title: Feeding, scanning and photophobia after local injection of pentobarbital or noradrenaline into the ventromedial hypothalamus.
abstract: Microinjections of pentobarbital or noradrenaline into the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) of ad libitum fed male Wistar rats promptly but transiently elicited feeding behaviour. No conspicuous differences were found between the effects of the two VMH-interventions on behaviour elements such as grooming, sniffing and locomotion. Scanning, however, was clearly depressed upon microinjection with pentobarbital. Subsequently, VMH-application of pentobarbital but not of noradrenaline was found to mitigate the animals' spontaneous aversion towards brightly illuminated areas. Therefore, it is tentatively suggested that the VMH contains a network for feeding and another non-noradrenergic one for responsiveness towards novel and fearful environmental stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorium voor Neuro- en Psychofysiologie, Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat, B-3000 Leuven Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maes