Motivational depression associated with norepinephrine-induced eating from the hypothalamus: Resemblance to the ventromedial hyperphagic syndrome

Edgar E. Coons, David Quartermain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Rats with lateral hypothalamic cannulae were injected with norepinephrine and tested when both hungry and satiated on appetitive tasks of varying difficulty. On a simple consummatory test norepinephrine produced more eating than saline at both 0 and 24 hr of deprivation, and performance at 24 hr was more potentiated than that at 0 hr. On a continuously reinforced lever-pressing task, norepinephrine potentiated pressing only at 0-hr deprivation. When pressing was reinforced on a 30-sec variable interval schedule, norepinephrine potentiated pressing at 0 hr of deprivation, but after 24 hr of deprivation norepinephrine-injected rats pressed significantly less than saline-injected controls. These data suggest that norepinephrine produced a motivational depression in a rat's willingness to work for food which is similar to that seen following ventromedial lesions of the hypothalamus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)687-692
Number of pages6
JournalPhysiology and Behavior
Volume5
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1970

Keywords

  • Chemical stimulation
  • Feeding behavior
  • Hypothalamus
  • Motivation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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