Preoptic area
| Preoptic area | |
|---|---|
 Preoptic area is 'PO', at left, in blue. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | area preoptica |
| MeSH | D011301 |
| NeuroNames | 377 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1706 |
| TA98 | A14.1.08.407 |
| TA2 | 5710 |
| FMA | 62313 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The preoptic area is a region of the hypothalamus. According to the MeSH classification, it is considered part of the anterior hypothalamus. There are four nuclei in this region, according to Terminologia Anatomica (Medial, Median, Lateral, and Paraventricular).
Functions
The preoptic area is responsible for thermoregulation and receives nervous stimulation from thermoreceptors in the skin, mucous membranes, and hypothalamus itself.[1]
This area propagates stimuli to either the heat-losing or the heat-promoting centers of the hypothalamus.
Nuclei
Median preoptic nucleus
The median preoptic nucleus generates thirst. Drinking decreases noradrenaline release in the median preoptic nucleus.[2]
The median preoptic nucleus is located along the midline in a position significantly dorsal to the other 3 preoptic nuclei, at least in the macaca fascicularis brain.
Medial preoptic nucleus
The medial preoptic nucleus releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone. The medial preoptic nucleus controls copulation in males and is larger in males than in females.
Lateral preoptic nucleus
Paraventricular preoptic nucleus
Aging
Studies in female mice have shown that estrogen receptor-alpha declines in the pre-optic hypothalamus as they grow old. The female mice that were given a calorie-restricted diet during the majority of their lives, maintained higher levels of ERα in the pre-optic hypothalamus than their non-calorie-restricted counterparts.[3]
References
- ^ Martin, John Harry (2003). Neuroanatomy: Text and Atlas. McGraw-Hill Professional.
- ^ Drinking decreases the noradrenaline release in the median preoptic area caused by hypovolemia in the rat Hiroko Miyakubo, Kazuo Yamamoto, Satoko Hatakenaka, Yasushi Hayashi and Junichi Tanaka
- ^ Yaghmaie F, Saeed O, Garan SA, Freitag W, Timiras PS, Sternberg H. (2005). "Caloric restriction reduces cell loss and maintains estrogen receptor-alpha immunoreactivity in the pre-optic hypothalamus of female B6D2F1 mice". Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 26 (3): 197–203. PMID 15990721.
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See also
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