Hypothalamic pulse generators

D.W. Lincoln, H.M. Fraser, G.A. Lincoln, G.B. Martin, A.S. Mcneilly

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference paperChapterpeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This chapter describes pulsatile hormone secretion and analyzes the mechanisms underlying the neural organization of this phenomenon in context of oxytocin and luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) secretion. It also discusses five concepts— (1) oxytocin and LHRH are both released from the hypothalamus in pulses superimposed upon a continuous or intermittent low level of secretion; these two modes of secretion can produce separate actions, or one might govern the response to the other; (2) the synchronous generation of action potentials at a very fast rate within a population of peptidergic neurones provides the neural substrate for the release of a hormone pulse; (3) the control of interpulse interval is determined by events within the brain, though the interval generator may not reside within the neurons that secrete oxytocin or LHRH; (4) amplitude modulation of pulsatile secretion can relate to different levels of electrical activation within the brain and/or to differences in the responsiveness of the target tissues that transduce the pulsatile signal; and (5) opioid peptides inhibit the secretion of both oxytocin and LHRH. This involves an inhibition of stimulus-secretion coupling within the nerve terminals, and possibly an inhibition of synaptically mediated events that impinge upon the cell bodies of the peptidergic neurons within the hypothalamus.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRecent Progress in Hormone Research
Subtitle of host publication41: The Proceedings of the 1984 Laurentian Hormone Conference
EditorsR.O. Greep
Place of PublicationMaryland
PublisherAcademic Press International
Pages369-419
ISBN (Print)0-12-571141-7
Publication statusPublished - 1985

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