NEUROENDOCRINE CIRCUITS OF THE FISH BRAIN

CERDÁ-REVERTER JM; CANOSA LF

Fish Physiology Vol 28 Fish Neuroendocrinology

Elsevier

Lugar: San Diego, CA, USA; Año: 2009; p. 3 - 74

Study of the neuronal systems innervating the pituitary is a key point for understandingthe regulation of a wide array of vital processes. This chapter offers a study of theneuoendocrine territories in fish. We first describe the anatomy of the mainneuroendocrine territories of the teleost brain, making correspondences between thedifferent proposed nomenclatures. Teleost fish lack a canonical median eminence, andthe hypothalamic neurons terminate very close to the adenohypophyseal cells or makesynaptic contact upon them. This anatomical characteristic allows the studyinghypothalamic-hypophyseal system to be studied by retrograde tracing experiments.Tract-tracing techniques have corroborated early studies showing the preoptic area andtuberal hypothalamus as loci for the neuron bodies whose axons reach the neuro- andadenohypophysis along well-defined fiber tracts. We review the different neuronalsystems innervating the pituitary that produce hypothalamic-releasing peptides andneurotransmitters. Finally, the chapter describes the peptidergic innervation of thedifferent pituitary domains and the association with the different secretory cells.