Summary
Inforimation on the ambient lighting conditions is conveyed from the retina to the pineal organ by a neuronal pathway involving the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which acts as a circadian pacemaker. In the hamster, circadian rhythms have been shown to be influenced by injection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) into the SCN. Since NPY-immunoreactive nerve fibres are present in the rat and guinea-pig pineal glands it appeared of interest to investigate the hamster pineal as part of the circadian rhythm generating/regulating system. For comparison kidney, small intestine and cerebral cortex were studied. Like in the other rodent species so far investigated only a few of the abundant sympathetic nerve fibres in the hamster pineal gland are NPY-immunoreactive, in contrast to the relatively rich innervation of the other organs. This speaks in favour of a possible central origin of pineal NPY-immunoreactive fibres. These may either exert vasoregulatory effects on pineal vasculature or be involved in the modulation of alpha-adrenergic receptor mediated regulation of pineal metabolism.
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Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grant Schr 283/1-1
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Schröder, H. Neuropeptide Y (NPY)-like immunoreactivity in peripheral and central nerve fibres of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) with special respect to pineal gland innervation. Histochemistry 85, 321–325 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00493484
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00493484