Study on Regulatory Mechanisms of Orexin Neuronal Activity that regulate Emotion and Stress Responses

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We generated transgenic mouse lines, in which orexin-producing neurons exclusively express the green fluorescent protein (GFP), using human prepro-orexin promoter. We prepared fluorescing neurons from the hypothalamus of these mice, and subjected them to whole cell patch-clamp analysis. By this system, we identified several factors that have effects on orexin neuronal activity ; CRF, ghrelin, CCK, and actylcholine activated, while noradrenalin and serotonin inhibited the activity of orexin neuron. Because monoamines, such as noradrenalin and serotonin have a role in regulation of emotion, while CRF and CCK are important factors for the stress response, these results suggest a possibility that orexin has an important role in the regulation and emergence of the emotional behavior and stress response.