Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Developing a Rat Model for Bipolar Disorder
Published on: May 2, 2025
Prolactin secretion in women with unipolar and bipolar depression
Abstract:
Plasma prolactin levels and prolactin response to thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) were studied in 27 unipolar and 24 bipolar depressive female patients before and after tricyclic antidepressant treatment, as well as in 38 normal controls matched for age, sex, and menopausal status. Before antidepressant treatment, basal prolactin levels were significantly lower in both premenopausal and postmenopausal bipolar patients but only in postmenopausal unipolar patients when compared to controls. The prolactin response to TRH was significantly blunted in both unipolar and bipolar postmenopausal subjects but remained normal in all premenopausal (unipolar and bipolar) patients. These data suggest that prolactin pituitary function could be useful in the neuroendocrine study of depressive illness.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Bipolar Disorder
Mania and Antimanic Drugs: Overview
Depression: Overview
Hormonal Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle
At puberty, GnRH begins a pulsatile release pattern, which triggers the anterior pituitary gland to secrete follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses vary across the menstrual cycle, with faster pulses favoring LH release and slower pulses favoring FSH...
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and...
G-protein Coupled Receptors

