A reprodukció és táplálékfelvétel centrális irányítása: a hipotalamusz aszimmetrikus működése

Abstract

Summary Background: The hypothalamus is the highest centre and the main crossroad of numerous homeostatic regulatory pathways including reproductive and hungersatiety cycles. Histologically, the left and right hypothalamic sides are symmetrical, still, it has been considered as an unpaired midline structure, in which the identical circuits of the two sides regulate exactly the same biological functions. However, it has been known for higher, morphologically also symmetric brain areas that usually the left and right sides have distinct physiological roles providing a solution for the “ergonomic” use of brain resources. Objectives: The main goal of this article is to shortly sum up our present knowledge on the hypothalamic functions related to the regulation of food-intake and reproduction. Furthermore, the authors also review the asymmetric functions of the central nervous system, in which a special focus is put on the hypothalamus. Discussion and conclusion: Functions of the central nervous system from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex are more and more specified to certain functions, and functions show lateralization to different degrees. This evolutionary process of lateralization would provide a much more effective use of brain resources. Based on the presented data in this article, we can state that the hypothalamus, similar to the cortex, shows asymmetric functions, and it seems to be rightful to re-name the hypothalamic sides to hypothalamic hemispheres. This novel aspect on the hypothalamic hemispheres changes our current view on the regulation of female reproduction and food-intake, and provides new perspectives for the better understanding of these hypothalamus-driven physiological processes.