Nuclei/ganglia

The rate of melatonin synthesis is controlled primarily by the release of noradrenaline from sympathetic fibres originating in the superior cervical ganglion. The activity of these neurons and, consequently, the synthesis and release of melatonin, follows a circadian rhythm such that sympathetic input and melatonin synthesis are both increased in the dark. This coupling with the light cycle certainly involves the SCN since destruction of this nucleus greatly reduces the fluctuations in melatonin production. Moreover, retrograde transneural tracing has shown that there is a neuronal pathway... 

Figure 22.3 Possible links in the induction of circadian rhythm between daylight, the suprachiasmatic nucleus and melatonin release from the pineal gland. Some fibres in the optic nerve, projecting from the eye to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus, innervate the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the anterior hypothalamus, via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). Others project to the SCN from the LGN in the geniculohypothalamic tract (GHT). The release of melatonin into the circulation from the pineal gland (PG) is maximal at night and appears to be controlled partly by noradrenaline released from sympathetic nerves originating in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG). Melatonin receptors are found in the SCN, the removal of which dampens melatonin secretion...

Corpus striatum A forebrain basal ganglion comprising the caudate nucleus and... 

X3 NM 002559 Dorsal root ganglion, superficial dorsal horn of spinal cord, a subset of small-diameter sensory neurons, nucleus of the solitary tract, spinal trigeminal nucleus (important for peripheral pain)... 

Moore RY, Speh JC, Card JP 1995 The retinohypothalamic tract originates from a distinct subset of retinal ganglion cells. J Comp Neurol 352 351—366 Morris ME, Viswanathan N, Kuhlman S, Davis PC, Weitz CJ 1998 A screen for genes induced in the suprachiasmatic nucleus by light. Science 279 1544—1547 Mrosovsky N 1999 Masking history, definitions, and measurement. Chronobiol Int 16 415-429... 

Pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) is a synthetic bis-quaternary agent containing a steroid nucleus (amino steroid), as denoted by the -curonium suffix. It is five times as potent as d-tubocurarine. Unlike d-tubocu-rarine, it does not release histamine or block ganglionic transmission. Like d-tubocurarine, it has a moderately long onset (2.9 minutes) and duration of action (110 minutes). Pancuronium and its metabolite are eliminated in the urine. 

The ganglion cell layer (GCL) contains the cell bodies of retinal ganglion cells, with their axons running across the retinal surface (nerve fiber layer) toward the optic nerve head, and on through the optic nerve to the lateral geniculate nucleus in the mid-brain. The inner retinal blood supply (outside the foveal avascular zone), the nerve fiber layer, and a thin membrane (the inner limiting membrane) form the most superficial retinal structures. 

Cowey A, Stoerig P, Bannister M (1994) Retinal ganglion cells labeled from the pulvinar nucleus in macaque monkeys. Neuroscience 61 691—705. 

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