Luis de Lecea
Publication Details
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A decade of hypocretins: past, present and future of the neurobiology of arousal.
Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2010; (3): 203-8
In 1998, two groups independently identified the hypocretins, also known as orexins, as two hypothalamic peptides derived from the same precursor expressed in a few thousand neurones restricted to the perifornical area. A decade later, an amazing set of discoveries has demonstrated a key role for this neurotransmitter system in arousal and beyond. Here I review some of the experiments that led to these discoveries and the implications in the neurobiology of the hypothalamus and our understanding of brain arousal.
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