Preoptic area neurons

Gvilia, I., Turner, A., McGinty, D Szymusiak, R. (2006). Preoptic area neurons and the homeostatic regulation of rapid eye movement sleep. J. Neurosci. 26, 3037-44. 

Fig. 4.6(b) GnRH +ve neurones (relative density) in the brain dot = mammalian, circle = avian, forms. Parasagittal view of distribution in Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) — from bulb to median eminence (ME), optic X (OC), cerebral aqueduct (Aq), and preoptic area (POA) (from Schwanzel-Fukuda and Pfaff, 1994). 

Methippara, M., Alam, Md. N., Szymusiak, R McGinty, D. (2003). Preoptic area warming inhibits wake-active neurons in the perifornical lateral hypothalamus. 

Modirrousta, M., Mainville, L., Jones, B. E. (2004). GABAergic neurons with < 2-adrenergic receptors in basal forebrain and preoptic area express c-Fos during sleep. Neuroscience 129, 803 10. 

Figure 2.4 Flip-flop switch model of wake and slow wave sleep active systems. Mutually inhibitory connections exist between GABAergic/Galaninergic slow wave sleep active neurons in the ventrolateral preoptic area (VLPO) of the anterior hypothalamus and aminergic neurons in the hypothalamus (histamine (HA) neurons in the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN)) and brainstem (serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe (DR) and noradrenaline (NA) neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC)). Orexinergic neurons in the perifornical hypothalamus (PFH) stabilize the waking state via excitation of the waking side of the flip-flop switch (aminergic neurons).

GABAergic neurons in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus and basal forebrain... 

Saint-Mleux, B., Eggermann, E., Bisetti, A et al. (2004). Nicotinic enhancement of the noradrenergic inhibition of sleep-promoting neurons in the ventrolateral preoptic area. J. Neurosci. 24, 63-7. 

Sleep-active neurons have been identified in the ventrolateral and medial preoptic areas. These neurons exhibit increased discharge during SWS and REMS rather than W. Sleep-active neurons colocalize GABA and are excited by adenosine and prostaglandin D2 (McGinty Szymusiak, 2001) (Table 9.3). 

Immunohistochemical and electrophysiological studies of the hypothalamic preoptic area (POA), which plays a major role in sleep promotion, have identified a subset of sleep-active ventrolateral POA (VLPO) neurons (Sherin et al. 1996 Szymusiak et al. 1998). A tightly clustered group of VLPO neurons appears to promote non-REM sleep, by suppression of the histaminergic arousal system, which... 

Morairty, S., Rainnie, D., McCarley, R. Greene, R. (2004). Disinhibition of ventrolateral preoptic area sleep-active neurons by adenosine a new mechanism for sleep promotion. Neuroscience 123 (2), 451-7. 

An unanswered question about adenosine is how this inhibitory neurotransmitter activates the ventrolateral preoptic area of the hypothalamus (VLPO), which contains a population of sleep-active neurons and is hypothesized to be... 

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). 

Numan, M. and Numan, M.J. (1992) Maternal behavior in female rats is associated with increased numbers of Fos containing neurons in the medial preoptic area. Soc Neurosci Abstr 18 892. 

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