Reinforcing stimulation of the postero-lateral hypothalamus and mating behaviour in the rat
de Witte, P.
Archives Internationales de Physiologie et de Biochimie 86(5): 985-995
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-9799 PMID: 87181 Document Number: 131207
Male rats implanted with chronic electrodes into the postero-lateral hypothalamic site were tested for self-stimulation behavior. Rats exhibiting steady self-stimulation behavior were observed during mating tests with an estrus female. During these tests the hypothalamus of male rats was stimulated. No stimulus-bound sexual behavior was observed. Correlations were found between the rewarding value of the cerebral stimulation and the specific sexual components of mating behavior. These results are interpreted with the hypothesis of a balancing effect between the reward elicited by direct stimulation of the brain and reward acquired by the presence of an estrus female.