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Brain Control over Pituitary Gland Hormones

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Neuroscience in the 21st Century

Abstract

Endocrine organs release their products, hormones, into peripheral blood to travel great distances to exert their biological effects. The brain is also an endocrine organ which releases some of its hormones to travel great distances to elicit their actions. The brain also secretes other hormones into a microscopic circulatory system which transports them very short distances to the pituitary gland where they exert their biological effects. That is, they regulate the synthesis and secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland. This chapter will describe the regulation of the pituitary gland by the hormones found in the brain.

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Abbreviations

ACTH :

Adrenocorticotropin-releasing hormone

ADH :

Antidiuretic hormone (also known as vasopressin)

AHA :

Anterior hypothalamic area

AMPA :

α-amino-3-hydro-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid

AP :

Anterior pituitary

ARC :

Arcuate nucleus

ATP :

Adenosine triphosphate

AVPV :

Anteroventral periventricular area

cAMP :

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate

CCK :

Cholecystokinin

CLIP :

Corticotropin-like intermediate peptide

CNS :

Central nervous system

CRH :

Corticotrophin-releasing hormone

DA :

Dopamine

DMH :

Dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus

E :

Epinephrine

eGFP :

Enhanced green-fluorescent protein

EPSPs :

Excitatory postsynaptic potentials

ER :

Estrogen receptor

FS :

Folliculostellate

FSH :

Follicle-stimulating hormone

GABA :

γ-aminobutyric acid

GH :

Growth hormone

GHRH :

Growth hormone-releasing hormone

GnIH :

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone

GnRH :

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (also known as luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone)

GPCR :

G-protein-coupled receptors

HPA :

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal

HPG :

Hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal

IGF :

Insulin-like growth factor (somatomedin)

IGF-1 :

Insulin-like growth factor type I (somatomedin C)

LDL :

Low-density lipoprotein

LH :

Luteinizing hormone

LHRH :

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (also known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone)

MB :

Mammillary bodies

ME :

Median eminence

MPN :

Medial preoptic nucleus

MPOA :

Medial preoptic area

mRNA :

Messenger ribonucleic acid

MSH :

Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (also known as melanotropin)

NE :

Norepinephrine

NKB :

Neurokinin B

NMDA :

N-methyl-d-aspartate

NO :

Nitric oxide

NPY :

Neuropeptide Y

NT :

Neurotensin

OC :

Optic chiasm

OT :

Oxytocin

OVLT :

Organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis

OVX + E + P :

Same as OVX + E but undergoes a subsequent injection of progesterone at the end of treatment

OVX + E :

Ovariectomy plus treatment with a basal level of estradiol for 1 week

OVX :

Ovariectomy

PeVN :

Periventricular nucleus

PHA :

Posterior hypothalamic area

PKA :

cAMP-dependent protein kinase

PKC :

PLC-dependent protein kinase

PLC :

Phospholipase C

POA :

Preoptic area

POMC :

Proopiomelanocortin

PP :

Posterior pituitary

Pr RP-31 :

Prolactin-releasing peptide

PRH :

Prolactin-releasing hormone

PRL :

Prolactin

PVN :

Paraventricular nucleus

RFRP-3 :

RFamide-related peptide-3

SCN :

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

SON :

Supraoptic nucleus

STT :

Somatostatin

T3 :

Triiodothyronine

T4 :

Thyroxine

TRH :

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone

TSH :

Thyrotropin-stimulating hormone

VEGF :

Vascular endothelial growth factor

VIP :

Vasoactive intestinal peptide

VMH :

Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus

VP :

Vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone)

β-LPH :

β-lipotropin

γ-LPH :

γ-lipotropin

Suggested Reading

  • Conn PM, Freeman ME (eds) (2000) Neuroendocrinology in physiology and medicine. Humana Press, Totowa. A detailed description of the neuroendocrine systems outlined in this chapter. The authors were selected as world renowned experts in their field

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  • Freeman ME (2006) The neuroendocrine control of the ovarian cycle of the rat. In: Neill JD (ed) Knobil and Neill’s physiology of reproduction, 3rd edn. Academic Press, New York. A highly detailed description of neuroendocrine control of reproduction in mammals using the rat as a model

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman ME, Grattan DR, Houpt TA (2008) The hypothalamus. In: Conn PM (ed) Neuroscience in medicine, 3rd edn. Humana Press, Totowa. A textbook presentation of the anatomy and physiology of the hypothalamus

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Tissier P, Campos P, Lafont C, Romano N, Hodson DJ, Mollard P (2017) An updated view of hypothalamic–vascular–pituitary unit function and plasticity. Nat Rev 13:257–267. This article rightfully delivers what its title promises

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  • Wade N (1981) The Nobel duel: two scientists’ 21-year race to win the world’s most coveted research prize. Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City. A compelling history of the discovery of the chemical identity of the hypothalamic neuropeptides. A must read!

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Correspondence to Arturo E. Gonzalez-Iglesias .

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Gonzalez-Iglesias, A.E., Freeman, M.E. (2021). Brain Control over Pituitary Gland Hormones. In: Pfaff, D.W., Volkow, N.D., Rubenstein, J. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6434-1_58-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6434-1_58-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6434-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6434-1

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