ABSTRACT
There is accumulating evidence suggesting that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) may act as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator in the central nervous system where it appears to play a role in the integration of an organism's responses to stress. This chapter provides a summary of the data from radioligand binding studies using iodine-125-labeled analogs of CRF to examine in detail the kinetic and pharmacological characteristics and regional distribution of CRF receptors in brain membrane homogenates. Anatomical and behavioral studies have indicated interactions between CRF and acetylcholine in brain. The chapter demonstrates the characteristics of CRF receptors in brain provides a means for better understanding the various functions of this neuropeptide under physiological and pathological conditions. To investigate the functional consequence of cholinergic deficits on the regulation of brain CRF neuronal activity, the chapter provides a study in which rats were treated chronically with atropine, a muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist, and CRF receptors were measured in various regions of brain.
