Participation of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the negative feedback mechanisms of the hypothalamohypophyseotesticular complex.

Abstract

It is known that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) participates in the regulation of the secretion of many adenohypophyseal hormones [2, 9]. In addition, GABAergic mechanisms may be involved in the regulation of testosterone-dependent aggressive [5] and sexual [8] behavior. A substantial number of studies suggest that GABA and its receptors are capable of participating in the regulation of the secretions of luteinizing hormone (LH). However, its role in this process is not entirely clear, since according to the data of various authors, GABA exerts both inhibitory and activating influences on the secretion of LH [3, 12]. Still less is known of the role of GABA and its receptors in the regulation of the secretion of LH by the negative feedback mechanism, which has been studied in bilaterally castrated rats [3]. However, such a model offers the possibility of investigating only a separate link of this mechanism which regulates the hypothalamohypophyseotesticular complex (HHTC). With regard to the study of the neurochemical regulation of the integral negative feedback system, the use of unilaterally castrated rats is more appropriate for this purpose. In such animals the compensation of the insufficiency of androgens is determined by negative feedback stimulation, and not by the administration of exogenous steroids. In addition, the level of testosterone in the peripheral blood more adequately reflects the state of this mechanism than the level of the gonadotropins [7]. However, the role of GABA and its receptors in the regulation of the integral negative feedback mechanism of the HHTC, so far as we know, remains entirely unstudied. This was in fact the purpose of the present study.