Contribution of Hypothalamic Orexin (hypocretin) Circuits to Pathologies of Motivation

The orexin (also known as hypocretin) system, consisting of neuropeptides orexin-A and orexin-B, was discovered over 25 years ago and was immediately identified as a central regulator of sleep and wakefulness. These peptides interact with two G-protein coupled receptors, orexin 1 (OX) and orexin 2 (OX) receptors which are capable of coupling to all heterotrimeric G-protein subfamilies, but primarily transduce increases in calcium signalling. Orexin neurons are regulated by a variety of transmitter systems and environmental stimuli that signal reward availability, including food and drug related cues. Orexin neurons are also activated by anticipation, stress, cues predicting motivationally relevant information, including those predicting drugs of abuse, and engage neuromodulatory systems, including dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to respond to these signals. As such, orexin neurons have been characterized as motivational activators that coordinate a range of functions, including feeding and arousal, that allow the individual to respond to motivationally relevant information, critical for survival. This review focuses on the role of orexins in appetitive motivation and highlights a role for these neuropeptides in pathologies characterized by inappropriately high levels of motivated arousal (overeating, anxiety and substance use disorders) versus those in which motivation is impaired (depression).