Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is one of a number of neuropeptides with powerful orexigenic effects. Intracerebroventricular administration of NPY induces increases in food intake and alters feeding rate. Besides it role in feeding behavior, NPY also has significant effects on neuronal systems related to other spontaneous behaviors such as rearing and grooming. In the present study, we examined the direct effects of NPY on mesencephalic V neurons (Mes V), which are important sensory neurons involved in oral motor reflexes and rhythmical jaw movements, as well as masticatory proprioception. Coronal brain slices were prepared from neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats (P3-17) and whole-cell patch clamp recordings were obtained from Mes V neurons. Bath application of NPY depolarized the membrane potential and induced inward current in most neurons. Application of NPY shortened the duration of the afterhyperpolarization following an action potential, and increased the mean spike frequency during repetitive discharge. In those neurons which exhibited rhythmical burst discharge in response to maintained current injection, the bursting frequency was also increased. These effects were mediated predominately by both Y1 and Y5 receptors.

中文翻译：

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神经肽Y调节新生大鼠中脑V神经元的膜兴奋性。

神经肽Y（NPY）是许多具有强大致癌作用的神经肽之一。NPY的脑室内给药可导致食物摄入量增加并改变进食速度。除了在进食行为中发挥作用外，NPY还对与其他自发行为（如饲养和修饰）有关的神经元系统产生重大影响。在本研究中，我们检查了NPY对中脑V神经元（Mes V）的直接影响，中脑V神经元是参与口腔运动反射和节律性下颌运动以及咀嚼本体感受的重要感觉神经元。从新生Sprague-Dawley大鼠（P3-17）准备冠状脑切片，并从Mes V神经元获得全细胞膜片钳记录。浴液中NPY的去极化使大多数神经元的膜电位去极化并诱导内向电流。NPY的使用缩短了动作电位后超极化的持续时间，并增加了重复放电期间的平均尖峰频率。在那些响应于维持电流注入而显示节律性猝发放电的神经元中，猝发频率也增加了。这些作用主要由Y1和Y5受体介导。