α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone: Reduction in Adult Rat Brain After Monosodium Glutamate Treatment of Neonates

Abstract
Intraperitoneal injection of monosodium glutamate in neonatal rates resulted in a 90 percent loss of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic areas of the brain, whereas the amount of hormone in the pituitary gland did not change. The dramatic reduction of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in the brain suggests that is primary source there is the neuronal perikarya of the arcuate nucleus.