Brown G M, Seggie J, Feldmann J
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1977;6 Suppl:29S-41S. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1977.tb03336.x.
Many of the factors altering corticosterone in the rat have similar effects on prolactin. Resting prolactin, like corticosterone, is higher in animals housed singly than in those multiply housed. Unlike corticosterone, gentling did not lower prolactin. An exquisite sensitivity to environmental stimuli which results in rapid elevations in prolactin levels has been indentified in the rat which is considerably greater than that for corticosterone. Like corticosterone, the pattern of prolactin stress responses varies according to time of day. This differential sensitivity may well account for the diurnal variation in prolactin reported by some investigators. The limbic system has an important influence on prolactin. Lesions of the septal region do not modify resting levels but alter the pattern of prolactin stress responses in ways which are only partly similar to the effects of such lesions on corticosterone. In rhesus monkeys, individual variation in resting prolactin levels was observed, similar to that seen in the human. Levels are stable over periods of up to 50 days and are characteristic of the individual animal. In response to the stress of electric shock or shaping to a bar press response, prolactin elevation occurs only in animals with high resting levels, suggesting that a common mechanism is responsible for controlling both resting levels and magnitude of stress responses.
许多改变大鼠皮质酮水平的因素对催乳素也有类似影响。与皮质酮一样，单独饲养的动物其静息催乳素水平高于群居动物。与皮质酮不同的是，轻柔抚摸并不会降低催乳素水平。已确定大鼠对环境刺激极为敏感，这会导致催乳素水平迅速升高，其敏感性远高于皮质酮。与皮质酮一样，催乳素应激反应模式会因一天中的时间不同而有所变化。这种差异敏感性很可能解释了一些研究者所报道的催乳素的昼夜变化。边缘系统对催乳素有重要影响。隔区损伤不会改变静息水平，但会改变催乳素应激反应模式，其方式仅部分类似于此类损伤对皮质酮的影响。在恒河猴中，观察到静息催乳素水平存在个体差异，这与人类相似。催乳素水平在长达50天的时间内保持稳定，是个体动物的特征。在遭受电击应激或训练按压杠杆反应时，只有静息水平高的动物才会出现催乳素升高，这表明控制静息水平和应激反应幅度的是一种共同机制。
