Experimental induction of puberty in the infantile female rhesus monkey.

Normal ovulatory menstrual cycles were initiated in prepubertal female rhesus monkeys by the infusion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone for 6 minutes once every hou;. When this regimen was discontinued, the animals promptly reverted to an immature state. These findings permit the conclusion that neither adenohypophysial nor ovarian competence is limiting in the initiation of puberty and suggest that this process depends on the maturation of the neuroendocrine control system that directs the pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus.