The lateral hypothalamus and anterior hypothalamic nucleus differentially contribute to rats' defensive responses in the elevated plus-maze and shock-probe burying tests
Abstract Lesions or pharmacological inhibition of the lateral septum reduce rats' open-arm avoidance in the elevated plus-maze and their burying behavior in the shock-probe test. The current study examined whether hypothalamic areas that receive direct input from the lateral septum also influen...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Physiology & behavior 2008-03, Vol.93 (4), p.697-705 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Abstract Lesions or pharmacological inhibition of the lateral septum reduce rats' open-arm avoidance in the elevated plus-maze and their burying behavior in the shock-probe test. The current study examined whether hypothalamic areas that receive direct input from the lateral septum also influence open-arm avoidance and defensive burying. Bilateral infusions of the GABA-A receptor agonist muscimol (20 ng) into the lateral hypothalamus selectively increased rats' open-arm avoidance without affecting shock-probe burying. In contrast, infusions of muscimol into the anterior hypothalamic nucleus suppressed burying without affecting rats' open-arm avoidance. These dissociations suggest that the lateral hypothalamus contributes to the exploration of potentially threatening environments, whereas the anterior hypothalamus influences defensive responses to proximal discrete threat stimuli. |
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ISSN: | 0031-9384 1873-507X |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.11.011 |