Electrophysiological evidence for connections between septal neurones and the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus of the rat

Abstract

In order to see whether septal neurones are connected to the hypothalamic neurones secreting vasopressin or oxytocin, neurones in different regions of the septum were recorded during electrical stimulation of the supraoptic nucleus. The position of the stimulating electrode within the latter was verified using lactating rats in which milk ejections could be induced by a train of electrical pulses applied to the nucleus. The responses of septal neurones to single pulse stimulation were then analysed by post-stimulus time histograms. In the septum ipsilateral to the site of stimulation, 42% of the neurones were antidromically invaded, 20% were orthodromically excited and 21% were inhibited following supraoptic stimulation. In the contralateral septum, 2% of the cells tested were antidromically invaded, 3% were excited and 16% inhibited. In the medial septum, 14% of the neurones were orthodromically excited, and 48% were inhibited. These results provide electrophysiological evidence for direct connections between septal neurones and the ipsilateral supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and give further support to the hypothesis of a septal influence on the activity of vasopressin- or oxytocin-releasing cells in the magnocellular system.