Abstract
In the central nervous system, taurine has been postulated to be an inhibitory neurotransmitter and/or a neuromodulator of nerve activity (4,15). Recent studies on the effects of taurine on hypothalamic function indicate that taurine may influence temperature regulation either producing a decrease in body temperature if injected intraventricularly (23), or producing a biphasic temperature effect depending upon the dose when injected directly into the preoptic region of the anterior hypothalamus of the rat (9). Low doses of taurine produce hyperthermia while high doses result in hypothermia (9). In addition, exogenous taurine has been shown to alter hypothalamic hormonal release mechanisms of prolactin (21), growth hormone (2), and luteinizing hormone (20). Taurine inhibits the in vitro release of somatostatin from median eminences, and thus may be acting as a hypothalamic neurotransmitter to inhibit anterior pituitary release of growth hormone (1). There are also a number of reports that taurine may modulate hypothalamic neuronal activity by interacting with dopaminergic (5), GABAergic (16), glycinergic (6), and serotonergic systems (23).
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Hanretta, A.T., Lombardini, J.B. (1987). A Model of the Compartmentalization of Taurine in Rat Hypothalamic Neuronal and Glial Cell Particles. In: Huxtable, R.J., Franconi, F., Giotti, A. (eds) The Biology of Taurine. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 217. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0405-8_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0405-8_32
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