Fish are the most diversified group of vertebrates and, although progress has been made in
the past years, only relatively few fish species have been examined to date, with regards to …

The orexin-A/hypocretin-1 and orexin-B/hypocretin-2 are neuropeptides synthesized by a
cluster of neurons in the lateral hypothalamus and perifornical area. Orexin neurons receive …

Mammalian studies have shaped our understanding of the endocrine control of appetite and
body weight in vertebrates and provided the basic vertebrate model that involves central …

The zebrafish research community is celebrating! The zebrafish genome has recently been
sequenced, the Zebrafish Mutation Project (launched by the Wellcome Trust Sanger …

Orexin deficiency results in narcolepsy in humans, dogs, and rodents, suggesting that the
orexin system is particularly important for maintenance of wakefulness. However, orexin …

Endocrine factors regulate food intake and growth, two interlinked physiological processes
critical for the proper development of organisms. Somatic growth is mainly regulated by …

The environment which living organisms inhabit is not constant and many factors, such as
light, temperature, and food availability, display cyclic and predictable variations. To adapt to …

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a potent orexigenic neuropeptide implicated in feeding regulation
in mammals. However, except for the case of the goldfish, the involvement of NPY in the …

The neuropeptides orexins and their G protein-coupled receptors, OX1 and OX2, were
discovered in 1998, and since then, their role has been investigated in many functions …

The duration of sleep varies dramatically between species, yet little is known about the
genetic basis or evolutionary factors driving this variation in behavior. The Mexican cavefish …