title: Paraventricular nucleus lesion prevents yawning and penile erection induced by apomorphine and oxytocin but not by ACTH in rats.
abstract: The effect of electrolytic lesion of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) on yawning and penile erection induced by apomorphine, oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH1-24) was studied in male rats. In sham-operated rats, apomorphine (50 micrograms/kg s.c.), oxytocin (30 ng i.c.v.), and ACTH1-24 (10 micrograms i.c.v.) significantly increased the number of yawning and penile erection episodes. In PVN-lesioned rats, apomorphine- and oxytocin-, but not ACTH-induced responses were strongly reduced. These results confirm our previous observations showing that the PVN has a crucial role in the expression of yawning and penile erection induced by dopamino-mimetic drugs and oxytocin, and suggest that ACTH-derived peptides induce the above responses by a mechanism not involving PVN hypothalamic dopamine or oxytocin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Argiolas
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Melis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauri
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gessa
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D015000:Yawning / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D001058:Apomorphine