Electrochemical stimulation of plasma LH and hypothalamic norepinephrine concentrations at short- and long-term intervals after hypothalamic knife cuts

Abstract

Norepinephrine (NE) concentrations in several diencephalic locations were studied in female rats in conjunction with luteinizing hormone (LH) release after medial preoptic area (MPOA) stimulation at short (7 days) and longer time intervals after surgical interruption of anterior or anterolateral neural connections of mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH). Concentrations of diecephalic NE were altered in two general ways after brain surgery: (1) transient early postoperative increases in some regions which appeared unrelated to the type of surgery performed; and (2) other specific decreases in NE concentration which were related to the types of surgery performed and whether a particular ascending noradrenergic pathway was interrupted. At 180 days after surgery, these two types of change in NE concentrations were no longer present. Maximum increases in plasma LH concentrations observed after electrochemical stimulation of the MPOA at either 7 or 180 days after MBH deafferentation also varied according to: (1) the postoperative interval studied; and (2) the location of pathway interruption. Interruption of anterior MBH pathways showed only a transient (7 day interval) reduction in LH release after MPOA stimulation, whereas when both lateral and anterior pathways were servered, there was a more nearly permanent (180 day interval) disruption of LH release after stimulation. The results of these studies support the contention that anterolateral MBH neural connections may constitute a dynamic neural substrate contributing to a gradual improvement in neuroendocrine function observed after early surgical disconnections.