Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 61, Issue 6 2273-2279, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Chronic push-pull brain perfusion in unrestrained rhesus macaques
P. M. Gliessman, K. Y. Pau, J. D. Hill and H. G. Spies
A system was developed to permit perfusion of local brain regions and
simultaneous peripheral blood sampling in free-moving caged monkeys. The
system comprises a calvarial headpiece that contains multiple push-pull
cannulas (PPC), a flexible stainless steel tether, a four-channel fluid
swivel, and a surgical procedure for simultaneous multisite brain
cannulation. Rhesus macaques were fitted surgically with an indwelling
jugular catheter and PPC directed into the third ventricle, median
eminence, and preoptic area. These animals were tethered for periods of
14-70 h during which brain perfusates and peripheral blood samples were
collected at 10- to 30-min intervals through the tether-swivel assembly.
Levels and pulsatile patterns of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in 10-min
perfusate samples and luteinizing hormone and cortisol in sequential plasma
samples were quantified by specific radioimmunoassays. The normal endocrine
profiles in these animals suggest that this system provides a valuable
method to study patterns of neurosecretions in an unrestrained simian.
