Physical exercise dramatically increases the energy expenditure of animals. In terms of energy substrate, at the onset of exercise, the contribution of carbohydrates to the energy expenditure is relatively predominant, and decreases gradually with the progression of exercise, while fat consumption increases progressively. The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is a nucleus in the hypothalamus that...

BACKGROUND Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with enhanced noradrenergic activity. Animal and human studies demonstrate that noradrenergic stimulation augments consolidation of fear learning. Retrieval of well-established memories by presenting a learned fear cue triggers reconsolidation processes during which memories may be updated, weakened, or strengthened. We previously re...

The present study investigated the influence of intravesically instilled resiniferatoxin (RTX) or tetrodotoxin (TTX) on the distribution, number, and chemical coding of noradrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers (NF) supplying the urinary bladder in female pigs. Samples from the bladder wall were processed for double-labelling immunofluorescence with antibodies against cholinergic and noradrene...

OBJECTIVES Damasio has proposed an influential model of human decision making-the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH), where he argues that somatic feedback to the brain influences decision making in humans. It is proposed that when choosing between options that differ in relative risk, a somatic marker (for example, a "gut feeling") feeds back to the brain and influences cognitive appraisal. This ...

The noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) is the principal source of brain norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter thought to play a major role in the pathology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in the therapeutic action of many antidepressant drugs. The goal of this study was to identify potential mediators of brain noradrenergic dysfunction in MDD. Bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7), a member o...

An expanding body of data has indicated that the seizure prone state in genetically epilepsy-prone rats (GEPRs) is partially caused by deficits in central nervous system noradrenergic transmission. Several lines of evidence suggest that the noradrenergic terminals in the superior colliculus (SC) may act as determinants of seizure predisposition in the GEPR. In order to assess the role of the no...

Mash1, a mammalian homologue of the Drosophila proneural genes of the achaete-scute complex, is transiently expressed throughout the developing peripheral autonomic nervous system and in subsets of cells in the neural tube. In the mouse, targeted mutation of Mash1 has revealed a role in the development of parts of the autonomic nervous system and of olfactory neurons, but no discernible phenoty...

Establishment of transmitter phenotype is an essential step in neuronal development. Studies on rat sympathetic neurons both in vivo and in vitro have provided evidence that mature cholinergic sympathetic neurons arise from previously noradrenergic neurons. Cultured rat superior cervical ganglion neurons can be influenced by their environment to remain noradrenergic, to acquire dual transmitter...

Thalamocortical cells receive sensory signals via primary sensory afferents and cortical signals via corticothalamic afferents. These signals are influenced by a variety of neuromodulators that are released in the thalamus during specific behavioral states. Hence, different neuromodulators may set different thalamic modes of sensory information processing. We found that noradrenergic activation...