Week 1 Flashcards
(110 cards)
What is the hypothalamus?
- Relay station in the brain
- Located just below the thalamus
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for secretion of hormonal release factors controlling the pituitary gland
arcuate nuclei, paraventricular nuclei, and periventricular area
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for activation of sympathetic nervous system
Dorsal and posterior areas
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for eating behavior
Ventromedial nuclei, arcuate nuclei, lateral area
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for drinking behavior and thirst
lateral area
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for water and electrolyte balance
supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for body temp regulation
pre-optic area
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for sexual behavior
pre-optic area and anterior area
Area of hypothalamus that is responsible for circadian rhythm
suprachiasmatic nucelus
What are the hypothalamic areas or nuclei that are concerning to today’s topic of interest?
- Paraventricular
- Supraoptic
Factors that regulate hypothalamic functions
- light, glucose and osmolarity, visceral afferent, hormones
How does light regulate hypothalamci function
- where does it enter
- what does it decrease
- function of mel
- Light enters retino-hypothalamic tract and the suprachiasmatic nucleus and pineal glands are involved.
- Light decreases melatonin synthesis and Dark increases melatonin synthesis.
- Melatonin maintains circadian rhythm via hormone release.
Glucose and osmolarity regulation of the hypothalamus
- blood glucose level is sensed which also regulates feeding behavior
- Osmoreceptors: Sense osmotic changes in the blood and help maintain blood osmolarity
Visceral afferents that regulate hypothalamus
intestine, heart, liver, stomach
How are the hypothalamohypophyseal tract and the hypophyseal portal veins functionally similar and structurally different?
- Hypothalamohypophyseal tract releases hormones from hypothalamus to posterior pituitary: Vasopressin, Oxytocin
- Hypophyseal portal veins: hypothalamus releases hormones that go through the hypophyseal portal veins to the anterior pituitary to then stimulate action
What are portal veins?
- two capillary beds- a connection btwn 2 things.
hypophyseal portal system
is a system of blood vessels in the microcirculation at the base of the brain, connecting the hypothalamus with the anterior pituitary. Its main function is to quickly transport and exchange hormones between the hypothalamus arcuate nucleus and anterior pituitary gland
Differentiate between the magnocellular and parvocellular neurons.
a. Magnocellular neurons located in paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei and the peptides that produce oxytocin and vasopressin which are delivered to the posterior ptuitary
b. Parvocellular neurons release releasing or inhibiting neuropeptides (hypophysiotropic hormones) that control function of anterior pituitary
Compare and contrast the routes of transport of hypothalamic neuropeptides to the posterior and anterior pituitary?
a. Parvicellular neurons release neuropeptides which are transported in the long portal veins to the anterior pituitary where they stimulate the release of pituitary hormones into the systemic circulation.
b. Magnocellular neurons synthesize the neuropeptides (hormones) oxytocin andvasopressinwhich are transported in neurosecretory vesicles down the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract and stored in varicosities at the nerve terminals in the posterior pituitary.
What is axonal transport
- what proteins are used
- which way
occurs along the microtubules and the proteins related to axonal transport are kinesin and dynein.
- Two families of motor proteins, kinesin and dynein, transport membrane-bounded vesicles, proteins, and organelles along microtubules.
- 1) Nearly all kinesins move cargo toward the (+) end of microtubules (anterograde transport); 2) whereas dyneins transport cargo toward the (−) end (retrograde transport)
Indicate the sites of ….. of the posterior pituitary hormones
- synthesis, packaging, transport,
- storage
- secretion
a. Synthesis occurs in nucelus, travels to ER to be processed, then packaged into secretory granules in the Golgi.
b. Herring bodies or neurosecretory bodies are structures found in the posterior pituitary. They represent the terminal end of the axons from the hypothalamus, and hormones are temporarily stored in these locations. They are neurosecretory terminals.
c. The neurosecretory vesicles are then transported down the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract. Hormone processing occurs during this stage yielding hormone and neurophysins.
d. Contents of neurosecretory vesicles are released from nerve terminals in the posterior pituitary. Exocytosis is triggered by Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated channels opened during neuronal depolarization.
Outline the physiologic role of the by-products released with the posterior pituitary hormones?
- Neurophysins are carrier proteins which transport the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin to the posterior pituitary from the paraventricular and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Neurophysins are by-products of post-translational prohormone processing in the secretory vesicles. They are important in the role of transport of AVP from cell bodies.
- Copeptin: Once secreted into the bloodstream, there is no known biological role for copeptin. However, when pre-pro-vasopressin is processed during the axonal transport, copeptin may contribute to the 3D folding of vasopressin
Oxytocin
- stimulus for release
- functions
- regulation
- baby head stretching cervix, breast feeding–baby crying
- cause contraction of myoepithelial cell by acting on GalphaQ G protein receptor, causing phosphorylation of phospholipase C to increase calcium inside myoepithelial cells –> This causes the ejection of milk; § During the labor the oxytocin is released, causing uterine contraction, and when the baby’s body is pushed, and the baby’s head pushes the cervix, this stretches the cervix. This is the stimulating factor for more release of oxytocin hormone
- positive feedback, if the stimulus continues the hormone sontinues to be released, if the stimulus stops the hormones stops being secreted.
role of oxytocin in male
- ejaculation, causes contraction of smooth muscles in vas deferens for sperm to go toward the urethra.