Hypothalamic dopamine may play a role in inducing prolactin in pituitary cells.

The effects of hypothalamic dopamine on the functional differentiation of prolactin cells was investigated in the developing rat brain. The treatment of pregnant rats with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor) resulted in a noticeable decrease of dopamine concentration in the hypothalamus at birth and at 5 days of age of offspring. Moreover, treatment with this regimen caused a marked decrease in the population of prolactin cells and in the production of prolactin at birth and at 5 days of age of offspring. It seems, then, that hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons precede the functional differentiation of prolactin cells in the developing brains and that hypothalamic dopamine may play an important role in producing prolactin in the anterior pituitary during development.