10-03-2010, 11:11 AM
Prolactin Info; Characteristics of excess & deficiency
February 21 2007 at 10:02 PM Surf (Login Surf.)
SENIOR MEMBER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articl...actin.html
Prolactin is a hormone. A hormone is a chemical substance, which is secreted by an endocrine gland, and is transported to another part of the body (the "target tissue") where it has an effect. Hormones act at the target tissue by binding to a receptor site on the responding cells. The body's endocrine system uses hormones to convey information and control many of the day to day functions.
Prolactin is produced primarily in the front part of the pituitary gland. This gland is known as the "master gland" because it controls a range of other endocrine organs. The pituitary gland is about the size of a pea and is situated near the middle of the brain.
Prolactin is produced in both men and women. Prolactin is secreted periodically by the pituitary throughout the day and night. The secretion of prolactin is increased by a number of external stimuli including stress, breast-feeding and sexual activity.
In women, the breast is the predominant prolactin target tissue. Prolactin has the effect of stimulating the breast to produce breast milk in late pregnancy and sustaining milk production after birth. To have this effect on the breast, other hormones such as oestrogen also need to be present.
Prolactin is also normally produced in men but appears to have no specific role in males. High prolactin levels have the effect of suppressing the hormones responsible for the normal functioning of the ovaries and testes.
High prolactin levels can therefore lead to menstrual irregularity and/or fertility problems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolactin
Conditions causing elevated prolactin secretion
Hyperprolactinaemia is the term given to having too-high levels of prolactin in the blood.
Conditions causing decreased prolactin
Bulimia;
Excess of dopamine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperprolactinaemia
Hyperprolactinaemia (BrE) or hyperprolactinemia (AmE) is the presence of abnormally high levels of prolactin in the blood.
In women, a high blood level of prolactin often causes hypoestrogenism with anovulatory infertility and a decrease in menstruation. In some women, mensturation may disappear altogether (amenorrhea). In others, mensturation may become irregular or menstrual flow may change. Women who are not pregnant or nursing may begin producing breast milk. Some women may experience a loss of libido (interest in sex). Intercourse may become painful because of vaginal dryness.
http://www.cushings-help.com/hypopituitary.htm
Low prolactin in women: symptoms include lack of milk production, fatigue, and loss of underarm and pubic hair.
http://www.reuniting.info/science/prolactin_sex_libido
Studies at two German universities found that the hormone prolactin may dampen sexual arousal after orgasm, perhaps signaling to the body that it's had enough. Researchers, led by Michael Exton, Ph.D., a biological psychologist at the University of Essen's Institute of Medical Psychology, asked 10 women to masturbate until achieving orgasm, then examined them afterward. He discovered a surge in the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and prolactin that occurred during arousal and orgasm—but prolactin's rise was the most dramatic and prolonged.
Prolactin has been linked to functions in both men and women, including sperm and breast milk production. Exton believes it regulates dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in movement control, pleasure and pain, and likens it to a built-in switch for turning on and off sexual desire. "The prolactin surge may possibly signal the brain and reproductive organs that `once is enough,'" he says.
Women are not alone in releasing prolactin after orgasm—Exton's previous research on men and animals has uncovered a similar dynamic.
As prolactin tends to be inversely tied to levels of dopamine, let's begin with dopamine, the "craving" neurochemical. All addictive substances also increase dopamine. In fact, that's why they're addictive. The lead up to orgasm is the biggest (legal) blast of dopamine available to mankind. This powerful motivator is the reason that humans have engaged in sex with such fervor for millennia.
Dopamine drops off immediately at the point of orgasm. Yet hangover symptoms from this over-stimulation can continue for weeks. Most of us make absolutely no connection between these two events, but perhaps it is time that we did. Let's look at what scientists are learning about prolactin's effects on our sex lives.
Prolactin rises sharply immediately after orgasm in almost everyone. In fact it is a more accurate marker for orgasm than oxytocin, which also often rises at orgasm. Noting the link between orgasm and raised prolactin, Dr. Jeremy P.W. Heaton surmised, "Orgasm may induce changes in the hypothalamus that overwhelm prolactin inhibition" (allowing prolactin to rise dramatically). Possibly the sudden drop in dopamine itself unleashes prolactin.
It appears that the evolutionary purpose of this increase in prolactin is to shift lovers' attention to other activities, such as feeding the kids, hunting and gathering, and so forth. It may also serve to decrease our attachment to an existing partner and prime us for moving on, to another lover—who, biology ensures, will offer an enticing new dopamine rush...the 'Coolidge Effect'.
In any case, prolactin levels remain elevated for some time after orgasm, and may even surge repeatedly for days. Lovers have observed mood swings related to orgasm for as long as two weeks afterward. Interestingly, cocaine addicts who go through withdrawal also have unusually high prolactin levels, which normalize by the end of three weeks. (Like orgasm, cocaine floods the pleasure/reward center of the brain with dopamine.) In female rats, intermittent prolactin surges continue for up to two weeks after copulation, whether or not the rats become pregnant.
There is a well-documented relationship between dopamine and prolactin; when one is unusually high the other is low, and vice versa. For example, schizophrenia is associated with high levels of dopamine. Some anti-psychotic drugs (designed to lower dopamine in schizophrenics) also raise prolactin levels. Schizophrenia patients treated with these drugs often complain of the same symptoms as others with high prolactin, such as low libido.
Scientists once thought of prolactin as strictly promoting lactation in nursing mothers, but as time has passed they've discovered prolactin plays many other roles—everything from inhibiting sexual drive to immune functions. It also appears to be part of our repertoire of stress responses. It is more associated with anxiety and despair rather than fight or flight, as is cortisol.
We're suggesting that orgasm leads to high levels (or surges) of prolactin over a two-week period (...of course most lovers do not wait two weeks, which means these neurochemical swings are always affecting their relationships). Symptoms of elevated prolactin are similar in both sexes. Men with high prolactin levels sometimes report erectile dysfunction, low libido, headaches, and mood changes (anxiety).
Women also report obesity in addition to low libido and headaches. In short, if a woman becomes a shrew during the weeks after a passionate encounter, she may have good reason...neurochemically at least. Women with high prolactin levels can suffer from depression, anxiety, and hostility. Many of the symptoms of PMS are similar to the effects of high prolactin, and women have noticed improvements in those symptoms using the approach to sex that we recommend (avoiding conventional orgasm while making love frequently).
The relationship between the intense high of dopamine and the subsequent lingering unpleasant symptoms associated with prolactin may someday help scientists explain why intimate relationships often fall into a sort of manic/depressive cycle. One day he looks like Dr. Jekyll; the next day like Mr. Hyde. One day she looks like Aphrodite; the next like Medusa with live snakes for hair.
Chinese Taoists observed this distressing phenomenon even thousands of years ago. According to Mantak Chia, sages recognized that vicious crimes are often committed after sex because one scares easily and reacts violently. They also noticed that antipathy could build up between intimate partners over time because of the uncomfortable drop off, or feeling of depletion (high prolactin?), following orgasm.
Best of all, Taoists recognized that there is a natural cure for the problem: learn to make love without over-stimulating yourself with too much dopamine (orgasm or hungry behavior). That way, neurochemical levels seem to stay balanced. The results? No more intense mood swings...and an easy, natural, sustained attraction between lovers.
Lovers can achieve this result without chemical manipulations by learning to make love differently. Perhaps one day therapists who study addiction (and the relationship between dopamine and prolactin) will lend their support to this natural way to balance our emotions. However, don't look to medical researchers in laboratories to publicize this possibility, if indeed they ever discover it. This is not because of a conscious conspiracy; it's due to the fact that experiments require funding, so laboratory research is geared toward producing substances that can be protected by patents and marketed as drugs—like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis.
Behavior changes that promote well-being without drug manipulation, are, therefore, easily overlooked. Unfortunately, neurochemistry is so complex that drugs can seldom "cure" one imbalance without creating others, which then show up as unpleasant side effects. According to urologist Jeremy Heaton,
Prolactin is an important sex hormone with potentially far-reaching daily consequences. It has a fundamental role in sexual activity, and may be the first candidate for a circulating molecule with the capacity to regulate sexual feelings and preparedness.
Suggestion: don't expect to pop a pill to counter the effects of prolactin. Instead, change your behavior to create inner balance and avoid the extremes biology otherwise dictates. Broaden your repertoire of lovemaking skills to discover the truth for yourself.
February 21 2007 at 10:02 PM Surf (Login Surf.)
SENIOR MEMBER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articl...actin.html
Prolactin is a hormone. A hormone is a chemical substance, which is secreted by an endocrine gland, and is transported to another part of the body (the "target tissue") where it has an effect. Hormones act at the target tissue by binding to a receptor site on the responding cells. The body's endocrine system uses hormones to convey information and control many of the day to day functions.
Prolactin is produced primarily in the front part of the pituitary gland. This gland is known as the "master gland" because it controls a range of other endocrine organs. The pituitary gland is about the size of a pea and is situated near the middle of the brain.
Prolactin is produced in both men and women. Prolactin is secreted periodically by the pituitary throughout the day and night. The secretion of prolactin is increased by a number of external stimuli including stress, breast-feeding and sexual activity.
In women, the breast is the predominant prolactin target tissue. Prolactin has the effect of stimulating the breast to produce breast milk in late pregnancy and sustaining milk production after birth. To have this effect on the breast, other hormones such as oestrogen also need to be present.
Prolactin is also normally produced in men but appears to have no specific role in males. High prolactin levels have the effect of suppressing the hormones responsible for the normal functioning of the ovaries and testes.
High prolactin levels can therefore lead to menstrual irregularity and/or fertility problems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolactin
Conditions causing elevated prolactin secretion
Hyperprolactinaemia is the term given to having too-high levels of prolactin in the blood.
Conditions causing decreased prolactin
Bulimia;
Excess of dopamine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperprolactinaemia
Hyperprolactinaemia (BrE) or hyperprolactinemia (AmE) is the presence of abnormally high levels of prolactin in the blood.
In women, a high blood level of prolactin often causes hypoestrogenism with anovulatory infertility and a decrease in menstruation. In some women, mensturation may disappear altogether (amenorrhea). In others, mensturation may become irregular or menstrual flow may change. Women who are not pregnant or nursing may begin producing breast milk. Some women may experience a loss of libido (interest in sex). Intercourse may become painful because of vaginal dryness.
http://www.cushings-help.com/hypopituitary.htm
Low prolactin in women: symptoms include lack of milk production, fatigue, and loss of underarm and pubic hair.
http://www.reuniting.info/science/prolactin_sex_libido
Studies at two German universities found that the hormone prolactin may dampen sexual arousal after orgasm, perhaps signaling to the body that it's had enough. Researchers, led by Michael Exton, Ph.D., a biological psychologist at the University of Essen's Institute of Medical Psychology, asked 10 women to masturbate until achieving orgasm, then examined them afterward. He discovered a surge in the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and prolactin that occurred during arousal and orgasm—but prolactin's rise was the most dramatic and prolonged.
Prolactin has been linked to functions in both men and women, including sperm and breast milk production. Exton believes it regulates dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in movement control, pleasure and pain, and likens it to a built-in switch for turning on and off sexual desire. "The prolactin surge may possibly signal the brain and reproductive organs that `once is enough,'" he says.
Women are not alone in releasing prolactin after orgasm—Exton's previous research on men and animals has uncovered a similar dynamic.
As prolactin tends to be inversely tied to levels of dopamine, let's begin with dopamine, the "craving" neurochemical. All addictive substances also increase dopamine. In fact, that's why they're addictive. The lead up to orgasm is the biggest (legal) blast of dopamine available to mankind. This powerful motivator is the reason that humans have engaged in sex with such fervor for millennia.
Dopamine drops off immediately at the point of orgasm. Yet hangover symptoms from this over-stimulation can continue for weeks. Most of us make absolutely no connection between these two events, but perhaps it is time that we did. Let's look at what scientists are learning about prolactin's effects on our sex lives.
Prolactin rises sharply immediately after orgasm in almost everyone. In fact it is a more accurate marker for orgasm than oxytocin, which also often rises at orgasm. Noting the link between orgasm and raised prolactin, Dr. Jeremy P.W. Heaton surmised, "Orgasm may induce changes in the hypothalamus that overwhelm prolactin inhibition" (allowing prolactin to rise dramatically). Possibly the sudden drop in dopamine itself unleashes prolactin.
It appears that the evolutionary purpose of this increase in prolactin is to shift lovers' attention to other activities, such as feeding the kids, hunting and gathering, and so forth. It may also serve to decrease our attachment to an existing partner and prime us for moving on, to another lover—who, biology ensures, will offer an enticing new dopamine rush...the 'Coolidge Effect'.
In any case, prolactin levels remain elevated for some time after orgasm, and may even surge repeatedly for days. Lovers have observed mood swings related to orgasm for as long as two weeks afterward. Interestingly, cocaine addicts who go through withdrawal also have unusually high prolactin levels, which normalize by the end of three weeks. (Like orgasm, cocaine floods the pleasure/reward center of the brain with dopamine.) In female rats, intermittent prolactin surges continue for up to two weeks after copulation, whether or not the rats become pregnant.
There is a well-documented relationship between dopamine and prolactin; when one is unusually high the other is low, and vice versa. For example, schizophrenia is associated with high levels of dopamine. Some anti-psychotic drugs (designed to lower dopamine in schizophrenics) also raise prolactin levels. Schizophrenia patients treated with these drugs often complain of the same symptoms as others with high prolactin, such as low libido.
Scientists once thought of prolactin as strictly promoting lactation in nursing mothers, but as time has passed they've discovered prolactin plays many other roles—everything from inhibiting sexual drive to immune functions. It also appears to be part of our repertoire of stress responses. It is more associated with anxiety and despair rather than fight or flight, as is cortisol.
We're suggesting that orgasm leads to high levels (or surges) of prolactin over a two-week period (...of course most lovers do not wait two weeks, which means these neurochemical swings are always affecting their relationships). Symptoms of elevated prolactin are similar in both sexes. Men with high prolactin levels sometimes report erectile dysfunction, low libido, headaches, and mood changes (anxiety).
Women also report obesity in addition to low libido and headaches. In short, if a woman becomes a shrew during the weeks after a passionate encounter, she may have good reason...neurochemically at least. Women with high prolactin levels can suffer from depression, anxiety, and hostility. Many of the symptoms of PMS are similar to the effects of high prolactin, and women have noticed improvements in those symptoms using the approach to sex that we recommend (avoiding conventional orgasm while making love frequently).
The relationship between the intense high of dopamine and the subsequent lingering unpleasant symptoms associated with prolactin may someday help scientists explain why intimate relationships often fall into a sort of manic/depressive cycle. One day he looks like Dr. Jekyll; the next day like Mr. Hyde. One day she looks like Aphrodite; the next like Medusa with live snakes for hair.
Chinese Taoists observed this distressing phenomenon even thousands of years ago. According to Mantak Chia, sages recognized that vicious crimes are often committed after sex because one scares easily and reacts violently. They also noticed that antipathy could build up between intimate partners over time because of the uncomfortable drop off, or feeling of depletion (high prolactin?), following orgasm.
Best of all, Taoists recognized that there is a natural cure for the problem: learn to make love without over-stimulating yourself with too much dopamine (orgasm or hungry behavior). That way, neurochemical levels seem to stay balanced. The results? No more intense mood swings...and an easy, natural, sustained attraction between lovers.
Lovers can achieve this result without chemical manipulations by learning to make love differently. Perhaps one day therapists who study addiction (and the relationship between dopamine and prolactin) will lend their support to this natural way to balance our emotions. However, don't look to medical researchers in laboratories to publicize this possibility, if indeed they ever discover it. This is not because of a conscious conspiracy; it's due to the fact that experiments require funding, so laboratory research is geared toward producing substances that can be protected by patents and marketed as drugs—like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis.
Behavior changes that promote well-being without drug manipulation, are, therefore, easily overlooked. Unfortunately, neurochemistry is so complex that drugs can seldom "cure" one imbalance without creating others, which then show up as unpleasant side effects. According to urologist Jeremy Heaton,
Prolactin is an important sex hormone with potentially far-reaching daily consequences. It has a fundamental role in sexual activity, and may be the first candidate for a circulating molecule with the capacity to regulate sexual feelings and preparedness.
Suggestion: don't expect to pop a pill to counter the effects of prolactin. Instead, change your behavior to create inner balance and avoid the extremes biology otherwise dictates. Broaden your repertoire of lovemaking skills to discover the truth for yourself.