DISTRIBUTION OF A RAT GALANIN RECEPTOR MESSENGER-RNA IN RAT-BRAIN

IN situ hybridization histochemistry has been employed to determine th e distribution of the mRNA encoding a recently cloned rat galanin rece ptor (rGalR1). The galanin receptor mRNA has been found to be discrete ly localized in rat brain. The most intense hybridization signals were found over neurons in the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, in the ventral posterior hippocampus, and in the lateral external subdivi sion of the parabrachial nucleus. A number of other brain regions also contain significant hybridization signals, including the hypothalamus , brain stem and spinal cord. The localization of rGalR1 mRNA indicate s that this receptor may play a role in the varied functions ascribed to GAL, among them feeding, cognition and modulation of sensory inform ation.