Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Centrally released arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been associated with various behavioural and cognitive effects, such as scent marking, aggression, and memory, which are believed to be mediated by the V1a subtype of the vasopressin receptor. Although the distribution of V1a receptors is conserved in a few brain regions, the pattern of expression of this receptor is, in general, highly species-specific. We have used receptor autoradiography with the linear V1a receptor ligand (125I-Phenylacetyl-D-Tyr(Me)-Phe-Gln-Asn-Arg-Pro-Arg-Tyr-NH2) to characterize the pattern of receptor binding in the rhesus monkey brain. Brain sites of V1a receptor synthesis were defined using in-situ hybridization. The regions of highest V1a receptor density included the prefrontal, cingulate, pyriform, and entorhinal cortex, as well as the presubiculum and mamillary bodies. In addition, V1a receptor binding and mRNA were detected in several regions reported to have V1a receptor in most rodents, including the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral septum, hypothalamus and the brainstem. The distribution is consistent with a role for vasopressin in higher cognitive functions, especially memory, in primates.
 ...
PMID:Localization of vasopressin (V1a) receptor binding and mRNA in the rhesus monkey brain. 1022 83

The steroid hormone androstenedione profoundly influences the development and expression of sexual and aggressive behavior. The neural basis of these effects are, however, poorly understood. In this study we evaluated androstenedione's ability to maintain vasopressin peptide levels in the gonadal steroid-responsive vasopressin cells of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the centromedial amygdala, and their projections. Adult male rats were castrated and given testosterone, androstenedione or no hormonal treatment for five weeks. Their brains were then processed for vasopressin immunoreactivity. Androstenedione and testosterone treatment were equally effective in preventing the reduction of vasopressin immunoreactivity associated with castration. Androstenedione may therefore be able to mimic the effects of testosterone on testosterone-responsive neural systems.
 ...
PMID:Androstenedione effects on the vasopressin innervation of the rat brain. 1038 36

Animal studies show that arginine vasopressin facilitates aggression, while serotonin (5-HT) inhibits aggression by blocking the activity of the vasopressin system. Clinical studies report that subjects with a history of 'fighting and assault' show a significant positive correlation between cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of vasopressin and aggression in the presence of a hyporeactive 5-HT system. Thus, in animals and humans, a hyporeactive 5-HT system may result in enhanced vasopressin activity and increased aggression. Can the stress of emotional and physical insult, i.e. threat and attack, during adolescence affect the development of the vasopressin and 5-HT systems and alter normal aggressive behaviour in early adulthood? Adolescent male golden hamsters were weaned at postnatal day 25, and stressed for 2 weeks by daily 1 h bouts of threat and attack by adult hamsters. Male littermates were run in a parallel stress study using daily 1 h trials of isolation in a novel environment. During early adulthood, on postnatal day 45, 3 days after the cessation of stress trials, animals were tested for aggression in a resident: intruder model. The results show a context-dependent change in aggression. Animals with a history of abuse show exaggerated attack behaviour toward smaller males compared to littermates with a history of isolation stress. Conversely, when confronted by males of equal size, animals with a history of abuse show diminished aggression and increased submission compared to controls. It was determined that the density of vasopressin fibres and neurones in the hypothalamus is lower in abused animals compared to controls. In contrast, the number of 5-HT terminals within the hypothalamus is higher in abused animals compared to controls. These results provide evidence in an animal model that stress in the form of threat and attack during adolescence can alter the balance between vasopressin and 5-HT in the brain, resulting in inappropriate aggressive behaviour in early adulthood.
 ...
PMID:Adolescent stress and neural plasticity in hamsters: a vasopressin-serotonin model of inappropriate aggressive behaviour. 1079 10

In male golden hamsters, offensive aggression is regulated by an interaction between arginine-vasopressin and serotonin at the level of the anterior hypothalamus. The present studies were conducted to study a neural network underlying this interaction. The connections of the anterior hypothalamus were examined by retrograde and anterograde tracing in adult male hamsters. Several limbic areas were found to contain both types of tracing suggesting reciprocal connections with the anterior hypothalamus. Their functional significance relating to the consummation of aggression was tested by comparing neuronal activity (examined through quantification of c-Fos-immunolabeling) in two groups of animals. Experimental animals were sacrificed after attacking an intruder. Control animals were sacrificed after exposure to a woodblock carrying the odor of an intruder that elicited behaviors related to offensive aggression without its consummation. An increased density of Fos-immunoreactivity was found in experimental animals within the medial amygdaloid nucleus, ventrolateral hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsolateral part of the midbrain central gray. These data suggest that these areas are integrated in a neural network centered on the anterior hypothalamus and involved in the consummation of offensive aggression. Finally, c-Fos-immunoreactivity was combined with labeling of serotonin and vasopressin neurons to identify sub-populations particularly associated with offensive aggression. Vasopressin neurons in the nucleus circularis and medial division of the supraoptic nucleus showed increased neuronal activity in the fighters, supporting their role in the control of offensive aggression.
 ...
PMID:Neural connections of the anterior hypothalamus and agonistic behavior in golden hamsters. 1083 77

All social relationships are dependent on an organism's ability to remember conspecifics. Social memory may be a unique form of memory, critical for reproduction, territorial defense, and the establishment of dominance hierarchies in a natural context. In the laboratory, social memory can be assessed reliably by measuring the reduction in investigation of a familiar partner relative to novel conspecifics. The neurohypophyseal neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been shown to influence a number of forms of social behavior, including affiliation, aggression, and reproduction. This article reviews vasopressin and oxytocin effects on social cognition, particularly the acquisition and retention of social recognition in rats and mice. Studies in rats have demonstrated that vasopressin in specific neural pathways, such as the lateral septum, is necessary for social recognition. As vasopressin facilitates recall when given after an initial encounter, the peptide appears important for the consolidation not the acquisition of a social memory. Although oxytocin has complex effects on social memory in rats, mice with a null mutation of the oxytocin gene are completely socially amnestic without other cognitive deficits evident. As oxytocin given centrally before but not after the initial encounter restores social recognition in these mutant mice, the neuropeptide appears critical for the acquisition rather than the consolidation phase of memory. Oxytocin's effects on social memory are mediated via a discrete cell population in the medial amygdala. These findings support the hypothesis that vasopressin and oxytocin are essential for social memory, although they appear to influence different cognitive processes and may modulate different neural systems. (c) Elsevier Science.
 ...
PMID:The neuroendocrine basis of social recognition. 1195 Feb 45

Repeated anabolic-androgenic steroid treatment during adolescence increases hypothalamic vasopressin and facilitates offensive aggression in male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). The current study investigated whether anabolic-androgenic steroid exposure during this developmental period influenced vasopressin V(1A) receptor binding activity in the hypothalamus and several other brain areas implicated in aggressive behavior in hamsters. To test this, adolescent male hamsters were administered anabolic steroids or sesame oil throughout adolescence, tested for offensive aggression, and examined for differences in vasopressin V(1A) receptor binding using in situ autoradiography. When compared with control animals, aggressive, adolescent anabolic steroid-treated hamsters showed significant increases (20-200%) in the intensity of vasopressin V(1A) receptor labeling in several aggression areas, including the ventrolateral hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and lateral septum. However, no significant differences in vasopressin V(1A) receptor labeling were found in other brain regions implicated in aggressive responding, most notably the lateral zone from the medial preoptic area to anterior hypothalamus and the corticomedial amygdala. These data suggest that adolescent anabolic steroid exposure may facilitate offensive aggression by increasing vasopressin V(1A) receptor binding in several key areas of the hamster brain.
 ...
PMID:Repeated anabolic-androgenic steroid treatment during adolescence increases vasopressin V(1A) receptor binding in Syrian hamsters: correlation with offensive aggression. 1236 71

Increased aggression is commonly associated with many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Current treatments are largely empirical and are often accompanied by severe side effects, underscoring the need for a better understanding of the neural bases of aggression. Vasopressin, acting through its 1a receptor subtype, is known to affect aggressive behaviors. The vasopressin 1b receptor (V1bR) is also expressed in the brain, but has received much less attention due to a lack of specific drugs. Here we report that mice without the V1bR exhibit markedly reduced aggression and modestly impaired social recognition. By contrast, they perform normally in all the other behaviors that we have examined, such as sexual behavior, suggesting that reduced aggression and social memory are not simply the result of a global deficit in sensorimotor function or motivation. Fos-mapping within chemosensory responsive regions suggests that the behavioral deficits in V1bR knockout mice are not due to defects in detection and transmission of chemosensory signals to the brain. We suggest that V1bR antagonists could prove useful for treating aggressive behavior seen, for example, in dementias and traumatic brain injuries.
 ...
PMID:Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice. 1239 51

We propose that fear and power-dominance drive motivation are generated by the presence of elevated plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of certain peptide hormones. For the fear drive, the controlling hormone is corticotropin releasing factor, and we argue that elevated CSF and plasma levels of this peptide which occur as a result of fear-evoking and other stressful experiences in the recent past are detected and transduced into neuronal activities by neurons in the vicinity of the third ventricle, primarily in the periventricular and arcuate hypothalamic nuclei. For the power-dominance drive, we propose that the primary signal is the CSF concentration of vasopressin, which is detected in two circumventricular organs, the subfornical organ and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis. We suggest that the peptide-generated signals detected in periventricular structures are transmitted to four areas in which neuronal activities represent fear and power-dominance: one in the medial hypothalamus, one in the dorsolateral quadrant of the periaqueductal gray matter, a third in the midline thalamic nuclei, and the fourth within medial prefrontal cortex. The probable purpose of this system is to maintain a state of fear or anger and consequent vigilant or aggressive behavior after the initial fear- or anger-inducing stimulus is no longer perceptible. We further propose that all the motivational drives, including thirst, hunger and sexual desire are generated in part by non-steroidal hormonal signals, and that the unstimulated motivational status of an individual is determined by the relative CSF and plasma levels of several peptide hormones.
 ...
PMID:Fear and power-dominance motivation: proposed contributions of peptide hormones present in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma. 1278 36

Male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata; total n = 40) were fitted with chronic guide cannulae directed at the lateral ventricle and were tested for aggression, affiliation, and partner preference following infusions of mesotocin (MT), vasotocin (VT), their antagonists, and vehicle control. Aggressive behavior was tested in a mate competition paradigm and tests of intersexual affiliation and partner preference were conducted following 1 day of cohabitation with an opposite-sex individual. These tests also provided data on male courtship singing. The results demonstrate a modest dose-dependent facilitation of aggression by VT, but not MT, in both male and female finches. However, only males were sensitive to infusions of a vasopressin antagonist, suggesting that endogenous VT is more important for behavioral modulation in males. Peptide effects were specific to aggression, as no treatments influenced intersexual affiliation, partner preference, or male courtship singing. Thus, in contrast to rodents, partner preference is not readily induced by VT or MT in this species. However, the potential necessity of endogenous VT and MT for natural pair-bond formation remains to be tested.
 ...
PMID:Effects of central vasotocin and mesotocin manipulations on social behavior in male and female zebra finches. 1501 1

The Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association is the leading scientific conference in the cardiovascular field, both for basic and clinical research in cardiology and related disclipines. This report covers the outcome of major clinical trials that were presented in the 'late-breaking' clinical trial sessions. The Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT) investigated the angiotensin receptor blocker valsartan, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril, and their combination in 14,703 survivors of an acute myocardial infarction with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction on clinical outcome. The study demonstrated that valsartan and captopril where equally effective, whereas the combination was associated with an increased risk of side effects without further benefit. VALIANT is a landmark trial because it was the first large study that compared the combination of an angiotensin receptor blocker with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor in the setting of acute myocardial infarction. Other trials that will be summarised in this report are the Na + /H + Exchange Inhibition to Prevent Coronary Events in Acute Cardiac Conditions Trial (EXPEDITION; cariporide in coronary artery bypass graft surgery), the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering Trial (REVERSAL; atorvastatin and pravastatin for atherosclerosis reversal), the Stroke Prevention Using an Oral Thrombin Inhibitor in Atrial Fibrillation V (SPORTIF V; ximelagatran and warfarin for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation), the Prophylactic Amiodarone for the Prevention of Arrhythmias that Begin Early After Revascularisation (PAPABEAR; amiodarone for the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation), the Acute and Chronic Therapeutic Impact of a Vasopressin 2 Antagonist in Congestive Heart Failure (ACTIV in CHF; vasopressin 2 antagonist tolvaptan in congestive heart failure) and Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease Intervention Trial (PREVEND IT; fosinopril and pravastatin in microalbuminuric subjects without hypertension or hypercholesterolemia).
 ...
PMID:American Heart Association scientific sessions. 1510 93


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>