Nucleus supraopticus
The supraoptic nucleus is a cluster of nerve cell bodies , a core region which extends above the visual pathway ( optic tract ) in the diencephalon ( diencephalon ), more precisely in the lower region of this portion of the brain, the hypothalamus is located. Together with the paraventricular nucleus, it belongs to the large-cell nucleus.
The nucleus supraopticus contains osmoreceptors that respond to changes in the salt concentration in the surrounding tissue. The nerve cells of the supraoptic nucleus are neurosecretory . They produce vasopressin and, in small amounts, also oxytocin , both hormones , which - packed in vesicles - are transported via the nerve cell processes ( axonal ) via the supraopticohypophysial tract to the neurohypophysis (posterior pituitary lobe).
The nucleus supraopticus is thus an interface between the central nervous system and the endocrine system . Vasopressin acts as an antidiuretic hormone (ADH, urine- inhibiting hormone) because it promotes the tubular reabsorption of water in the kidneys . In the case of damage with loss of ADH production, diabetes insipidus occurs .
literature
- Michael Schünke: Prometheus - Learning Atlas of Anatomy: Head, Neck and Neuroanatomy , Volume 3, 2nd Edition, Georg Thieme Verlag 2009, ISBN 9783131395429 , p. 294.