Studies on the puberty-controlling function of the mediocortical amygdala in the immature female rat

The puberty-controlling function of the mediocortical amygdala in immature female rats was investigated by lesioning this region at different ages and by studying the effects on the onset of spontaneous and experimentally-induced precocious puberty. At 21 days of age, bilateral lesions in the anterior mediocortical amygdala (AMCA) caused precocious puberty and enhanced the puberty-accelerating effect of bilateral lesions produced simultaneously in the medial preoptic area (MPA). Similar lesions, ineffective on day 26, delayed the onset of puberty when produced on day 32 in otherwise untreated rats. Lesions in the posterior mediocortical amygdala (PMCA) at 26 or 32 days of age postponed puberty in untreated rats and inhibited the advancement of their 1st pubertal ovulation that resulted from damage to the ventromedial-arcuate region (VAH) or daily administration of 0.05 mug estradiol benzoate (EB) per 100 g b.w. The results confirm earlier findings of different gonadotropin-controlling activities of the AMCA and PMCA in immature female rats and suggest maturational changes in the function of both areas. The gonadotropin-inhibiting action exerted by the AMCA at 3 weeks of age is lost when puberty approaches; a gonadotropin-stimulating activity seems to develop in both the AMCA and PMCA.