Participation of the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland after prolonged exposure to unpredictable stress in the rat

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Abstract
An ultrastructural study is described which relates cellular activity in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland with circulating levels of corticosterone. Exposure of male CSF rats to a signalled, unpredictable 60-day stress regimen induced intense secretory activity in all cells of the pars intermedia for the first 5 days of stressing, and thereafter secretory activity reverted back to the control condition. Blood corticosterone levels showed an initial extreme increase lasting for the first 5 days of exposure to the stress before gradually falling to re-establish a new stable level of secretion by 40 days. The possible involvement of the intermediate lobe in emotional or psychological stress when corticosterone levels are high is discussed.