Junko Hara

TL;DR: Evidence is provided that orexin-containing neurons play important roles in regulating vigilance states and energy homeostasis and the pathophysiology and treatment of narcolepsy.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that hypothalamic orexin neurons monitor indicators of energy balance and mediate adaptive augmentation of arousal in response to fasting, indicating that orexIn neurons provide a crucial link between energy Balance and arousal.

TL;DR: Findings suggest that dynorphin-A may play an important role in the function of the orexin neurons, which are common in the lateral hypothalamic area of mice and shown to influence feeding.

TL;DR: Results indicate that orexin neuron-ablated mice retain the ability to respond to orexIn neuropeptides and that a temporally regulated and spatially targeted secretion of orexins is not necessary to prevent narcoleptic symptoms.

TL;DR: It is reported that the development of obesity in orexin neuron-ablated narcoleptic mice is critically dependent on their genetic background and environmental factors, and the phenotype is different from that of prepro-orexin knockout mice, suggesting that factors that co-localize in Orexin neurons might have important roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis.