Effects of rewarding hypothalamic stimulation on plasma catecholamine levels in rats.

Plasma catecholamines were measured before, during and after exposure to lick-contingent rewarding hypothalamic stimulation, clock-triggered neutral hypothalamic stimulation, and licking maintained by water. Rewarding hypothalamic stimulation elicited a marked rise in plasma epinephrine levels which returned to baseline levels 3 min after the self-stimulation session. No changes in plasma epinephrine were observed under the latter two conditions. Increases in norepinephrine levels were more variable and seemed to correspond to motor activity being similar in the licking groups but unchanged with clock-triggered stimulation. These results indicate that stimulation of reward pathways may selectively influence adreno-medullary secretion.