Description: Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Chairman: Wylie Vale 1993 Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is synthesized in the hypothalamus and regulates the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the posterior pituitary. After the discovery of CRF's structure and ACTH-releasing activity in 1981, it became apparent that CRF has a variety of additional effects, including activation of the sympathetic nervous system and regulation of behavioural responses to stress in animals. This symposium brought together experts working on CRF in a variety of systems, with the aim of providing a coherent picture of the role this peptide plays in the control and coordination of the response to stress-inducing situations. The location and connections of CRF neurons are described, and the involvement of certain CRF pathways in stress responses and in clinical disorders is assessed. The synthesis and release of CRF and the intracellular signals and genetic mechanisms which regulate these processes in normal conditions and in response to stress are discussed in depth; the relationship between cytokines and CRF is featured particularly. CRF's effects on the cardiovascular system, on the autonomic nervous system and on behaviour, and their relevance to stress responses are covered. There is now considerable evidence that overactivity in CRF systems is associated with depressive illness and anxiety disorders. Results of laboratory and clinical studies are described, and the significance of CRF in the origin of such affective disorders is debated. The high levels of CRF observed in the latter stages of human pregnancy and the role of the CRF-binding protein in preventing the expected pathological effects of raised CRF levels are discussed, CRF's peripheral anti-inflammatory actions are also considered. Related Ciba Foundation Symposia: No. 168 Functional anatomy of the neuroendocrine hypothalamus Chairman: Stafford Lightman 1992 ISBN 0 471 93440 2 No. 166 Cocaine: scientific and social dimensions Chairman: Griffith Edwards 1992 ISBN 0 471 93179 9 No. 153 Steroids and neuronal activity Chairman: M. A. Simmonds 1990 ISBN 0 471 92689 2

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