Influences of benzodiazepines on hypothalamically elicited emotional responses in the rabbit.

Tranquilizers of the benzodiazepine group (oxazepam and diazepam) enhanced the rate of self-stimulation elicited from the lateral hypothalamus. Both tranquilizers induced reversal of escape and avoidance behaviors elicited from the medial hypothalamus to a high rate self-stimulation. The reversal effect persisted for two days and the initial negative emotional responses returned later as the drugs were depleted in the organisms. Thus the effect of minor tranquilizers substantially mimics the ventral hippocampus ablation effect which also produced the reversal of the medial hypothalamus responses in earlier experiments.