Pontine region

Mortazavi, S., Thompson, J., Baghdoyan, H. A. Lydic, R. (1999). Fentanyl and morphine, but not remifentanil, inhibit acetylcholine release in pontine regions modulating arousal. Anesthesiology 90, 1070-7. 

It was shown by immunohistochemistry on post-mortem sections, that CXCR2 was expressed in neurons of various regions of the human adult nervous system including the hippocampus, cerebellum, pontine nuclei and spinal cord. The labeling... 

Semba, K. (1993). Aminergic and cholinergic afferents to REM sleep induction regions of the pontine reticular formation in the rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 330, 543-56. 

REM sleep (Kodama et al, 1990 Leonard Lydic, 1995, 1997) and cholinergic REM sleep enhancement (Lydic et al., 1991), ACh release is significantly increased in the same regions of the pontine reticular formation where microinjection of cholinomimetics enhances REM sleep (1.3 and 1.4 on Fig. 5.1). These results support the conclusion that at the level of ACh release, the cholinergic enhancement of REM sleep is a faithful model of spontaneous REM sleep. 

ACh regulates the cortical arousal characteristic of both REM sleep and wakefulness (Semba, 1991, 2000 Sarter Bruno, 1997, 2000). Medial regions of the pontine reticular formation (Figs. 5.2 and 5.7) contribute to regulating both the state of REM sleep and the trait of EEG activation. Within the medial pontine reticular formation, presynaptic cholinergic terminals (Fig. 5.1) that release ACh also are endowed with muscarinic cholinergic receptors (Roth et al, 1996). Autoreceptors are defined as presynaptic receptors that bind the neurotransmitter that is released from the presynaptic terminal (Kalsner, 1990). Autoreceptors provide feedback modulation of transmitter release. Autoreceptor activation... 

Administration of H2-receptor agonists and antagonists in rats had no effect on sleep-wakefulness (Monti et al., 1986,1990). Although local application of impromidine (1 pg in 1 pi), an H2 receptor agonist, into the preoptic region of the cat mimicked the effects of HA in inducing wakefulness, local application of impromidine (0.2 pg in 0.25 pi) in the pontine tegmentum had little effect. 

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