Concentrations of dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline in discrete areas of the diencephalon in male and female domestic fowl were correlated with changes in the plasma concentrations of LH induced by gonadectomy. Gonadectomized birds of both sexes exhibited raised plasma concentrations of LH and in castrated cockerels the daily administration of testosterone propionate was completely effective in preventing the post-castration rise in LH. Although no significant alterations in the brain concentrations of noradrenaline or adrenaline were observed in cockerels, the concentration of dopamine in the paraventricular nucleus (PVM), dorsomedial thalamic nucleus and mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) were significantly raised in castrated compared with sham-operated birds by 136, 182 and 52% respectively. In each case the increase was partially suppressed by testosterone replacement therapy. In pullets, ovariectomy resulted in significant increases in the concentrations of dopamine (83%) and noradrenaline (78%) in the MBH and noradrenaline (35%) and adrenaline (34%) in the PVM. These findings suggest that in the fowl at least part of the negative feedback effect of gonadal steroids on LH secretion may be mediated by catecholaminergic mechanisms at the level of the hypothalamus.
Journal of Endocrinology is committed to supporting researchers in demonstrating the impact of their articles published in the journal.
The two types of article metrics we measure are (i) more traditional full-text views and pdf downloads, and (ii) Altmetric data, which shows the wider impact of articles in a range of non-traditional sources, such as social media.
More information is on the Reasons to publish page.
Sept 2018 onwards | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Full Text Views | 3 | 1 | 0 |
PDF Downloads | 3 | 2 | 0 |