Oxytocin (OT) is essential for parturition and milk ejection, and OT-containing fibers are
present in several regions of the brain and in the spinal cord. During lactation, activation of
spinal cord neurons by suckling stimulation involves deep laminae III–X including
sympathetic preganglionic neurons of the intermedio-medial cell column. In the present
study, experiments were designed to determine if the suckling provided by the litter
increased OT levels in the spinal cord of dams, as determined by competitive immunoassay …