Plasma corticosterone responses to lesions and stimulations of the limbic thalami nuclei, medial mammillary nucleus and cingulate cortex.

The influence of extrahypothalamic limbic structures on adrenocortical activity was investigated in female adult rats. Bilateral lesions on the anteromedial thalami nucleus (AMTN), anteroventral thalami nucleus (AVTN) or the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) all elicited a significant decrease on plasma corticosterone, while their electrochemical stimulation produced a significant increase with respect to animals with sham lesions or sham stimulation. In contrast, after lesions of the dorsomedial thalami nucleus (DMTN), medial mammillary nucleus (pars lateralis) (MMN) or retrosplenial cortex (RC), values of plasma corticosterone were significantly higher than those found in controls, whereas following their stimulation plasma corticosterone levels were lower than in controls. Bilateral lesions or stimulations of anterior cingulate cortex had no significant effect upon corticosterone secretion. These findings may be interpreted as indicative of the existence of excitatory (AMTN, AVTN, and PCC) and inhibitory (DMTN, MMN and RC) central nervous structures for the control of corticoadrenal secretion besides those already known.