Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a neuropeptide that mediates the stress response. Long known to contribute to regulation of the adrenal stress response initiated in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA), a complex pattern of extrahypothalamic CRF expression is also described in rodents and primates. Cross-talk between the CRF and midbrain dopamine (DA) systems links the stress response to DA regulation. Classically CRF+ cells in the extended amygdala and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are considered the main source of this input, principally targeting the ventral tegmental area (VTA). However, the anatomic complexity of both the DA and CRF system has been increasingly elaborated in the last decade. The DA neurons are now recognized as having diverse molecular, connectional and physiologic properties, predicted by their anatomic location. At the same time, the broad distribution of CRF cells in the brain has been increasingly delineated using different species and techniques. Here, we review updated information on both CRF localization and newer conceptualizations of the DA system to reconsider the CRF-DA interface.

促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子（CRF）是介导应激反应的神经肽。众所周知，它有助于调节下丘脑-垂体轴（HPA）引发的肾上腺应激反应，在啮齿动物和灵长类动物中也描述了下丘脑CRF表达的复杂模式。CRF和中脑多巴胺（DA）系统之间的串扰将压力响应与DA调节联系在一起。典型地，在延伸的杏仁核和脑室旁核（PVN）中的CRF +细胞被认为是这种输入的主要来源，主要针对腹侧被盖区（VTA）。然而，在过去的十年中，DA和CRF系统的解剖学复杂性日益增加。DA神经元现在被认为具有不同的分子，连接和生理特性，这是通过其解剖位置来预测的。同时，越来越多的人使用不同的物种和技术来描述CRF细胞在大脑中的广泛分布。在这里，我们将回顾有关CRF本地化和DA系统更新概念的更新信息，以重新考虑CRF-DA接口。