A new article provides fascinating insights regarding interactions among
(i) GnRH in immunological, non-neuronal mast cells in the habenula,
(ii) changes in response to courtship and other behaviors, and (iii)
changes in response to the more traditionally thought-about gonadal and
adrenal hormones.
au: Silver R et al
so: Trends in Neurosciences 19.1.25-31 1996
ti: Mast cells in the brain: evidence and functional significance.
Some tidbits from the article:
"The brain has long been considered as an immune-privileged tissue,
protected by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) from surveillance by the cells
of the immune system. It has, however, become clear that immunocytes
traffic through the CNS as they survey healthy tissues (cite...)."
"Within the medial habenula of adult ring doves, non-neuronal cells that
were immunoreactive to an antiserum directed against mammalian....GnRH...
were more numerous in bird that had courted for 2h compared with controls
that had been kept in visual but not auditory isolation from conspecifics
(cite...)."
In their discussion the authors present that CNS mast cell levels
and migrations occur in response to various behaviors and also in
response to changes in gonadal and adrenal steroids.
Teresa
Teresa C. Binstock, Researcher
Developmental & Behavioral Neuroanatomy
Denver CO USA
Teresa.Binstock at uchsc.edu
ps: Possibly the most thorough review of the habenula was written by
Reuven Sandyk and should be easily findable via Medline, etc. THe title
words may have included "habenular complex".
