OX2 agonist
Orexin-2 receptor agonist
- The dominant wake signal
- Stabilizes wakefulness
- Replaces the orexin signal lost in narcolepsy type 1
- Wakefulness & arousal (dominant)
- Critical for sleep/wake transitions
- Cognitive benefits
- ➔ synaptic plasticity
- ➔ memory consolidation
Drugs with this mechanism (2)
- Orexin A — Wake-promoting hypothalamic peptide (hypocretin); its loss causes narcolepsy.
- Orexin B — Wake-promoting hypothalamic neuropeptide with relative preference for orexin-2 receptors; an endogenous signal, not a prescribed drug.
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