[Morphofunctional state of the neurocytes of the hypothalamic food centers in fasting rats].

Considerable changes in the size of neurocyte perikaryons, nuclei and nucleoli, and ratios between these values were detected in the hypothalamic food centres of rats fasting for 1, 2, or 3 days. A certain similarity was observed between the reactions of neurocytes of the hypothalamus starvation and saturation centres to starvation: the neurocyte perikaryon and nuclei increased in size and the relative size of the nucleoli decreased. The following differences in the time course of changes were observed: neurocyte perikaryons and nuclei grew in size during fasting, and the size of the ventromedial nucleus decreased. A possible relationship between the detected structural changes and neurocyte function in the studied hypothalamic centres is discussed.