Directionality of Rewarding Impulses within the Medial Forebrain Bundle Self-Stimulation System of the Rat

Abstract

Self-stimulation performance of rats was tested with conditioning pulses to the anterior preoptic area of the medial forebrain bundle followed at various intervals by test pulses to the contralateral posterior hypothalamic area of this bundle. Alternatively, conditioning pulses were delivered through the posterior electrode and test pulses were sent through the anterior electrode. The animals' performance in these two test sequences was indicative of (i) synaptic facilitation and (ii) a posterior convergence site of "self-stimulation impulses" in the medial forebrain bundle.