AUTHOR=De Lecea Luis , Huerta Ramon 

TITLE=Hypocretin (orexin) regulation of sleep-to-wake transitions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2014

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2014.00016

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2014.00016

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=The hypocretin (Hcrt), also known as orexin, peptides are essential for arousal stability. Here I discuss background information about the interaction of Hcrt with other neuromodulators, including norepinephrine and acetylcholine probed with optogenetics. I conclude that Hcrt neurons integrate metabolic, circadian and limbic inputs and convey this information to a network of neuromodulators, each of which has a different role on the dynamic of sleep-to-wake transitions. This model may prove useful to predict the effects of orexin receptor antagonists in sleep disorders and other conditions.