Central connectomics of neuroendocrine circuits

For decades, neuroendocrine neurons were studied mainly as regulators of peripheral physiology, secreting peptides such as vasopressin, oxytocin, and CRF into the circulation to govern homeostasis and reproduction. Classical neurosecretion, however, never accounted for their full anatomy. Genetic targeting, viral tracing, connectomics, and volumetric imaging now show that the same neurons send long-range central axon collaterals to cortical, limbic, brainstem, and spinal targets, often co-release fast transmitters such as glutamate, and form organized, target-specific synapses rather than acting only through diffuse hormonal fields. Neuroendocrine neurons are, in this light, connectomic elements of the brain.Several problems remain open: cell-type-resolved projection maps are still missing for most peptidergic populations; the balance between wired synaptic and diffuse volume transmission is unresolved and now, for the first time, directly measurable; the rules by which a target integrates a peptide co-released with a classical transmitter are largely uncharacterized; cross-species coverage is too fragmentary to separate conserved architecture from lineage-specific specialization; and molecular receptor maps are rarely matched to actual synaptic connectivity.This Research Topic develops the emerging concept of the central connectomics of neuroendocrine circuits: the anatomical organization, synaptic architecture, functional connectivity, and behavioral significance of peptidergic systems across the brain.By integrating molecular, anatomical, physiological, computational, and comparative approaches, it aims to reposition neuroendocrine neurons as dynamic, mappable components of distributed circuits and to clarify how peptidergic signaling shapes neural computation in health and disease.We welcome Original Research, Methods, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, and Hypothesis and Theory articles on hypothalamic, brainstem, midbrain, and other peptidergic systems, including vasopressin, oxytocin and the wider nonapeptide family, CRF, kisspeptin, orexin, PACAP, and melanin-concentrating hormone. Studies that connect circuit structure to emergent function, or that combine anatomical, physiological, molecular, computational, or comparative approaches, are especially encouraged. Topic editors: Limei Zhang, Quirin Krabichler Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84848/central-connectomics-of-neuroendocrine-circuits