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Neuroendocrine Briefings

Neuroendocrine Briefings

The Briefings series is intended as a resource to be freely used for teaching and public communication of neuroendocrinology. © British Society for Neuroendocrinology.  If you are interested in producing a briefing, please contact Dr Paula Brunton.

Staccato and Legato of kisspeptin neurons driving reproduction

Dr. Su Young Han 2023 Download

Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide that plays a critical role in regulating reproduction by controlling a specific population of neurones that release gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The major populations of kisspeptin neurones are located in two distinct hypothalamic nuclei. In the past decade, there have been significant advances in unraveling the roles of these two kisspeptin neurone populations as the functional control towers of GnRH surge and pulse generation, crucial mechanisms in the regulation of fertility.

Neurosteroids – fine tuning of brain function

Dr Ying Sze 2023 Download

Neurosteroids are steroids produced in the brain that bind to neurotransmitter receptors via an allosteric site, to rapidly influence brain function. They play an important role in modulating the response to stress, maintaining an optimal pregnancy, and have recently been developed as a drug to treat postpartum depression. Studies are starting to reveal their role in mediating sex differences in mood and stress-related disorders.  

Is oxytocin therapy a credible treatment for autism and mental health conditions?

Dr Tanya Procyshyn 2023 Download

Since the 2010s, oxytocin has captured popular attention as a “love drug”, with reports that a quick spray of this chemical can radically change behaviour. In reality, oxytocin is a neurohormone with nuanced roles in social behaviour. There is evidence that deficits in oxytocin signalling may influence the likelihood of autism and depression, and that increasing oxytocin levels may be of therapeutic value – although this is highly dependent on the individual and the social context.

Seeing the light: Beneficial impacts on neuroendocrine physiology?

Dr Manuel Spitschan 2021 Download

In addition to seeing the colourful and detailed world around us, light profoundly impacts our brains and bodies – exposure to light in the evening and at night suppresses the production of melatonin and disrupts our circadian rhythm, which can have negative consequences on physical and mental health. To offset these adverse effects of mistimed light, daylight exposure may be beneficial.

Could food fix a broken body clock?

Megan Jackson 2021 Download

Many of our physiological processes and behaviours follow an approximate 24-hr pattern called a circadian rhythm, which are primarily entrained by the daily cycle of light and dark. Robust circadian rhythms are important for health, including our mood, metabolic and immune system. However, circadian rhythms become blunted with ageing. Time-restricted feeding could replace light as the main ‘entrainer’ and be used to strengthen or restore circadian rhythms in old age.

Astroglia - rising stars in neuroendocrinology

Josephine L. Robb 2020 Download

Glia is the collective term for a class of non-neuronal cells in the brain. First described in the 1850’s by Rudolf Virchow, these cells were thought to hold neurons in place, and not have much function beyond this. In the last 35 years it is increasingly being appreciated that glia, including the subclass astroglia, play an important role in behaviour and health, including in neuroendocrinology. 

Eating for two?

Dr. Bethany M. Coull, Dr. Rachel N. Lippert 2020 Download

A woman’s food choices in pregnancy can leave a lasting effect on her child’s brain. Changes in behavior in the child are correlated with disruptions to the baby’s brain connectivity. Through mapping how nutrition can cause these changes, we can find the primary culprits and perhaps even intervene to help secure a healthier metabolic future for the next generation. 

Hunger and satiety: More than a (gut) feeling

Alastair J. MacDonald 2020 Download

The sensation of hunger is a physiological signal that ensures animals attend to their caloric needs. Recently, researchers have made progress into understanding brain circuits that generate the sensation of hunger and those that communicate signals of food intake from the gut. The understanding of these systems may aid in treatment of medical conditions that affect food intake. 

Is love possible without Kiss1-es?

Rafael Pineda Reyes 2015 Download

The hypothalamic kisspeptins and their receptors are potent regulators of the gonadotropic axis through the control of GnRH neuronal activity. But there is another population of kisspeptin neurons in the amygdala, a brain area that integrates odour, visual and auditory information, and which has a key role in social behaviours.

Obesity prevention: Moving beyond the food addiction debate

Johannes Hebebrand 2015 Download

Looking Inside the Seasonal Clock

Gerald Lincoln and Andrew Loudon 2014 Download

The Mother Load of Lactation

Barbara Woodside 2014 Download

Recovery from anorexia nervosa by machine

Per Södersten & Cecilia Bergh 2014 Download

Navigating pituitary structure and function - defining a roadmap for hormone secretion

David J. Hodson and Patrice Mollard 2013 Download

How our gut microbes influence our behaviour

Professor Harry Flint 2013 Download

Nurture: Effects of Intrauterine Position on Behaviour

Mitsuhiro Kawata 2012 Download

Hypoglycaemia: Exercise for the Brain?

Craig Beall, Mike Ashford and Rory McCrimmon 2012 Download

My brain made me do it, and my gut didn't help

John Menzies 2012 Download

Apelin and Vasopressin: two work better than one

Catherine Llorens-Cortes and Francoise Moos 2012 Download

The Neurohypophysis – Fishing for New Insights

Amos Gutnick and Gil Levkowitz 2012 Download

Keeping Birds of a Feather Together

James L. Goodson 2011 Download

FTO and Obesity: a problem for a billion people

Giles S.H. Yeo 2011 Download

A neuro-endocrine-immune symphony

Quentin J Pittman 2011 Download

A mother's brain knows

Dave Grattan 2011 Download

Are neuropeptides brain hormones?

Mike Ludwig 2010 Download

Epigenetics: a lasting impression?

Simon Biddie and Stafford Lightman 2010 Download

Preterm labour: Tsunami waves?

Alison Douglas 2009 Download

Leptin - back and forward

Julian Mercer 2009 Download

Nurturing Nature: social experiences and the brain

Frances A. Champagne 2009 Download

Sex hormones and human destiny

Melissa Hines 2008 Download

Endocannabinoids and the neurochemistry of gluttony

Tim Kirkham 2008 Download

Neurogenesis and depression: breakthrough or blind alley?

Joe Herbert 2007 Download

Stem cells, hormones and pituitary adenomas

Andy Levy 2007 Download

Is reproductive ageing controlled by the brain?

Andrea C. Gore 2007 Download

Fetal Experience: Lifelong Consequences

Stephen G Matthews 2006 Download

The metabolic syndrome: a brain disease?

Ruud Buijs and Felix Kreier 2006 Download

Anabolic Steroids: A fatal attraction?

Ruth I Wood 2006 Download

Kisspeptin and its receptor: new gatekeepers of puberty

Sophie Messager 2005 Download

Melatonin in humans - its about time

Jo Arendt 2005 Download

The Neurobiology of Social Bonds

Keith Kendrick 2004 Download

Environmental estrogens: foe or friend?

Richard Sharpe 2004 Download

Seeing the light... in a new way

Russell Foster 2003 Download

Depression, stress and the adrenal axis

Carmine Pariante 2003 Download

Puberty: mind and body

Fran Ebling 2003 Download

Pituitary tumour therapy: using the biology

Julian Davis & Peter Trainer 2002 Download

Genomic imprinting, hormones and behaviour

Anthony Isles and Lawrence Wilkinson 2002 Download

Ghrelin: A newly discovered hormone

Suzanne Dickson 2002 Download

Is there such a thing as a healthy appetite?

Simon Luckman 2001 Download

Early life stress can programme our health

Megan Holmes 2001 Download

The maternal brain

John Russell 1999 Download

Pheromones and reproduction

Barry Keverne 1999 Download

Biological timekeeping

Hugh Piggins 1999 Download

The cause of Cushing's Disease

Ashley Grossman 1999 Download

Glucocorticoids, ageing and nerve cell damage

Jonathan Seckl 1999 Download

Sex differences in the brain

David Spratt 1999 Download

Sex hormones, mood, mental state and memory

George Fink 1999 Download

Stress hormones and your brain

Michael Harbuz 1999 Download

Growth hormone rhythms from the brain

Gareth Leng 1998 Download

Leptin: Your brain, appetite and obesity

David Sunter, Donal O'Shea & Stephen R Bloom 1998 Download

Brain development, fertility and Kallman's syndome

Jane Robinson 1998 Download

Environmental estrogens: A hazard to human reproductive health?

Nigel Brooks 1998 Download

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