Suggestive Evidence of a Primary “Drinking Center” in Hypothalamus of the Rat

Abstract

Summary

In a female rat with 2 bipolar bilateral electrodes in the lateral hypothalamus at the level of the lower dorsomedian nucleus, violent drinking activity could be stimulated by passing a 60 cycle, 2 msec. D.C. pulse across the electrodes by RF activation of a subcutaneously buried pickup unit. During the period of maximal response, the rat drank in excess of 400 ml tap water daily while chronically stimulated. By the fifth day the animal had lost its responsiveness to stimulation. The drinking behaviour was not secondary to diuresis but was an immediate and direct response to hypothalamic stimulation.