title: Hippocampal function and putative corticosterone receptors. Effect of septal lesions.
abstract: In order to investigate the relation between septohippocampal function and hippocampal corticosterone (B) receptors, discrete septal areas were destroyed by electrolytic lesions; the effects of the lesions on cytosol receptor binding of B in the hippocampus were determined 10 or 30 days after lesioning in male rats adrenalectomized 12 h prior to sacrifice. The septal lesions were also characterized functionally by endocrine, neurophysiological and behavioral parameters in the same group of animals. Hippocampal B receptor activity was increased 30 days after lesioning the lateral septal area. The same lesions impaired the acquisition of a conditioned avoidance response. The increase was not due to a behavioral deficiency per se as lesions in the parafascicular nucleus did impair acquisition behavior without affecting B receptors. There was no change in B receptor activity 30 days after destruction of the medial septal nucleus, although such a lesion completely abolished the hippocampal theta activity measured at 10 days. In another group of animals hippocampal B receptors were not affected at 10 days after any of the lesions, while a transient increase in basal plasma levels of B was noted at that time. It appears that the hippocampal receptor activity for B depends on the integrity of the efferents from the hippocampus and/or the dorsolateral septal B receptor system rather than on the septal afferents to the hippocampus.
mesh_terms: D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000502:physiology*; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000502:physiology*; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology; D013826:Theta Rhythm; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; D003345:Corticosterone