Anxiogenic drug administration and elevated plus-maze exposure in rats activate populations of relaxin-3 neurons in the nucleus incertus and serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus

AJ Lawther; ML Clissold; S Ma; S Kent; CA Lowry; AL Gundlach; MW Hale

Journal article

Anxiogenic drug administration and elevated plus-maze exposure in rats activate populations of relaxin-3 neurons in the nucleus incertus and serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus

AJ Lawther, ML Clissold, S Ma, S Kent, CA Lowry, AL Gundlach, MW Hale

Neuroscience | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.06.052

Abstract

Anxiety is a complex and adaptive emotional state controlled by a distributed and interconnected network of brain regions, and disruption of these networks is thought to give rise to the behavioral symptoms associated with anxiety disorders in humans. The dorsal raphe nucleus (DR), which contains the majority of forebrain-projecting serotonergic neurons, is implicated in the control of anxiety states and anxiety-related behavior via neuromodulatory effects on these networks. Relaxin-3 is the native neuropeptide ligand for the Gi/o-protein-coupled receptor, RXFP3, and is primarily expressed in the nucleus incertus (NI), a tegmental region immediately caudal to the DR. RXFP3 activation has bee..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Andrew Gundlach Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Grants the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (1005985, 1005988 and 1067522, A.L.G.); the Besen Family Foundation (A.L.G.); and by the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support Program. A.J.L. is the recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship (APA).