Cerebral insulin-like immunoreactivity in rats and mice. Drastic decline during postnatal ontogenesis.

We studied the behavior of the insulin-like immunoreactivity in brains of rats and mice during the first 20 d post natum by immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay. It was found that a dramatic decline in the concentration of the peptide, accompanied by a strong reduction of immunoreactive cells, takes place during this period. A possible role of cerebral insulin as a promoter of nerve cell growth and development is briefly discussed.