Medial preoptic nucleus Magnocellular preoptic nucleus Suprachiasmatic nucleus Supraoptic nucleus Anterior hypothalamic area Lateral hypothalamic area Periventricular nucleus Paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus Arcuate nucleus Dorsal hypothalamic area Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus Dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus Compact part Tuber cinereum Posterior hypothalamic area Premammillary nucleus Supramammillary nucleus Medial mammillary nucleus Lateral mammillary nucleus... 

In quantitative studies using a radiolabelled MSH tracer, MSH was shown to bind most intensely in the septal area, septohypothalamic nucleus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the medial preoptic area. Moderate binding was seen in hypothalamic structures including the median eminence, the ventromedial, dorsomedial, arcuate and paraventricular nuclei, and the lateral hypothalamus. These structures are profusely innervated by immunoreactive ct-MSH- and ACTH-containing fibers (Eskay et al., 1979 O Donohue et al., 1979 Guy et al., 1980 Joseph, 1990). The median eminence is also well supplied with MSH receptors, supporting a role for this structure by which peripherally administered neuropeptides may penetrate to exert their central effects (Banks and Kastin, 1988). 

Scorticati et al., 2003, 2004), and increases in adreno-corticotropin hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone release in rats (Weidenfeld et al., 1994 Manzanares et al., 1999). Cannabinoids such as THC and anandamide bind to dense populations of caimabinoid CBi receptors in the brain and, notably, the hypothalamus (Herkenham et al., 1991). Autoradiography studies have demonstrated the presence of CBj receptors in several hypothalamic nuclei involved in neuroendocrine modulation, including the medial preoptic area and the paraventricular nuclei (PVN), predominant sites of GnRH and CRH neuronal cell bodies, respectively (Femandez-Ruiz et al., 1997). 

Hypothalamus medial and lateral preoptic areas anterior, lateral, and posterior hypothalamic areas dorsomedial and ventromedial nuclei tuberomammillary nucleus medial and lateral preoptic areas, lateral hypothalamic area, dorsomedial nucleus, complex of mammillary bodies... 

Mallory DS, Gallo RV (1990) Medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area involvement in the suppression of pulsatile LH release by a mu-opiod agonist in the ovariectomized rat. Brain Res Bull 25 251-257... 

The brain exerts an important modulatory influence over spinal reflex pathways that control penile function (Giuliano and Rampin, 2000). A variety of visual, auditory, olfactory, and imaginative stimuli elicit erectile responses that involve cortical, thalamic, rhinencephalic, and limbic input to the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area, which acts as an integrating center. Other areas of the brain, such as the amygdaloid complex, may inhibit sexual function. 

Sahu, A., Sninsky, C.A., Kalra, P.S. Kalra, S.P. (1990) Neuropeptide-Y concentration in microdissected hypothalamic regions and in vitro release from the medial basal hypothalamus-preoptic area of streptozotocin-diabetic rats with and without insulin substitution therapy. Endocrinology 126, 192-198. 

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