The patterns of [14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake in female rat brain produced by electrical stimulation of hypothalamic and limbic brain areas.

The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of [14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake in anaesthetized rat brain produced by electrical stimulation of brain areas implicated, by previous electrical stimulation studies, in the neural control of pituitary hormone and especially gonadotrophin secretion. Stimulation of the median eminence led to a significant increase in the relative metabolic activities of the arcuate, ventromedial hypothalamic, supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei and the preoptic area. Stimulation of the suprachiasmatic or paraventricular nuclei or the medial preoptic area, anterior hypothalamic area, the dorsal or ventral hippocampus or amygdala led to an increase in the relative metabolic activity of many brain regions known to have direct connections with these areas, but in addition produced increases in the relative metabolic activity of areas which have secondary connections. Hippocampal stimulation confirmed previous neuroanatomical findings of major intrinsic functional connections between different fields of the ipsilateral and contralateral hippocampus. Stimulation of the amygdala, unexpectedly, did not change the relative metabolic activity of the arcuate nucleus and medial preoptic area which have neuroanatomical connections with the amygdala. Similarly, stimulation of the medial preoptic area did not change significantly the relative metabolic activity of the mamillary body and dorsomedial thalamic area. The effect of preoptic area stimulation on the relative metabolic activity of several brain regions was changed by ovariectomy and by injection of oestradiol benzoate. Stimulation of the preoptic area and suprachiasmatic nuclei, but not the anterior hypothalamic area or other brain regions, increased significantly the plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone. These results show that (i) electrical stimulation of brain areas concerned with the control of gonadotrophin and other pituitary hormone secretion changes the metabolic activity of nuclei and neural pathways extrinsic as well as intrinsic to the hypothalamic-pituitary system, (ii) the [14C]2-deoxyglucose method can detect changes in antidromic as well as orthodromic activity and in multi-synaptic pathways, (iii) neuroanatomical pathways are not always activated metabolically by electrical stimulation, and (iv) the preoptic-suprachiasmatic nucleus gonadotrophin control system is discrete and is little affected by increased metabolic activity of the hypothalamus produced by stimulation of the anterior hypothalamic area or other brain areas.