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Comment
. 2007 Feb;13(2):126-8.
doi: 10.1038/nm0207-126.

Orexins: looking forward to sleep, back at addiction

Thomas E Scammell, Clifford B Saper
Comment

Orexins: looking forward to sleep, back at addiction

Thomas E Scammell et al. Nat Med. 2007 Feb.
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Among their many functions, the orexin neurons promote wakefulness and modulate reward pathways. The orexin neurons innervate and excite many brain regions that drive arousal and attention, including the locus coeruleus and the dorsal raphe. Rewarding stimuli trigger release of dopamine from the mesolimbic projections between the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens, and orexins enhance signaling in this pathway. As Brisbare-Roch et al. have found, an orexin antagonist that blocks these signals can promote sleep (by reducing arousal) and possibly aid in the treatment of drug addiction (by dampening reward signals).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Promotion of sleep by targeting the orexin system in rats, dogs and humans.
    Brisbare-Roch C, Dingemanse J, Koberstein R, Hoever P, Aissaoui H, Flores S, Mueller C, Nayler O, van Gerven J, de Haas SL, Hess P, Qiu C, Buchmann S, Scherz M, Weller T, Fischli W, Clozel M, Jenck F. Brisbare-Roch C, et al. Nat Med. 2007 Feb;13(2):150-5. doi: 10.1038/nm1544. Epub 2007 Jan 28. Nat Med. 2007. PMID: 17259994

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