Bioscientifica Proceedings

This article reviews experiments performed to investigate the importance of thyroid hormones to the expression of the seasonal reproductive cycle of ewes. Thyroidectomy was found to block the transition from the breeding season to anoestrus and to cause ewes to exhibit oestrous cycles all year round. Mechanistically, thyroidectomy produced this effect by preventing the seasonal increase in responsiveness to the negative feedback action of oestradiol on episodic GnRH secretion,...