Oxytocin Cells in the Supraoptic Nucleus Receive Excitatory Synaptic Inputs from the Contralateral Supraoptic and Paraventricular Nuclei in the Lactating Rat

Oxytocin Cells in the Supraoptic Nucleus Receive Excitatory Synaptic Inputs from the Contralateral Supraoptic and Paraventricular Nuclei in the Lactating Rat

The present experiments were undertaken to examine whether oxytocin cells in the supraoptic nucleus receive synaptic inputs from the contralateral supraoptic nucleus or paraventricular nucleus. Using urethane-anesthetized lactating rats, extracellular action potentials were recorded from single oxytocin or vasopressin cells in the supraoptic nucleus. Electrical stimulation was applied to the co...

Glutamatergic Innervation of the Supraoptic Nucleus, the Paraventricular Nucleus and the Supramamillary Nucleus of the Rat

Development of oxytocin- and vasopressin-network in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of fetal sheep.

The hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei consist of oxytocin and arginine vasopressin synthesizing neurons that send projections to the neurohypophysis. A growing body of evidence in adult animals and young animals at near term confirmed the structure and function in the vasopressinergic and oxytocinergic network. However, whether those distinctive neural networks are formed befor...

Epithelial Na⁺ sodium channels in magnocellular cells of the rat supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei.

The epithelial Na⁺ channels (ENaCs) are present in kidney and contribute to Na⁺ and water homeostasis. All three ENaC subunits (α, β, and γ) were demonstrated in the cardiovascular regulatory centers of the rat brain, including the magnocellular neurons (MNCs) in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). However, the functional significance of ENaCs in vasopressin (VP)...

Oxytocin actions within the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei: differential effects on peripheral and intranuclear vasopressin release.

In response to forced swimming (FS), AVP is released somato-dendritically within the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), but not from neurohypophyseal terminals into blood. Together with AVP, oxytocin (OXT) is released within the SON and PVN. Here, we studied the role of intra-SON and intra-PVN OXT in the regulation of local AVP release and into the blood in male rats. W...