Influence of Lesions in the Limbic-Hypothalamic System on Adrenocortical Responses to Daily Repeated Exposures to Immobilization Stress in Rabbits

Abstract

In order to elucidate the role of the limbic-hypothalamic system in the adrenocortical responses to repeated immobilization stress, the influences of daily repeated exposures of immobilization stress on the adrenocorticoid formation in adrenal slices of rabbits with lesions of various sites of the hypothalamus and limbic structures had been investigated. The experimental results obtained were as follows: (1) Lesions in periventricular arcuate nucleus (ARC) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) decreased the rates of adrenocortical responses to the 1st immobilization exposure (exposure on the 1st day), but did not alter the rates of adrenocortical responses to the 4th immobilization exposure (exposure on the 4th day). (2) Lesions in stria-terminalis (ST) and dorsal fornix (FX) did not alter the rates of adrenocortical responses to the 1st immobilization exposure, but increased the rates of adrenocortical responses to the 4th immobilization exposure. (3) The adrenocortical responses to immobilization stress were completely abolished by the seven times repetition of exposures in each sham-operated group and in the animals with lesions of ARC and VMH, but in the rabbits with lesions of ST and FX the adrenocortical responses to immobilization stress were not abolished by the seven times repetition of exposures. (4) These results suggested that such basal medial hypothalamus participated in the mechanisms of adrenocortical responses to the 1st exposure of immobilization stress, but did not participate in the disappearance process of adrenocortical responses to immobilization stress by the seven times repetition of exposures. On the other hand, it might be supposed that the amygdala(AMYG)-ST system and dorsal hippocampus(HPC)-FX system do not participate in the mechanism of adrenocortical responses to the 1st immobilization exposure, but these limbic areas played some roles in the disappearance process of the adrenocortical responses to immobilization stress by the seven times repetition of exposures.