Grattan D R, Kokay I C
Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2008 Jun;20(6):752-63. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2008.01736.x.
The neuroendocrine control of prolactin secretion is unlike that of any other pituitary hormone. It is predominantly inhibited by the hypothalamus and, in the absence of a regulatory feedback hormone, it acts directly in the brain to suppress its own secretion. In addition to this short-loop feedback action in the brain, prolactin has been reported to influence a wide range of other brain functions. There have been few attempts to rationalise why a single hormone might exert such a range of distinct and seemingly unrelated neuroendocrine functions. In this review, we highlight some of the original studies that first characterised the unusual features of prolactin neuroendocrinology, and then attempt to identify areas of new progress and/or controversy. Finally, we discuss a hypothesis that provides a unifying explanation for the pleiotrophic actions of prolactin in the brain.
催乳素分泌的神经内分泌控制不同于任何其他垂体激素。它主要受下丘脑抑制，并且在缺乏调节性反馈激素的情况下，它直接在大脑中发挥作用以抑制自身分泌。除了在大脑中的这种短环反馈作用外，据报道催乳素还会影响广泛的其他脑功能。很少有人尝试解释为什么单一激素可能发挥如此一系列独特且看似不相关的神经内分泌功能。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了一些最初描述催乳素神经内分泌学异常特征的原始研究，然后试图确定新进展和/或争议领域。最后，我们讨论了一个假说，该假说为催乳素在大脑中的多效性作用提供了统一的解释。
