Hippocampal or pyriform lobe damage in infancy and endocrine development of rats
(1963)
Journal - American Journal of Physiology -- Legacy Content
Abstract :
Lesions were produced in the brains of male and female albinorats at 1 week of age. It was found that bilateral hippocampaldamage is associated with diminished gonadal and adrenal developmentwhen that development is estimated by morphologic and behavioralindices (running activity). Only those female rats with bilateraldegeneration of the dorsal fornix failed to exhibit cyclic running.Both male and female rats with considerable bilateral hippocampaldamage showed diminished running, smaller-sized gonads, andlarger thymus bodies at 75–80 days of age. On the otherhand, male and female rats with bilateral damage to the pyriformlobe developed a precocious spurt in running activity. A spurtis normally associated with puberty. The question of whetherthe hippocampus and pyriform lobe should be regarded only as"centers" for trophic stimulation or suppression or whetherthey should be regarded as important links in circuits mediatingan endocrine response to environmental conditions is discussed.