Selective modification by opiates of neuronal activity of the medial basal hypothalamus

Microiontophoretic application of morphine and naloxone to neurons in hypothalamus of rat

The present experiments used urethane-anesthetized rats and single cell recording to study the electrophysiological properties of ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) cells following different doses of morphine and naloxone, applied microiontophoretically. More than 45% of ventromedial hypothalamic units reacted in a dose-response fashion to local application of morphine. In the majority of the ventromedial hypothalamic neurons, naloxone failed to reverse the effects of morphine. Naloxone alone had effects on 37% of the ventromedial hypothalamic units. The ventromedial hypothalamic units exhibited different response patterns from those observed from other CNS sites in response to the microiontophoretic application of morphine and naloxone; this difference is discussed. The present neurophysiological findings support the existence of opiate target sites with multiple opiate receptors within the ventromedial hypothalamus.

Immunoreactive leu-enkephalin in the monkey hypothalamus including observations on its ultrastructural localization in the paraventricular nucleus

The distribution of immunoreactive leu-enkephalin neurons and fibers in the monkey hypothalamus, including ultrastructural localization in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), was examined with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunocytochemical method. Immunoreactive leu-enkephalin cell bodies and fibers were present in the PVN, the region of the dorsal nucleus and nucleus of the anterior commissure, the dorsomedial nucleus, ventromedial nucleus, and lateral hypothalamus. Within the PVN labeled cells were found mostly in the medial parvocellular region, and a smaller proportion including some large cells was present in the lateral, and dorsolateral zones. Immunoreactive neurons contained numerous large granular vesicles (LGV) which ranged from 63 to 235 nm in size, suggesting that at least some enkephalin-containing neurons belong to the population of neurosecretory cells. Positive neurons were postsynaptic to four types of unlabeled axon terminals. Leu-enkephalin-containing fibers (some of which were myelinated) and boutons contained small clear vesicles and numerous LGV. Axon terminals made synaptic contacts with the cell bodies, primary and distal dendrites of unlabeled neurons. The findings show that enkephalin-containing neurons in the PVN integrate a variety of neuronal inputs and provide morphological evidence for the inhibiting influence of enkephalins on the firing rate of PVN neurons. It may be speculated that the effects of opioids on the release of vasopressin and other substances possibly originating from PVN neurons may be regulated in part within the nucleus by locally synapsing axons belonging to enkephalin-containing neurons.

Endogenous opiates: 1981

This paper is the fourth of an annual series reviewing the research concerning the endogenous opiate peptides. This installment covers only work published during 1981 and attempts to provide a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, survey of the area. Previous papers in the series have dealt with research done before 1981. Topics concerning endogenous opiates reviewed here include a delineation of their receptors, their distribution, their precursors and degradation, behavioral effects resulting from their administration, their possible involvement in physiological responses, and their interactions with other peptides and hormones. Due to the burgeoning literature in this field, the comprehensive nature of this review in the future will be limited to considerations of behavioral phenomena related to the endogenous opiates.