The role of dopamine in pontine intracranial self-stimulation: a re-examination of the problem.

Subsequent of their achieving stable rates of responding for electrical stimulation through electrodes implanted in the region of the brachium conjunctivum, rats were anaesthetized and 6-hydroxydopamine injected through an implanted guide tube into the area of lateral hypothalamus in which the ascending axons of dopamine-containing neurones are found. The resultant destruction of these axons had similar temporary effects on the behaviour of the animals whether it was ipsilateral or contralateral to the electrode. It is concluded that nigral or mesolimbic dopaminergic systems are not involved in pontine intracranial self-stimulation behaviour.