Brain peptide regulation of adrenal epinephrine secretion.

The studies described in this paper support the hypothesis that specific brain peptides may act as neurochemical substrates for the differential patterns of sympathetic nervous system and adrenomedullary responses to various provocative stimuli. Different treatments, e.g., exposure to ether vapor or cold, hemorrhage or hypoglycemia, elicit stimulus-specific changes in plasma concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine. Likewise, several neuropeptides, e.g., bombesin, corticotropin-releasing factor, thyrotropin-releasing factor, and somatostatin-related peptides, act within the central nervous system to produce differential changes in the relative concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine in plasma. The possibility that these peptides may be involved in generating stimulus-specific changes in plasma catecholamine concentrations following various physiological and pharmacological treatments is discussed.