Wade George N, Jones Juli E
Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Sep;35(9):1573-80. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000084526.51285.D6.
In female mammals reproduction is highly sensitive to the food supply. During lean times, females suspend reproductive attempts in favor of maintaining processes necessary for survival; fertility is restored once the food supply is again abundant. Nearly all aspects of reproduction are affected, including puberty, adult ovulatory cycles, and reproductive behaviors. Work with experimental animals reveals that caloric restriction inhibits release of luteinizing hormone (LH) and female sexual behavior via similar, although separate, processes. The primary metabolic event affecting LH release as well as female sexual behavior is the short-term (minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour) availability of oxidizable metabolic fuels, rather than any aspect of body size or composition (e.g., body fat content). Metabolic fuel availability is detected in the hindbrain and perhaps in peripheral tissues. Metabolic information is then transmitted synaptically from the visceral hindbrain to the forebrain effector circuits. In the forebrain, signaling via corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors appears to be crucial for inhibition of both LH secretion and female sexual behavior.
在雌性哺乳动物中，繁殖对食物供应高度敏感。在食物匮乏时期，雌性会暂停繁殖尝试，转而维持生存所需的生理过程；一旦食物供应再次充足，生育能力就会恢复。繁殖的几乎所有方面都会受到影响，包括青春期、成年后的排卵周期以及生殖行为。对实验动物的研究表明，热量限制通过相似但独立的过程抑制促黄体生成素（LH）的释放和雌性性行为。影响LH释放以及雌性性行为的主要代谢事件是可氧化代谢燃料的短期（每分钟、每小时）可用性，而非身体大小或组成的任何方面（例如体脂含量）。可在后脑以及可能在外周组织中检测到代谢燃料的可用性。然后，代谢信息通过突触从内脏后脑传递到前脑效应器回路。在前脑中，通过促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素受体发出的信号似乎对于抑制LH分泌和雌性性行为都至关重要。
