Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Restraint to Induce Stress in Mice and Rats
Published on: December 6, 2024
Adrenocorticotropin release induced by N-methyl-d-aspartate or stress: mediation by the area postrema
1Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 83306 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.
Abstract:
N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) is known to stimulate adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release after peripheral administration in spite of its inability to readily cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The importance of the area postrema, the hindbrain circumventricular organ which lacks a BBB, for NMDA action and ACTH release during stress was evaluated in this study. ACTH response to NMDA injection (4 mg/kg ip) was significantly reduced in rats with ablation of the area postrema compared to sham-operated animals. Integrity of the area postrema was also found to be required for full ACTH release in response to two stress stimuli (immobilization, handling). The data show that the area postrema is a brain region involved in the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis mediating, at least partially, the stimulatory action of NMDA and of stress stimuli on ACTH release.
Related Concept Videos
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Physiological Foundation of Stress
Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System
Adrenaline triggers the...
Adrenergic Neurons: Neurotransmission
Synthesis: Catecholamine synthesis requires tyrosine, which is taken...
Hormones of the Adrenal Glands
The adrenal cortex, a powerhouse of hormone synthesis, generates over two dozen corticosteroid hormones. The zona glomerulosa produces mineralocorticoids, exemplified by aldosterone, influencing the electrolyte composition of body fluids. The synthesis of glucocorticoids such as cortisol and corticosterone...
Sympathetic Pathways: Collateral Ganglia and Adrenal Medulla
Collateral Ganglia
Sympathetic preganglionic axons reach the collateral ganglia along the route of splanchnic nerves. These nerves bypass the sympathetic trunk and communicate with sympathetic postganglionic neurons housed in the prevertebral ganglia. These ganglia supply the organs of the abdominopelvic cavity.
The greater splanchnic nerve, formed by the...
The Sympathetic Nervous System

