Physiological control of hypothalamically elicited feeding and drinking.

Abstract

Feeding and drinking elicited by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus are under the control of factors which modulate normal hunger and thirst. In 7 adult male Wistar rats, and 6 Sherman albino female and 4 Long-Evans hooded female rats that both ate and drank in response to stimulation, food intake inhibited elicited eating but not drinking, whereas water inhibited elicited drinking but not eating. Deprivation had opposite effects. Thus, hypothalamically elicited behaviors are neither rigid nor undirected results of stimulation; food and water intake exert specific and homeostatically appropriate control over the neural systems involved in elicited feeding and drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)