Presence of Estrogen Receptor-Containing Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone-Immunoreactive Cells in the Sheep Hypothalamus

摘要

The shift in reproductive activity brought about by a dramatic change in the way the female sheep brain interprets the ovarian estradiol signal was studied to discover neurotransmitter systems involved in relaying the estradiol signal to the reproductive system. It was found that some corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) cells also contain estrogen receptors. The hypothesis that CRF may be one of the neurotransmitters responsible for mediating the estradiol-induced suppression of seasonal reproductive behavior in sheep was supported.