Developmental aspects of pituitary and adrenal responses to arterial hypotension in neonatal, weanling, and adult sheep.

We have studied neuroendocrine and heart rate responses to arterial hypotension in unanesthetized, chronically cannulated neonatal (less than 10 days old), weanling (3- to 4-wk-old), and adult sheep. Nitroprusside-induced arterial hypotension in the absence of hypovolemia promptly increased plasma ACTH, vasopressin (AVP), and cortisol levels in all three groups. The integrated adenohypophyseal and neurohypophyseal responses to a standard hypotensive stimulus were similar at the three ages, suggesting that the functional development of the systems subserving these responses is complete by the immediate postnatal period. The integrated cortisol/ACTH ratio was greatest in the youngest animals, suggesting that enhanced adrenal responsiveness to ACTH exists in neonatal as well as in late-gestation fetal lambs. The reflex tachycardia accompanying the arterial hypotension in the weanling and adult sheep was absent in the neonates.