Pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone release and its regulation

Abstract

Several proposals have been put forward to explain the pulsatile pattern of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion form the hypothalamus, and the receptor-mediated modulation of such pulsatility. The mechanisms underlying these phenomena are not well defined, but the findings of intrinsic rhythmic activity of GnRH neurons, and the presence of autocrine GnRH action therein, have identified important elements in the episodic mode of neuropeptide release.