title: Role of the basomedial hypothalamus in regulation of adiposity, food intake, and reproductive traits in the domestic fowl.
abstract: Bilateral basomedial hypothalamic (BMH) electrolytic lesions in White Leghorn cockerels produced six main physiological categories characterized by typical sets of symptoms: 1) functional castration (FC); hyperphagia, obesity, occasional diabetes insipidus, involuted adenohypophysis, dwarfism, atrophied comb and testes, reduced hematocrit, reduced plasma testosterone and thyroid activity, involuted thymus and adrenal cortex and elevated liver fat and plasma triglycerides and free fatty acids. The FC birds demonstrated defective immune response for the first 12 to 16 wk post-surgery. 2) functional castration with large comb (FCLC); hyperphagia, obesity, transient diabetes insipidus, slight diminution of adenohypophy-seal weight with marked reduction in basophilic cell population, fully atrophied testes but only slight reduction in comb size and hematocrit, plasma testosterone levels between those found in the first category and the control. 3) obese with normal testes (ONT); hyperphagia, obesity, high level of plasma lipids, normal histological organization of the adenohypophysis, normal testes, semen production and comb size. The next three categories exhibited physiological syndromes identical to the former three categories except for food intake, which operationally could be defined as normal. A marked difference among the BMH-lesioned birds was found in sexual behavior when the FC birds completely lost their libido. None of the replacement therapy regimens caused complete rehabilitation from adiposity or restoration of reproductive traits. Lipoprotein lipase activity increased at an early stage postlesioning and preceeded the development of hyperphagia. Placement of BMH lesions in newly hatched chicks resulted in marked dwarfism and obesity without hyperphagia. The BMH-lesioned heavy breed White Rock cockerels exhibited a lesser degree of adiposity than the light White Leghorn birds. Removal of the olfactory bulbs and destruction of the septal area resulted in increased thyroid activity, with secondary hyperphagia without obesity. In a short-term study, administration of sodium pentobarbital to the BMH area resulted in increased feeding. Conversely, glucose administration to the same area suppressed feeding in satiated but not in food-deprived chickens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Snapir
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Robinzon
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction