title: Self-stimulation in the ventral tegmental area suppresses self-mutilation in rats with forelimb deafferentiation.
abstract: In rats which received section of 5 dorsal roots corresponding to the brachial plexus, self-mutilation of the forelimb develops during the first 2 months after deafferentation. The extent of self-mutilation was measured for 90 days in a control group of animals and in a group with an electrode implanted in the ventral tegmental area and which were allowed to self-stimulate at freedom. The animals which self-stimulated for 35 days did not develop the self-mutilation even after the self-stimulation was stopped.
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000503:physiopathology; D003714:Denervation; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005552:Forelimb / Q000294:innervation*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012653:Self Stimulation / Q000502:physiology*; D013681:Tegmentum Mesencephali / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine