Possible role of the CNS in regulating insulin secretion via humoral factors.

Among the several possible mechanisms responsible for hyperinsulinemia of obese rodents, an abnormal CNS-endocrine pancreas axis has been postulated. This axis appears to involve neural (parasympathetic, sympathetic) relationships. A humoral link between the CNS and the pancreas could also exist, as based on data from these and other laboratories. Indeed, CNS sites such as the ventrolateral, the ventromedial hypothalamus or the neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary, have been shown to contain substances possessing insulin secretion modulating activity. The precise nature of these substances has yet to be determined, as well as their ability to actually be released into the systemic circulation.