The Implication of Hypocretin in Drug Abuse and Arousal in the Brain Stem

Abstract: Hypocretin (orexin, Hcrt) neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) project widely into the brain and are thus responsible for the physiological action of the hypocretin complex. Hypocretin is involved in both arousal and addiction, and brainstem areas such as the locus coeruleus (LC), paragigantocellularis (PGi), and dorsal raphe (DR) contribute to these functions. In the present review, we focus on the effect of Hcrt on drug abuse and arousal in the brainstem.