AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 271, Issue 5 1156-R1159, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Hyperinsulinemia in rats with obesity-inducing amygdaloid lesions

B. M. King, J. T. Cook and M. F. Dallman
Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA.

Electrolytic lesions of the posterodorsal aspects of the medial division of the extended amygdala in female rats result in hyperphagia and excessive weight gain. In the present study, the effects of such lesions on plasma insulin, glucose, corticosterone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone were assessed during a period of food restriction and again after a 15-day period of food ad libitum. Compared with control animals, the rats with amygdaloid lesions were hyperinsulinemic under both conditions and gained substantially more weight when fed ad libitum. No difference between groups was observed for the other hormones. It is concluded that damage to the posterodorsal aspects of the medial amygdala results in a primary metabolic dysfunction that accounts, at least in part, for the overeating and excessive weight gain.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. M. King Amygdaloid lesion-induced obesity: relation to sexual behavior, olfaction, and the ventromedial hypothalamus Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, November 1, 2006; 291(5): R1201 - R1214. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Grundmann, E. A. Pankey, M. M. Cook, A. L. Wood, B. L. Rollins, and B. M. King Combination unilateral amygdaloid and ventromedial hypothalamic lesions: evidence for a feeding pathway Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2005; 288(3): R702 - R707. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. King, J. T. Cook, K. N. Rossiter, and B. L. Rollins Obesity-inducing amygdala lesions: examination of anterograde degeneration and retrograde transport Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, April 1, 2003; 284(4): R965 - R982. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Zhang, Y.-F. Li, and K. P. Patel Reduced endogenous GABA-mediated inhibition in the PVN on renal nerve discharge in rats with heart failure Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, April 1, 2002; 282(4): R1006 - R1015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. L. Rollins and B. M. King Amygdala-lesion obesity: what is the role of the various amygdaloid nuclei? Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, October 1, 2000; 279(4): R1348 - R1356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. King, B. L. Rollins, S. G. Stines, S. A. Cassis, H. B. McGuire, and M. L. Lagarde Sex differences in body weight gains following amygdaloid lesions in rats Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, October 1, 1999; 277(4): R975 - R980. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. King, K. N. Rossiter, S. G. Stines, G. M. Zaharan, J. T. Cook, M. D. Humphries, and D. A. York Amygdaloid-lesion hyperphagia: impaired response to caloric challenges and altered macronutrient selection Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, August 1, 1998; 275(2): R485 - R493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]