Involvement of central vasopressin receptors in the control of blood pressure.

Intraventricular perfusion with a hypertonic sodium chloride solution elicits increases in cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin and blood pressure and a decrease in heart rate. The central peptide response was greatly reduced in the hypertensive rat. Central pretreatment with the vasopressin (V1) antagonist completely abolished the pressor response to hypertonic sodium chloride in the normotensive animal. Results suggest that a central vasopressin receptor may play a role in the control of blood pressure.