Diurnal Variations of Plasma Growth Hormone and Brain Monoamines in Adult Male Rats

Abstract

Brain levels of monoamines (MA) in the adult male rat show a diurnal pattern of secretion with noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) reaching a peak at 1300 and 1800, respectively, and dopamine (DA) showing a bimodal pattern with peaks at 0500 and 1800. Plasma growth hormone (GH) values fluctuate widely during the nycthemeral period. Statistically significant correlations between plasma GH and brain MA levels, confirming the existence of a physiological role of MA in the control of GH secretion, could not be demonstrated in the present study.