Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Ex Vivo Release of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide from the Trigeminovascular System in Rodents
Published on: May 16, 2022
Oxytocin in hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus is transferred to the caudate nucleus to influence pain modulation
Yang-Juan Pan1, Da-Xin Wang2, Jun Yang3
1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University (Henan Provincial Mental Hospital), Xinxiang, Henan 453002, China.
Abstract:
Oxytocin (OXT), which is synthesized and secreted in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus (SON), is the most important bioactive substance in SON regulating pain process. Our previous study has pointed that OXT in the caudate nucleus (CdN) plays a role in pain modulation. The communication was designed to investigate the source of OXT in the rat CdN during pain process using the methods of push-pull perfusion and radioimmunoassay. The results showed that (1) pain stimulation increased the OXT concentration in the CdN perfusion liquid; (2) SON cauterization inhibited the increase of OXT concentration in CdN perfusion liquid induced by the pain stimulation, which role in both sides of SON cauterization was stronger than that in one side of SON cauterization; and (3) SON microinjection of l-glutamate sodium, which excited the SON neurons, increased OXT concentration in the CdN perfusion liquid. The data suggested that OXT in the CdN was influenced by SON during pain process, i.e., OXT in the SON might be transferred to the CdN to influence pain modulation.
Related Concept Videos
Nociception
Analgesia and Pain Management
Pain
Neurotransmitters
Diencephalon: Hypothalamus and Coordination
The hypothalamus interacts with other brain regions, including the pituitary gland, through a direct physical connection called the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The hypothalamus receives somatic and visceral inputs and...
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...

