Severe Reduction of Rat Defensive Behavior to a Predator by Discrete Hypothalamic Chemical Lesions |
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Authors: | NS Canteras S Chiavegatto LE Ribeiro do Valle LW Swanson |
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Institution: | aDepartment of Physiology & Biophysics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, CEP. 05508, São Paulo, Brazil;bProgram in Neural, Informational, and Behavioral Sciences, and the Department of Biological Sciences, Hedco Neuroscience Bldg., mc 2520, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520, USA |
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Abstract: | Nonspecific lesion and stimulation methods have suggested that the hypothalamus is critical for the expression of defensive behavior, although the organization of neural circuits mediating such behavior is unclear. In the rat hypothalamus, we found that increased Fos levels were restricted to specific cell groups following presentation of a stimulus (predator) known to elicit partly innate defensive responses. The dorsal premammillary nucleus showed the most striking increase in Fos levels, and cell body-specific chemical lesions therein virtually eliminated two major components of defensive behavior but increased exploratory behavior, suggesting that this caudal hypothalamic nucleus plays a critical role in the expression of behavioral responses sometimes critical for survival of the individual. We have previously shown that the Fos-responsive cell groups in the medial hypothalamus are interconnected in a neural system distinct from those mediating reproductive and ingestive behaviors. |
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Keywords: | Behavioral systems Dorsal premammillary nucleus Fos Hypothalamus Motivation Reproductive behavior |
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