title: Learned preferences induced by electrical stimulation of a food-related area of the parabrachial complex: effects of naloxone.
abstract: Electrical stimulation of the External Lateral Parabrachial Subnucleus (LPBe), a food-related area, induced behavioral preferences for associated stimuli in a taste discrimination learning task. Although this stimulation appeared to be ineffective to elicit standard lever press self-stimulation, it induced place preference for one of two training compartments of a rectangular maze in which animals (adult male Wistar rats) received concurrent electrical brain stimulation. In subjects that consistently showed a preference behavior in different trials, administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone (4 mg/ml/kg) blocked concurrent learning when the test was made in a new maze but not in the same maze in which animals had learned the task. These results are discussed in terms of the possible participation of the LPBe subnucleus in different natural and artificial brain reward systems.
authors.affiliation: Psychobiology, University of Granada, Campus of Cartuja, Granada 18071, Spain. mjsimon@ugr.es
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zafra
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: Amadeo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puerto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004777:Environment; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011149:Pons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009270:Naloxone