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Immunocytochemical Distribution of VIP and PACAP in the Rat Brain Stem
Author(s) -
AHNAOU ABDEL,
YON LAURENT,
ARLUISON MICHEL,
VAUDRY HUBERT,
HANNIBAL JENS,
HAMON MICHEL,
ADRIEN JOELLE,
BOURGIN PATRICE
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1317.095
Subject(s) - vasoactive intestinal peptide , dorsal raphe nucleus , paramedian pontine reticular formation , reticular formation , neuropeptide , medicine , endocrinology , neuroscience , cell bodies , raphe nuclei , tegmentum , chemistry , biology , nucleus , anatomy , midbrain , serotonin , central nervous system , serotonergic , receptor
Recent evidence indicates that pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) might play an important role in rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) generation at the pontine level in rats. We have thus examined the immunohistochemical distribution of VIP and PACAP in the pontine and mesencephalic areas known to be involved in REMS control in rats. A dense network of VIP‐immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers was found in the dorsal raphe nucleus. A large number of PACAP‐positive perikarya and nerve fibers was observed in the area known as the REMS induction zone within the pontine reticular formation (PRF). The present results provide an anatomical basis to our previous functional data, and suggest that PACAPergic mechanisms within the PRF play a critical role in long‐term regulation of REMS.