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Extrahypothalamic Influences on the Tubero-Infundibular Dopamine Neurones and the Secretion of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Prolactin

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Neurosecretion — The Final Neuroendocrine Pathway

Abstract

On structural grounds, a role of noradrenergic and serotoninergic projection systems in neuroendocrine control seems to be very plausible, since their projections to a large number of brain regions should enable them to favour or inhibit the establishment of complex response patterns consisting of both endocrine and behavioural processes. The local tubero-infundibular dopamine (DA) system introduces an additional dimension into this picture. Most of the available evidence indicates that these neurones act indirectly by modulating the release of releasing or inhibiting factors, but their position within neuroendocrine organization is far from being understood. We have tried to approach this question by investigating the neural input to the tuberal DA neurones. As a tool to disclose possible influences from other brain areas, we used a characteristic change in the fluorescence intensity of the cell bodies that can be detected by histochemical microfluorometry after local electrical or trans-synaptic stimulation as well as after various treatments known to be accompanied by an increase in catecholamine turnover (Lichtensteiger, 1969b, 1971; Heinrich et al., 1971; Lienhart et al., 1973). When a representative population of DA neurones is studied, such treatments can be shown to result in a fast increase in mean fluorescence intensity which, at least in some of the experiments, was found to be part of a biphasic intensity change.

Supported by SNSF grant 3.691.71, the Hartmann-Müller Stiftung, the Bareli Stiftung and the Jubiläumsspende of the University of Zürich.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    W. Lichtensteiger

  2. Pharmakologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Gloriastraße 32, CH-8006, Zürich, Switzerland

    W. Lichtensteiger

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  1. W. Lichtensteiger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College, WC2R 2LS, Strand, London, Great Britain

    Francis Knowles F.R.S. (Professor of Anatomy) & Lutz Vollrath (Professor of Anatomy) (Professor of Anatomy) &  (Professor of Anatomy)

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© 1974 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lichtensteiger, W. (1974). Extrahypothalamic Influences on the Tubero-Infundibular Dopamine Neurones and the Secretion of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Prolactin. In: Knowles, F., Vollrath, L. (eds) Neurosecretion — The Final Neuroendocrine Pathway. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-12587-8_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-12587-8_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-12589-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-12587-8

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