Vestibular versus tail-pinch activation in cats with lateral hypothalamic lesions.
Mild tail-pinch induces eating in animals which are aphagic following lateral hypothalamic lesions. This study compares the specificity of the behavior produced by tail-pinch to that produced by vestibular stimulation in cats which are akinetic and aphagic following lateral hypothalamic lesions. In these cats, tail-pinch elicited licking and biting at food while vestibular stimulation preferentially elicited forward locomotion. These results suggest that such stimuli activate specific movement subsystems rather than producing general, nonspecific arousal.
D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002415:Cats; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007026:Hypothalamic Area, Lateral / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*