LHRH self-priming in the male: effect of multiple priming injections in the immature rat.

Pubertal and young adult male rats show a self-priming effect of LHRH on LH secretion; immature male rats do not. To determine whether the extent of endogenous priming plays a role in this difference, immature male rats were examined for a self-priming effect after pretreatment with three, four, five, or six injections of LHRH. Compared to saline-primed controls, animals receiving LHRH pretreatment released similar amounts of LH in response to a challenge injection of LHRH regardless of the number of priming injections. These results support the view that the induction of the self-priming effect at puberty is not the result of changes in hypothalamic function.