Somatostatin and thyrotropin releasing hormone: central effect on sleep and motor system

The hypothalamic hormones, somatostatin (SRIF or GH-RIH) and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) applied intraventricularly into rat brain had a considerable effect on motor function and resulted in profound alterations in the sleep-waking pattern. While TRH induced primarily an increase in exploratory and motor stereotyped behavior, the effect of somatostatin was striking and prolonged: stereotyped circular running in many instances evolved into catatonia, paraplegia-in extension and/or tonic-clonic seizures.