Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a neuropeptide involved in background adaptation in teleost fish, and in multiple regulatory functions in mammals and fish. To study the expression of the MCH preprohormone (ppMCH) in teleosts, we first cloned a hypothalamic cDNA encoding the complete ppMCH of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), and a cRNA probe derived from a 270 bp ppMCH cDNA fragment was...

We have used retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase to examine the origin of thalamic input to the two premotor areas with the densest projections to the motor cortex: the arcuate premotor area (APA) and the supplementary motor area (SMA). Retrograde transport demonstrated that the two premotor areas and the motor cortex each receive thalamic input fr...

Groups of pregnant rats were injected with two successive daily doses of 3H-thymidine from gestational days 13 and 14 (E13 + 14) until the day before birth (E21 + 22). With this progressively delayed comprehensive labelling procedure we determined the time of origin of neurons in the nuclei of the epithalamus, thalamus, and ventral thalamus. The zona incerta, subthalamic nucleus, reticular nucl...

BACKGROUND Morphological variations have arisen due to diverse environmental conditions. Application of cytoarchitectonic criteria permits the delineation of distinct nuclear complexes from the brain region. PURPOSE Very less information is available on the cytoarchitectonic pattern of the brain, of the giant snake headed murrel, Channa marulius. The murrel is much neglected in neuroanatomica...

Oscine birds are among the few animal groups that have vocal learning, and their brains contain a specialized system for song learning and production. We describe here the immunocytochemical distribution of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), a noradrenergic marker, in the brain of an oscine, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). DBH-positive cells were seen in the locus coeruleus, the nucleus su...

In order to better understand the descending voluntary vocal control pathway, the efferent subcortical projections of the laryngeal motorcortex were studied in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). For this purpose, the left motorcortex was exposed in three animals under narcosis. By electrical brain stimulation, sites were identified yielding vocal fold adduction. Effective sites were injected w...

Activation of 5-HT1A receptors in the medullary raphé decreases sympathetically mediated brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and peripheral vasoconstriction when previously activated with leptin, LPS, prostaglandins, or cooling. It is not known whether shivering is also modulated by medullary raphé 5-HT1A receptors. We previously showed in conscious piglets that activation of 5-HT1A recept...

Serotonergic receptor binding is altered in the medullary serotonergic nuclei, including the paragigantocellularis lateralis (PGCL), in many infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The PGCL receives inputs from many sites in the caudal brainstem and projects to the spinal cord and to more rostral areas important for arousal and vigilance. We have shown previously that local unil...