Abstract
A comparison was made between the current thresholds for self-stimulation and for the motivating effects of lateral hypothalamic stimulation through the same electrodes in rats. Three behavioral criteria for motivation were: (a) the display of stimulus-bound eating, drinking or copulating; (b) the facilitation of responding under fixed-ratio schedules; and (c) priming: the release of a lever-pressing response that had been extinguished. Stimulus-train duration in each case was held constant at 1 sec. The threshold of reinforcing brain stimulation significantly exceeded the thresholds for the motivating effects. Furthermore, the threshold for stimulus-bound consummatory behavior correlated significantly with threshold of reinforcement. This suggests that separate but related systems underlie the motivating and rewarding properties of hypothalamic stimulation.
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