THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF RESERPINE ON ACTH SECRETION IN RESPONSE TO STRESSFUL STIMULI12

Abstract

THE obligatory participation of the central nervous system, particularly the hypothalamus, in the mechanism through which secretion of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is stimulated, has been supported by numerous and varied experiments which have recently been reviewed (1, 2). Pharmacologic blockade in the central nervous system, as a means of further clarification of this mechanism, offers certain advantages over the placement of electrolytic lesions. Prior to the beginning of the present work, morphine (3) was the only substance, other than the cortical steroids and certain of their chemical congeners, which was known to inhibit ACTH secretion in response to a wide variety of stressful stimuli.