Hypothalamic Obesity: The Myth of the Ventromedial Nucleus

@article{Gold1973HypothalamicOT,
  title={Hypothalamic Obesity: The Myth of the Ventromedial Nucleus},
  author={Richard M. Gold},
  journal={Science},
  year={1973},
  volume={182},
  pages={488 - 490}
}
  • R. M. Gold
  • Published 2 November 1973
  • Biology, Psychology
  • Science
Lesions restricted to the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus were neither necessary nor sufficient for, and did not contribute to, the production of hypothalamic obesity. Hypothalamic lesions and knife cuts that do produce obesity damage the nearby ventral noradrenergic bundle or its terminals. 
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The ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the hormonal arousal of sexual behaviors in the female rat
Effects of hypothalamic knife cuts on feeding induced by paraventricular norepinephrine injections
Differential effects of lateral and ventromedial hypothalamic lesions on gastrointestinal transit in the rat
Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus lesions produce overeating and obesity in the rat
Catecholamines in some hypothalamic and telencephalic nuclei of food deprived rats.
TLDR
The influence of 48 h food deprivation on the levels of catecholamines was investigated in different hypothalamic and telencephalic nuclei of the rat brain and observed a statistically significant decrease of NA and DA in the ventromedial nucleus and the decrease in the arcuate nucleus.
Multiple knife cuts between the medial and lateral hypothalamus in the rat: a reevaluation of hypothalamic feeding circuitry.
TLDR
Findings indicate that the feeding inhibitory fibers responsible for the hyperphagia syndrome do not project from the VMH to the LH, and this calls for a reevaluation of hypothalamic circuitry.
Leptin activates distinct projections from the dorsomedial and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei.
TLDR
The results demonstrate that a discrete set of hypothalamic pathways may underlie leptin's autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral effects and provide an anatomic substrate for integration of metabolic and circadian information to regulate the hypothalamo-pituitary axis.
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References

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Localization of the Adrenergic Feeding System in the Rat Diencephalon
TLDR
Injection of 6 micrograms of aqueous norepinephrine elicits eating only when it takes place at sites within a limited region of the rat brain, which does not correspond to those parts of the lateral hypothalamus thought to control normal feeding.
Hypothalamic hyperphagia produced by parasagittal knife cuts.
  • R. M. Gold
  • Biology, Psychology
    Physiology & behavior
  • 1970
Reciprocal Activities of the Ventromedial and Lateral Hypothalamic Areas of Cats
TLDR
The concept that glucose-sensitive neurons are present in the ventromedial nucleus was supported by the effects on the spontaneous unit discharges of injecting glucose and other-solutions intravenously.
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LH syndrome and brain catecholamine levels after lesions of the nigrostriatal bundle.
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TLDR
The present investigation was undertaken as an attempt to localize in the hypothalamus the areas the destruction of which leads to diminution or failure of eating with emaciation, as destruction of certain other areas leads to overeating and obesity.
Eating caused by 6‐hydroxydopamine‐induced release of noradrenaline in the diencephalon of the rat
TLDR
In the present experiment 6‐hydroxydopamine was injected into the diencephalon of the rat to release catecholamines and produce degeneration ofcatecholamine‐containing neurones.
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