Cholinergic involvement in lateral hypothalamic rewarding brain stimulation

John S. Yeomans, Ora Kofman, Virginia McFarlane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rats were implanted with stimulating electrodes in the lateral hypothalamus, and cannulae for chemical injections in the ventral tegmentum. Injections of atropine, a muscarinic antagonist, increased thresholds for self-stimulation in a dose-dependent fashion, without slowing bar pressing rates. Thresholds increased less for a self-stimulation site contralateral to the atropine injection. In a conditioned place preference test, the rats preferred compartments in which they received carbachol, a cholinergic agonist. Muscarinic receptors in ventral tegmentum therefore seem critical for medial forebrain bundle (MFB) reward. The possible cholinergic cells of origin are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-26
Number of pages8
JournalBrain Research
Volume329
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 11 Mar 1985
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • acetylcholine
  • atropine
  • carbachol
  • medial forebrain bundle
  • self-stimulation
  • ventral tegmentum

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Developmental Biology

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