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Fig. 1 | Biology of Sex Differences

Fig. 1

From: Obesity: sex and sympathetics

Fig. 1

Hypothalamic sites and neuropathways by which leptin and insulin increase sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in both males and females. a Leptin binds to leptin receptors (LepR) in several hypothalamic sites to increase SNA, including the arcuate nucleus (ArcN), ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH), and lateral hypothalamus (LH). LepR binding in all these sites then triggers neuronal pathways that appear to converge in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN); ArcN neuropeptide Y (NPY) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons relay the signal from the ArcN to the PVN. Downstream, the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is activated, which then excites preganglionic sympathetic neurons in the spinal cord. b Insulin acts in only one site, the ArcN, to increase SNA, via a neuropathway that includes ArcN NPY and POMC projections to the PVN, which then activate PVN glutamatergic neurons that project to the RVLM. Green (top) represents neurons that project to the RVLM. Red (a) is LepR. Red (b) is InsR

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