Medial amygdaloid suppression of predatory attack behavior in the cat: II. Role of a GABAergic pathway from the medial to the lateral hypothalamus.

The medial amygdala is known to powerfully suppress predatory attack behavior elicited by electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus of the cat. In the preceding paper, it was shown that the initial limb of a pathway subserving suppression of predatory attack from the medial amygdala to the lateral hypothalamus projects to the ventromedial hypothalamus and its functions are mediated by substance P. The present study tested the hypothesis that the second limb of the pathway subserving medial amygdaloid suppression of predatory attack behavior projects from the medial to lateral hypothalamus and its functions are mediated by GABA. Cannula electrodes were implanted into the lateral hypothalamus for elicitation of predatory attack behavior as well as for the microinfusion of GABA compounds. Monopolar stimulating electrodes were implanted into sites within the medial amygdala from which subseizure levels of stimulation could suppress predatory attack behavior. Initially, the effects of dual stimulation of the medial amygdala and lateral hypothalamus upon response latencies for predatory attack were compared with single stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus alone. Dual stimulation was shown to significantly suppress predatory attack elicited from the lateral hypothalamus. Then, the GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline, was microinjected into sites within the lateral hypothalamus from which predatory attack was elicited in doses of 0.015, 0.075 and 0.15 nmol and paired trials of single and dual stimulation were again repeated in a manner identical to that applied prior to drug administration. Drug infusion produced a blockade of medial amygdaloid suppression of predatory attack in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Conversely, microinfusions of the GABAA receptor agonist, muscimol (10, 25 and 50 pmol), into the same lateral hypothalamic 'attack' site in the absence of medial amygdaloid stimulation suppressed predatory attack, thus simulating the effects of medial amygdaloid stimulation. Furthermore, pretreatment with bicuculline microinjected into the lateral hypothalamus blocked the suppressive effects of substance P, that was infused into the ventromedial hypothalamus, upon predatory attack. Receptor autoradiography demonstrated the presence of high affinity binding for GABAA receptors in the lateral hypothalamus. A combination of immunocytochemical and retrograde axonal tract tracing procedures, in which Fluoro-Gold was microinjected into the lateral hypothalamic attack sites, revealed the presence of populations of neurons labeled for both Fluoro-Gold and GABA in the ventromedial hypothalamus. These findings provide new evidence for the existence of a pathway from the medial to lateral hypothalamus whose functions are mediated by GABA. Thus, the overall findings provide support for the view that the pathway from the medial amygdala to the lateral hypothalamus underlying suppression of predatory attack behavior involves a two-neuronal arc: the first neuron projects from the medial amygdala to the medial hypothalamus and its functions are mediated by substance P: the second neuron involves a GABAergic pathway originating in the ventromedial hypothalamus and which projects to the lateral hypothalamus.