Veni, vidi, vici: the neurohypophysis in the twentieth century

We outline the key discoveries in the first 70 years of research on the neu rohypophysis that provided the foundations for more recent studies in the l ast 30 years. We consider the extent to which these recent studies, which h ave exploited molecular technologies, cellular electrophysiological techniq ues and mechanistic behavioural investigations, have advanced or changed ou r understanding of the functions of oxytocin and vasopressin. The different evolutionary pressures on the oxytocin and vasopressin systems are discuss ed. Lastly, we focus on the mechanisms underlying the burst-firing activity of oxytocin neurones in lactation as a problem not yet solved, and probabl y requiring a presently improbable conceptual leap to understand.