Changes in body temperature and water intake following intracerebral implantation of carbachol in rats

Abstract

Intracerebral carbachol produced a fall in core temperature in the rat when implanted in the area preoptica, the nucleus lateralis septi and the area between the thalamic nuclei and the nucleus ruber. Cholinergic stimulation of the anterohypothalamic region did not affect body temperature, while stimulation of the nucleus ventralis thalami induced hyperthermia. Water consumption increased upon intracerebral application of carbachol to the area preoptica, the nucleus lateralis septi, the anterohypothalamic region and the area between the thalamic nuclei and the nucleus ruber. No effect was found following implantation of carbachol in the nucleus ventralis thalami. The results suggest that drinking and hypothermia follow roughly parallel pathways in the limbic system and the diencephalon, although the fiber systems for these two phenomena need not be necessarily the same.