Abstract
Summary
The adrenal cortical response to electric shock stress was studied in rats of various ages. Measurements of both adrenal corticosterone and ascorbic acid changes in the same gland indicated that no response occurred until the animals were approximately 8 days old, at which time stress caused changes in both these substances. The early postnatal period in the rats'life when stress does not result in pituitary-adrenal activation we propose to call the stress-non-responsive period (S-N-R period). Both synthetic and commercial vasopressin administered to rats during the S-N-R period caused an increase in corticosterone content of the adrenal gland, and less consistently a decrease in ascorbic acid. It is suggested that the S-N-R period may be related to immaturity of the hypothalamic osmoreceptor mechanism which underlies adjustments in vasopressin secretion.
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