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. 2014 Feb 18;7:75–88. doi: 10.2147/IJNRD.S39739

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© 2014 Hall et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License

The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.

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Possible links between leptin and its effects on the hypothalamus, sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, and hypertension.

Notes: Within the hypothalamus, one of the key pathways of leptin’s action on appetite, SNS activity, and blood pressure is stimulation of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC). These neurons send projections to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and lateral hypothalamus (LH), releasing α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), which then acts as an agonist for melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4R). These neurons, in turn, send projections to the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) to effect changes in appetite, SNS activity, and arterial pressure.

Abbreviations: MC3/4R, melanocortin 3 and 4 receptors; DMV, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus; LH, lateral hypothalamus.