Effects on hypothalamic and telencephalic NE and 5-HT of tegmental knife cuts that produce hyperphagia or hyperdipsia in the rat.

Knife cuts in the coronal plane through various aspects of the midbrain tegmentum produced hyperphagia, hyperdipsia, or no effect on ingestive behavior. All of the cuts significantly depleted NE and 5-HT from hypothalamus and forebrain. The brains of hyperphagic or hyperdipsic animals did not differ from those of normophagic and normodipsic animals with respect to hypothalamic NE or 5-HT or telencephalic NE. Both hyperphagic and hyperdipsic animals had significantly lower concentrations of 5-HT in forebrain than rats which sustained similar cuts in the tegmentum which did not affect ingestive behavior.