Richterich L, Stellar J R
Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Physiol Behav. 1997 Aug;62(2):427-9. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(97)88990-1.
Anatomical studies of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) reward in rats often use the lesion method and, therefore, require repeated behavioral testing before and after the lesion. Other anatomical studies on unlesioned rats use a moveable electrode to permit testing at a number of ICSS sites. Combining these methods would yield still more information, but repeated testing is not possible due to the damage created by lowering the electrode. To meet this need, an array of 4 fixed vertically-spaced electrodes was devised. Electrodes are constructed from strands of 0.14-mm (0.0045'') Teflon-insulated stainless-steel wire, 4 of which are glued into an implantable bundle. A 4-channel IC rotary switch is implanted on the rat's head to permit the use of an inexpensive 2-channel electrode lead and commutator. In our laboratory, electrodes were vertically spaced at 0.3 mm, spanning the dorsoventral extent of the lateral hypothalamus and yielded stable rate-frequency curves over the usual 3-4 month period of behavioral testing.
对大鼠颅内自我刺激（ICSS）奖赏的解剖学研究通常采用损伤法，因此需要在损伤前后进行反复的行为测试。其他针对未损伤大鼠的解剖学研究使用可移动电极，以便在多个ICSS位点进行测试。将这些方法结合起来可能会获得更多信息，但由于降低电极所造成的损伤，无法进行反复测试。为满足这一需求，设计了一组由4个垂直间隔固定的电极。电极由0.14毫米（0.0045英寸）聚四氟乙烯绝缘不锈钢丝制成，其中4根胶合在一起形成可植入束。在大鼠头部植入一个4通道IC旋转开关，以便使用便宜的2通道电极引线和换向器。在我们实验室中，电极垂直间隔为0.3毫米，跨越下丘脑外侧的背腹范围，并在通常3至4个月的行为测试期内产生稳定的频率曲线。
