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Switching control of sympathetic activity from forebrain to hindbrain in chronic dehydration
Author(s) -
Colombari Débora S. A.,
Colombari Eduardo,
FreiriaOliveira Andre H.,
Antunes Vagner R.,
Yao Song T.,
Hindmarch Charles,
Ferguson Alastair V.,
Fry Mark,
Murphy David,
Paton Julian F. R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.210245
Subject(s) - forebrain , chemistry , ap 1 transcription factor , rostral ventrolateral medulla , hypothalamus , losartan , medicine , endocrinology , fosb , medulla oblongata , angiotensin ii , receptor , central nervous system , biology , transcription factor , biochemistry , gene
Non‐technical summary Dehydration, a life‐threatening condition, occurs when the body does not replace adequate water lost through urination, sweating or when ill with diarrhoea. This presents the body with a major challenge of maintaining blood pressure – essential for consciousness that is dependent on the degree of body hydration, which dictates blood volume. We know that a major control mechanism involves a brain region called the hypothalamus that automatically maintains blood pressure. Our study has described the gene networks in key brain regions involved in the response to dehydration. We reveal a new structure in the brain that regulates blood pressure in dehydration and a unique genetic mechanism that exists within it. Moreover, our study unearths a remarkable form of flexibility within the brain during dehydration that involves switching control of blood pressure between two spatially distinct structures. We have provided new mechanistic insight to explain how the brain maintains body stability in face of the significant challenge of low water content.