Facilitation of the lordosis reflex in female rats by electrical stimulation of the lateral vestibular nucleus.

(1) Electrical stimulation of the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) facilitated lordosis reflex responses to somatosensory stimulation, in estrogen-primed female rats. (2) Unilateral LVN stimulation was sufficient for this effect. Currents as low as 10muA could be used. (3) With the stimulus parameters used, the effect develops within 5 min of LVN stimulation and decays within 10 min following cessation of stimulation. (4) Together with previous evidence that LVN lesions disrupt lordosis, these results suggest LVN facilitation of spinal reflex mechanisms for lordosis.