Functional development of grafted vasopressin neurons.

Vasopressin neurons, transplanted from normal rat fetuses into the third ventricle of adult Brattleboro rats, alleviate the polydipsia and polyuria of the hosts. Determination of the antidiuretic activity of grafted neurons in hosts with congenital diabetes insipidus provides a convenient model for analyzing the development, plasticity, and function of transplanted central nervous system neurons in mammals.