Abstract
Summary
The effect of photic and/or olfactory deprivation on pituitary-adrenal function was determined in female rats subjected to bilateral optic enucleation and/or olfactory bulb removal. Morning (09:00) and afternoon (16:00) nonstress levels of corticosterone of sensory-deprived rats appeared normal, and in all cases nonstress levels were completely suppressed with dexamethasone (100 μg/kg). Stress mechanisms of blind and/or anosmic rats, in the absence of dexamethasone, were intact. Stress-induced increments in plasma corticosterone of experimentals did not differ from those of intact controls. However, in the presence of dexamethasone, blind and blind-anosmic rats failed to show a plasma corticosterone response to ether stress. These data suggest that pituitary-adrenal function, unlike pituitary-ovarian function, is not markedly affected by photic and/or olfactory deprivation. Absence of the stress response in blind and blind-anosmic dexamethasone-treated rats may reflect changes in ovarian function and not alterations in the pituitary-adrenal axis.
The technical and secretarial assistance of F. Lin, L. Patterson and E. Schwartz are gratefully acknowledged.
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