Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents
Published on: June 10, 2013
Oxytocin and prolactin responses associated with nipple stimulation contraction stress tests
Abstract:
Levels of oxytocin in plasma of pregnant women in the third trimester undergoing nipple stimulation-contraction stress tests were found, by parametric (paired t test) statistical analysis to be elevated. No differences in the plasma increases in oxytocin levels were found between those patients undergoing successful and those undergoing unsuccessful nipple stimulation-contraction stress tests. No significant differences in plasma levels of prolactin were associated with nipple stimulation in these patients.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral stimuli,...
The Mammary Glands
Each breast features a pigmented projection known as the nipple, through which milk emerges via closely spaced openings of ducts, referred to as lactiferous ducts. Surrounding the nipple is a circular pigmented area of skin named the areola, which appears rough due to...
Neurotransmitters
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.

