Abstract
Small bilateral lesions of the nucleus circularis in rats produced a deficit in osmotic thirst, whereas subjects with similar-sized lesions of the lateral preoptic hypothalamus were almost identical to sham-operated rats in response to an osmotic challenge. Therefore, osmosensitive cells probably are more concentrated in the area of the nucleus circularis than in the lateral preoptic area. However, moderate-sized lesions in the lateral preoptic area resulted in a deficit in osmotic thirst, particularly when the damage was posterior to the anterior commissure. This research suggested that osmosensitive cells are diffusely represented in the preoptic area but become more concentrated in the anterior hypothalamus. This conclusion raised questions about the functional importance of the preoptic for osmoregulation and pointed to a more critical role for the nucleus circularis.
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Harrell, E. H., Lambert, P. L., & Ivy, D. Effect of nucleus circularts lesions on osmotic thirst. Paper presented at the Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, April 1978.
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Wallace, F.L., Harrell, E.H. Nucleus circularis and lateral preoptic regulation of osmotic thirst. Psychobiology 11, 195–200 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326794
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326794