Monosodium glutamate accelerates migration of hypothalamic perikarya at puberty.

The administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to newborn rats accelerates by two weeks the migration of fluorescent dopaminergic perikarya from the median eminence towards the arcuate nucleus at the time of puberty, which normally occurs from day 22 till 55 after birth. It is hypothesized that MSG affects the trigger mechanism for this migration. The disappearance of fluorescent dopaminergic cells that occurs after MSG administration is considered as a secondary effect.