A review of central 5-HT receptors and their function

The brain is the key organ of the response to stress because it determines what is threatening and, therefore, potentially stressful, as well as the physiological and behavioral responses which can be either adaptive or damaging. Stress involves two-way communication between the brain and the cardiovascular, immune, and other systems via neural and endocrine mechanisms. Beyond the "flight-or-fight" response to acute stress, there are events in daily life that produce a type of chronic stress and lead over time to wear and tear on the body ("allostatic load"). Yet, hormones associated with stress protect the body in the short-run and promote adaptation ("allostasis"). The brain is a target of stress, and the hippocampus was the first brain region, besides the hypothalamus, to be recognized as a target of glucocorticoids. Stress and stress hormones produce both adaptive and maladaptive effects on this brain region throughout the life course. Early life events influence life-long patterns of emotionality and stress responsiveness and alter the rate of brain and body aging. The hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex undergo stress-induced structural remodeling, which alters behavioral and physiological responses. As an adjunct to pharmaceutical therapy, social and behavioral interventions such as regular physical activity and social support reduce the chronic stress burden and benefit brain and body health and resilience.

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Physiology and Neurobiology of Stress and Adaptation: Central Role of the Brain

中枢神経系疾患の治療は正常細胞（ニューロン）の機能維持を目的とするが，脳血管障害のように機能障害の原因が細胞の死滅に基づくことは多い．一方，脳腫瘍の治療においては薬物療法や放射線療法といった腫瘍細胞の死滅を目標とするものが大きな位置を占める．いずれの場合にも，細胞死の機序を理解することは各種病態や治療法の理解のうえで重要である．現在のところ最も研究の進んでいる細胞死の型はアポトーシスである．そのなかで重要な位置を占めるミトコンドリアにおける反応および抗アポトーシス因子について概要を紹介する．

Neuroscience 細胞死：最近の知見

I Introduction UNTIL 35 yr ago, most scientists did not take research on the pineal gland seriously The decade beginning in 1956, however, provided several discoveries that laid the foundation for what has become a very active area of investigation These important early observations included the findings that, 1), the physiological activity of the pineal is influenced by the photoperiodic environment (1–5); 2), the gland contains a substance, N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine or melatonin, which has obvious endocrine capabilities (6, 7); 3), the function of the reproductive system in photoperiodically dependent rodents is inextricably linked to the physiology of the pineal gland (5, 8, 9); 4), the sympathetic innervation to the pineal is required for the gland to maintain its biosynthetic and endocrine activities (10, 11); and 5), the pineal gland can be rapidly removed from rodents with minimal damage to adjacent neural structures using a specially designed trephine (12) Since the mid 1960s, research on t

Pineal Melatonin: Cell Biology of Its Synthesis and of Its Physiological Interactions*

Extracellular stimuli elicit changes in gene expression in target cells by activating intracellular protein kinase cascades that phosphorylate transcription factors within the nucleus. One of the best characterized stimulus-induced transcription factors, cyclic AMP response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB), activates transcription of target genes in response to a diverse array of stimuli, including peptide hormones, growth factors, and neuronal activity, that activate a variety of protein kinases including protein kinase A (PKA), pp90 ribosomal S6 kinase (pp90RSK), and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs)[corrected]. These kinases all phosphorylate CREB at a particular residue, serine 133 (Ser133), and phosphorylation of Ser133 is required for CREB-mediated transcription. Despite this common feature, the mechanism by which CREB activates transcription varies depending on the stimulus. In some cases, signaling pathways target additional sites on CREB or proteins associated with CREB, permitting CREB to regulate distinct programs of gene expression under different conditions of stimulation. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms by which Ser133-phosphorylated CREB activates transcription, intracellular signaling pathways that lead to phosphorylation of CREB at Ser133, and features of each signaling pathway that impart specificity at the level of CREB activation.

CREB: a stimulus-induced transcription factor activated by a diverse array of extracellular signals.

Circadian change in tryptophan hydroxylase protein levels within the rat intergeniculate leaflets and raphe nuclei.

Mechanisms underlying the daily and photoperiodic variations in mt1 melatonin receptors were investigated in the pars tuberalis (PT) and suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of Siberian and Syrian

The circadian clock, light/dark cycle and melatonin are differentially involved in the expression of daily and photoperiodic variations in mt(1) melatonin receptors in the Siberian and Syrian hamsters.

Paul Pévet

Papers

Circadian change in tryptophan hydroxylase protein levels within the rat intergeniculate leaflets and raphe nuclei.

The circadian clock, light/dark cycle and melatonin are differentially involved in the expression of daily and photoperiodic variations in mt(1) melatonin receptors in the Siberian and Syrian hamsters.

Adrenergic and peptidergic regulations of hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activity in rat pineal gland

Is 5-methoxytryptamine a pineal hormone?

In Syrian and European hamsters, the duration of sensitive phase to light of the suprachiasmatic nuclei depends on the photoperiod