Estradiol-dependent hypocretinergic/orexinergic behaviors throughout the estrous cycle.

Rationale: The female menstrual or estrous cycle and its associated fluctuations in circulating estradiol (E2), progesterone, and other gonadal hormones alter orexin or hypocretin peptide production and receptor activity. Depending on the estrous cycle phase, the transcription of prepro-orexin mRNA, post-translational modification of orexin peptide, and abundance of orexin receptors change in a brain region-specific manner. The most dramatic changes occur in the hypothalamus, which is considered the starting point of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis as well as the hub of orexin-producing neurons.