Abstract
IN insects, growth and moulting depend on the activity of a number of endocrine organs. It is known that a group of neurosecretory cells in the brain secrete a hormone which induces the thoracic glands to produce another hormone, and that this second hormone probably stimulates growth of the body through yet other links1. However, the processes which precede and control the initial secretory activity in the brain are still largely unknown. Lees2 has set out evidence in favour of the theory that secretion of the brain hormone is induced by nervous stimuli. On the other hand, Andrewartha3 thought that the brain might respond to a humoral stimulus linked with nutrition.
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References
Wigglesworth, V. B., “The Physiology of Insect Metamorphosis” (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1954).
Lees, A. D., “The Physiology of Diapause in Arthropods”, pp. 112 and 116 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1955).
Andrewartha, H. G., Biol. Rev., 27, 50 (1952).
Williams, C. M., Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, 103, 120 (1952).
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MONRO, J. A Humoral Stimulus to the Secretion of the Brain-Hormone in Lepidoptera. Nature 178, 213–214 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/178213a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/178213a0
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