The effect of subfornical organ lesions and ventricular blockade on drinking induced by angiotensin II.

The role of the subfornical organ (SFO) as the unique receptor site for the drinking behavior induced by intracranial injections of angiotensin II (AII) was investigated. It was found that: (1) drinking in response to intraventricular (IVT) injections of AII was reduced in 6 rats but was unchanged after 80-100% damage of the SFO in 4 cases; (2) reduction of drinking to lateral ventricular application of AII was seen with no apparent SFO damage in 4 rats; (3) recovery of the AII induced drinking deficit was consistently observed within a short time interval (14 days), even in those animals with complete SFO lesions: (4) the presence of ventricular debris was correlated with deficits in water intake to IVT angiotensin injections. In a second experiment artificial blockade of the ventricular space was produced by a plugging technique. Plugging the anterior third ventricle simulated the effects of SFO lesioning. It was concluded that the SFO is not a unique receptor area since the ventral anterior third ventricle is also sensitive for AII (IVT) induced drinking. If the SFO is a receptor site for AII circulating in the CSF it is probably not the only periventricular receptor site. Access of AII to the anterior ventral third ventricle appears to be essential for inducement of drinking.