HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bertram, R. Articles by Freeman, M. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bertram, R. Articles by Freeman, M. E.

A mathematical model for the mating-induced prolactin rhythm of female rats

Departments of ¹Mathematics and ²Biological Sciences and Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; and ³Space Biology Group, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

Submitted 7 September 2005 ; accepted in final form 27 October 2005

For the first 10 days of pregnancy and the first 12 days of pseudopregnancy, the secretion of prolactin (PRL) from pituitary lactotrophs is rhythmic, with two surges/day. This rhythm can also be triggered by bolus injection of oxytocin (OT). We describe a mathematical model for the initiation, maintenance, and termination of the OT-induced PRL rhythm. In our model, the mechanism for this circadian rhythm is mutual interaction between lactotrophs and neuroendocrine dopamine (DA) neurons. This rhythm is, under normal lighting conditions, entrained by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) but persists in the absence of input from the SCN. We postulate that OT injection triggers the rhythm by activating a population of bistable hypothalamic neurons that innervate and inhibit DA neurons. The bistable nature of these neurons allows them to act as a memory device, maintaining the rhythm long after OT has been cleared from the blood. The mechanism for this memory device and the arguments supporting it are detailed with computer simulations. Finally, we consider potential targets for a rhythm-terminating factor and make predictions that may be used to determine which mechanism is operational in terminating the OT- or mating-induced PRL rhythm.

oxytocin; vasoactive intestinal polypeptide; dopamine; lactotrophs

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Egli, R. Bertram, N. Toporikova, M. T. Sellix, W. Blanco, and M. E. Freeman Prolactin secretory rhythm of mated rats induced by a single injection of oxytocin Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, March 1, 2006; 290(3): E566 - E572. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]