The endocrinology of the brain.
The endocrinology of the brain.
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DOI：
10.1530/ec-18-0367
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发表时间：
2018-12-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Leng G
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Leng G
大脑拥有大量多样的神经肽，这是一类信号分子，通常被描述为神经递质。在这里，我认为，这种描述包含了一系列的误解，这些误解形成了一种叙事，在这种叙事中，只有通过绘制神经元连接图和研究通过化学突触传递的导电信号，才能了解大脑中的信息处理。我认为，大脑中的神经肽信号主要涉及自分泌、旁分泌和神经激素机制，这些机制不依赖于突触连接，它不仅依赖于电活动，还依赖于类似于经典内分泌细胞分泌的机制。就像在经典的内分泌系统中一样，要了解神经肽在大脑中的作用，我们不仅必须了解神经肽的释放是如何调节的，而且必须了解它们的合成是如何调节的，以及它们的靶标的敏感性是如何调节的。我们还必须了解神经肽对这些靶点的完全多样性的影响，包括它们对基因表达的影响。
The brain hosts a vast and diverse repertoire of neuropeptides, a class of signalling molecules often described as neurotransmitters. Here I argue that this description entails a catalogue of misperceptions, misperceptions that feed into a narrative in which information processing in the brain can be understood only through mapping neuronal connectivity and by studying the transmission of electrically conducted signals through chemical synapses. I argue that neuropeptide signalling in the brain involves primarily autocrine, paracrine and neurohormonal mechanisms that do not depend on synaptic connectivity and that it is not solely dependent on electrical activity but on mechanisms analogous to secretion from classical endocrine cells. As in classical endocrine systems, to understand the role of neuropeptides in the brain, we must understand not only how their release is regulated, but also how their synthesis is regulated and how the sensitivity of their targets is regulated. We must also understand the full diversity of effects of neuropeptides on those targets, including their effects on gene expression.