食欲素神经肽在应激过程中的作用

食欲素因其在调节能量代谢、睡眠和唤醒等生理功能中的作用而备受关注.近年来研究逐渐发现,食欲素参与应激和奖赏过程的调节,特别是其在药物成瘾过程中的作用是目前的研究热点.主要介绍食欲素系统与应激相关系统之间的神经联系,阐述了其在应激相关的生理、神经内分泌与行为反应中的作用.并进一步介绍了食欲素系统在应激诱发药物成瘾复吸过程中的作用.食欲素对应激反应的调控作用具有相对特异性,受应激的种类、其他应激相关神经递质系统及食欲素神经元的投射通路等多种因素影响.

The Role of Orexin in Stress

Orexins (hypocretins) are novel neuropeptides released by some neurons identified in lateral hypothalamus. They are involved in the regulation of energy metabolism, neuroendocrine, sleep and waking. Recently, more and more evidence have shown that orexins play a key role in the stress and reward including drug addiction. The evidence was sumarized, showing that orexin neurons are well positioned to regulate stress-related neural systems, and orexin systems are involved in the physiological, neuroencocrine, psychological and behavioral process of stress. More recently, the role of orexins in stress-induced relapse of drug abuse has been established. All these evidence implicated that orexin system play a critical role in the process of stress, and their role in stress is dependent on the type of stress, their distribution and connection to other stress-related neurotransmitter systems.