Neuroendocrine Aspects of Reproduction contains the proceedings of the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center's Second Symposium on Primate Reproductive Biology held in Beaverton, Oregon, on October 8-9, 1982. The symposium provided a forum for discussing the neuroendocrinology of reproduction in primates and tackled topics ranging from delayed puberty as a factor in human evolution to gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons and pathways in the primate hypothalamus and forebrain. Comprised of 18 chapters, this book begins with an overview of some basic neuroendocrine mechanisms that influence reproductive processes, followed by a discussion on control of the onset of puberty. Control of ovulation in the rhesus macaque is considered, along with hypothalamic regulation of gonadotropin secretion in women. The next section deals with reproductive cyclicity in female primates and the extent to which the central nervous system participates in the control of such cyclicity. Subsequent chapters explore the biological basis for the contraceptive effects of breastfeeding; the effects of hyperprolactinemia on reproductive function in humans; and neuroendocrine changes during menopausal flushes. This monograph will be of interest to students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of reproductive biology, neuroendocrinology, and physiology.

Contributors
Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Neurosecretory Cells

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons and Pathways in the Primate Hypothalamus and Forebrain

Steroid Hormone Processing in the Brains and Pituitary Glands of Nonhuman Primates: Mechanisms and Physiological Significance

Central Nervous System Peptides and Reproductive Function in Primates

Delayed Puberty as a Factor in Human Evolution

Mechanisms Limiting Initiation of Ovulation in the Postmenarchial Rhesus Macaque

Ontogeny of Gonadotropin Secretion in the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca Mulatta)

Hypothalamic Control of Puberty in the Female Rhesus Macaque

Metabolic Signals for the Onset of Puberty

Gonadotropin Regulation during Human Puberty

Control of Ovulation in the Rhesus Macaque

Control of Gonadotropin Secretion in Primates: Observations in Stalk-Sectioned Rhesus Macaques

Hypothalamic Regulation of Gonadotropin Secretion in Women

Control of Gonadotropin Secretion in Women

Biological Basis for the Contraceptive Effects of Breast-Feeding

Hyperprolactinemia: Effects on Reproductive Function in Humans

Neuroendocrine Changes during Menopausal Flushes

Reproductive Neuroendocrinology of the Aging Male

Perspectives in Neuroendocrinology

Index