Seasonal regulation of neuroendocrine activity in male Turkish hamsters (Mesocricetus brandti): role of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus

Influence of photoperiod on hormones, behavior, and immune function

Photoperiodism is the ability of plants and animals to measure environmental day length to ascertain time of year. Central to the evolution of photoperiodism in animals is the adaptive distribution of energetically challenging activities across the year to optimize reproductive fitness while balancing the energetic tradeoffs necessary for seasonally-appropriate survival strategies. The ability to accurately predict future events requires endogenous mechanisms to permit physiological anticipation of annual conditions. Day length provides a virtually noise free environmental signal to monitor and accurately predict time of the year. In mammals, melatonin provides the hormonal signal transducing day length. Duration of pineal melatonin is inversely related to day length and its secretion drives enduring changes in many physiological systems, including the HPA, HPG, and brain-gut axes, the autonomic nervous system, and the immune system. Thus, melatonin is the fulcrum mediating redistribution of energetic investment among physiological processes to maximize fitness and survival.

Single- and double-label immunocytochemical study of the ovine suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN): GABAergic and peptidergic relationships

This study evaluated the neuropeptide and neurotransmitter content of the ovine suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) using both single- and double-label immunocytochemical methods. Single-label immunocytochemistry identified a few lightly labeled gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) cells within the SCN as well as a dense plexus of fibers staining positive for the GABA biosynthetic enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) fibers exhibited a similar distribution to GAD fibers; VIP cells were found throughout the SCN, as well as in the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei. Both GAD and VIP fibers exited dorsally from the SCN towards the PVN. Neurophysin (NP) and neuropeptide-Y (NPY) fibers were sparsely distributed throughout the SCN. Double-label immunocytochemistry revealed that GAD varicosities were often in close apposition to VIP cells. These results confirm the presence of GABAergic elements within the sheep SCN. Furthermore, they raise the possibility of a GABAergic modulation of VIP neuronal activity within the ovine SCN.

Photoperiodic regulation of prolactin release in male hamsters with hypothalamic knife cuts

Horizontal knife cuts placed dorsal to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus prevent testicular regression in hamsters kept in short days. We examined the effects of these cuts on the photoperiodic modulation of the postcastration rise in gonadotropins, as well as on the release of prolactin in castrated and gonadally intact animals. The cuts blocked the inhibitory effects of short daylengths on the postcastration rise in circulating levels of gonadotropins. However, the cuts did not prevent the reduction in prolactin levels induced by short daylengths in castrated and gonadally intact animals. We conclude that dorsal connections of the PVN are not required for transduction of photoperiodic information used to regulate prolactin release. The knife cuts may remove tonic inhibitory influences on the release of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and thus produce elevated gonadotropin levels that mask the effects of nonstimulatory photoperiods on testicular size.