Neumann, Inga D., Luz Torner, Nicola Toschi, and Alexa H. Veenema. Oxytocin actions within the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei: differential effects on peripheral and intranuclear vasopressin release. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 291: R29–R36, 2006. First published January 19, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00763.2005.—In response to forced swimming (FS), AVP is released somato-dendr...

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...

Recent evidence suggests that a central mechanism may be contributing to the sympathetic abnormality in diabetes. Nitric oxide (NO) has been known as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. The goal of this study was to examine the role of the endogenous NO system of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) in streptozotocin (STZ)-indu...

BACKGROUND The enhanced cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex (CSAR) is involved in the sympathetic activation that contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of hypertension. Activation of AT(1) receptors by angiotension (Ang) II in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) augments the enhanced CSAR and sympathetic outflow in hypertension. The present study is designed to determine whether Ang-(1-...

Brainstem catecholamine neurons modulate sensory information and participate in control of cardiorespiratory function. These neurons have multiple projections, including to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), which contributes to cardiorespiratory and neuroendocrine responses to hypoxia. We have shown that PVN-projecting catecholaminergic neurons are activated by hypoxia, but the function of the...

Adaptive changes in glutamatergic signaling within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) may play a role in the neurohumoral dysfunction underlying the hypertension induced by "slow-pressor" ANG II infusion. We hypothesized that these adaptive changes alter production of gp91phox NADPH oxidase (NOX)-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) or nitric oxide (NO), resulting in enhanced gluta...

ANG II is thought to increase sympathetic outflow by increasing oxidative stress and promoting local inflammation in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. However, the relative contributions of inflammation and oxidative stress to sympathetic drive remain poorly understood, and the underlying cellular and molecular targets have yet to be examined. ANG II has been shown to enhan...

BACKGROUND Intracerebroventricular infusion of NaHS, a hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) donor, increased mean arterial pressure (MAP). This study was designed to determine the roles of H(2)S in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in modulating sympathetic activity and cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex (CSAR) in chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS CHF was induced by left descen...

Activation of mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) increases sympathetic excitation. To determine whether MR and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) are expressed in preautonomic neurons of the PVN and how they relate to endogenous aldosterone levels in healthy rats, retrograde tracer was injected into the intermediolateral cell column at T4 to identify p...

The centrally mediated cardiovascular regulatory actions of angiotensin II in normal and hypertensive rats include angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R)–mediated actions at the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. Because the PVN consists of multiple neuronal populations, it is important to understand which neuronal types in the PVN are influenced by angiotensin II. Here we have d...