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Review
. 2006 Jul;31(4):229-45.

The role of neurotensin in central nervous system pathophysiology: what is the evidence?

Fannie St-Gelais  1 , Claudia Jomphe, Louis-Eric Trudeau
Affiliations
Review

The role of neurotensin in central nervous system pathophysiology: what is the evidence?

Fannie St-Gelais et al. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2006 Jul.

Abstract
in English, French

The peptide neurotensin has been studied for more than 30 years. Although it is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, neurotensin has been more intensely studied with regard to its interactions with the central dopamine system. A number of claims have been made regarding its possible implication in many diseases of the central nervous system, including schizophrenia. In this review, we describe briefly the basic biology of this neuropeptide, and then we consider the strengths and the weaknesses of the data that suggest a role for neurotensin in schizophrenia, drug abuse, Parkinson's disease, pain, central control of blood pressure, eating disorders, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation.

Le peptide neurotensine est l'objet d'études depuis plus de 30 ans. La neurotensine est largement distribuée dans les systèmes nerveux central et périphérique, mais ses interactions avec le système de neurotransmission dopaminergique central ont été les plus étudiées. On a formulé plusieurs suggestions quant à son intervention dans diverses maladies du système nerveux central, telles que la schizophrénie. Dans cette revue de la littérature, nous débutons par une brève description de la biologie de ce neuropeptide, puis nous examinons les forces et les faiblesses des données relatives aux implications de la neurotensine dans la schizophrénie, la dépendance aux drogues, la maladie de Parkinson, la douleur, le contrôle central de la pression artérielle, les troubles de l'alimentation, le cancer, les maladies neurodégénératives et l'inflammation.

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Figures

None
Fig. 1: Sagittal representation of neurotensinergic pathways in the rodent brain. BST = bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; dBB = diagonal band of Broca; DR = dorsal raphe nucleus; GP = globus pallidus; hip = hippocampus; hyp = hypothalamus; LS = lateral septum; MB = mamillary bodies; n. solitary tract = nucleus of the solitary tract; PAG = periacqueductal grey; PB = parabrachial nucleus; PFC = prefrontal cortex; RMg = raphe magnus nucleus; RRF = retrorubral field; SNc = substantia nigra pars compacta; SNr substantia nigra pars reticulata; sub = subiculum; TD = dorsal thalamic nucleus; VP = ventral pallidum; VTA = ventral tegmental area.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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