**Acknowledgement**

This research was supported by projects MNiSZW NN311245033 and DS/KHiOK/3242/2010.

#### **6. References**


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**Chapter 8** 

© 2013 Nagy et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

**The Role of Prolactin in the Regulation** 

Toru R. Saito, Márk Oláh, Misao Terada and György M. Nagy

In developed countries, the elderly population increases at an accelerated rate due to a decrease in the birth rate and the prolongation of life through medical development. Moreover, increases in the elderly population allow the prediction of an increase in hyperprolactinemia caused by aging. It is well known that hyperprolactinemia decreases libido and causes oligozoospermia [1]. On the other hand, hyperprolactinemia is caused by or associated with, a variety of pathogenic stages: pituitary adenoma, hypothalamic disorders, hypogonadism and hypothyroidism, and is detected in patients with infertility [2, 3], impotence and hypogonadism [4]. PRL is a polypeptide hormone that is synthesized and secreted from mammotropes in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland [5]. Many studies have documented a critical role of PRL in the maintenance of lactation in women and female animals [6, 7] as well as in immunregulation in both, males and females [8], however, its role

It has been also shown that DAerg agonists facilitate several aspects of copulatory behavior and *ex copula* genital responses [10]. DAerg neurons, locating in the medial preoptic area (MPOA), and the zona incerta (incertohypothalamic DAerg system) are the key centers in the stimulatory control of sexual functions [17-18]. (R)-salsolinol (SAL), a DA related and derived tetrahydroisoquinoline, has been recently identified as a strong candidate for being the endogenous PRL releasing factor (PRF) synthesized in both the hypothalamus and the neurointermediate lobe (NIL) of the pituitary gland. Analysis of SAL concentrations revealed parallel increase and decrease with the elevation and reduction of plasma PRL, respectively. SAL is sufficiently potent and selective *in vivo* to account for the massive discharge of PRL that occurs after physiological changes. At the same time, parallel with its DA depleting effect in sympathetically innervated peripheral organs, SAL can reduce testosterone secretion both *in vivo* and *in vitro* from Leydig cells [19-20]. Based upon all of

**of Male Copulatory Behavior** 

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

in sexual behavior is not entirely clear [9-16].

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/55515

**1. Introduction** 

