Seven lactating rats, bearing lesions in the periventricular area of the medial hypothalamus that failed to rear their young, were subjected to oxytocin replacement twice daily. The litters of these rats received from 1-13g of milk daily during the experimental period (3-12 days). The lesions of these rats replaced with oxytocin were found in an area similar to that of the rats which failed to rear their young as reported in the previous paper, i. e. the periventricular area of the medial and caudal parts of the hypothalamus, and the area of the dorsoand ventro-medial nuclei.
The mating response was tested in 7 lesioned rats which failed to rear their young in the lst lactation. They delivered 1-9 young, 22-27 days after mating. Although the mammary gland was filled with milk which could be easily squeezed from their teats, 5 out of the 7 rats failed in rearing their young in the 2nd lactation. Oxytocin was given to these rats twice daily and a considerable amount of milk (0. 5-7. 4g/day) was received by the litter. The loci of the lesions were similar to those in the rats described above.
The study of the prolactin content of the anterior pituitary seems to illustrate that the suckling stimulus and the injection of oxytocin proved effective in lowering the prolactin contents of the pituitary in these rats, without reference of the presence of the hypothalamic lesions.
These results again imply the possibility of a selective impairment in the part of the hypothalamus, which is linked to the secretion of oxytocin, and the possibility that the role played by oxytocin in the release of prolactin, which is suggested by Benson and Folley (1957).
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