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Biomedical subjects

B Sadowski

Publications and source records attributed to B Sadowski.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

External stimulus control of self-stimulation behavior.

Dogs with electrodes implanted in the anterior forebrain region were successfully trained to leverpress for brain stimulation reward upon the presentation of a 1000 Hz tonal conditioned stimulus and to withhold responding during its absence and upon a 2000 Hz tonal discriminative stimulus. The conditioned response extinguished upon removal of reward and was promptly restored when reward became again available. The results are discussed in terms of a conditioned drive induced by the action of the cue. It is proposed that environmental factors play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of self-stimulation behavior. Brain stimulation reward may serve as reinforcer of conditioned instrumental reflexes in an essentially similar way as natural rewards.

Animals↗

Inhibition of osmotic thirst by electric stimulation of the basal forebrain in dogs.

The effect of electrical brain stimulation (ESB; 50 Hz, 50-150 microA sine wave, 5 s on/5 s off) on osmotic thirst was examined in 10 conscious dogs chronically implanted with electrodes aimed at the anteromedial part of the basal forebrain. Suppression of osmotic thirst (SOT) was observed during stimulation through 18 of 41 electrodes located in the olfactory tubercle, the nucleus accumbens, the caudate nucleus, the medial septum, and the lateral preoptic-anterolateral hypothalamic area (PrA/ALH). Mean increment in plasma osmolality necessary to cause drinking rose from 9.0 +/- 1.5 mosmol (X +/- SE; n = 15) under control conditions to 15.8 +/- 2.6 mosmol (n = 18) during ESB in SOT placements. Threshold cellular dehydration eliciting drinking increased from 2.70 +/- 0.50% of intracellular water (ICW;n = 16) to 4.77 +/- 0.68% of ICW (n = 18), respectively. The strongest SOT was found during ESB in the nucleus accumbens, and the PrA/ALH. The same stimulation failed to inhibit feeding, support self-stimulation or produce appreciable changes of dog's gross behavior. The results give evidence for the existence in the basal forebrain of the dog a widely distributed neural system suppressing osmotic thirst. The nucleus accumbens and the PrA/ALH seem to play an important role in this system.

Animals↗

Arterial blood pressure and heart rate changes during self-stimulation by dogs in the basal forebrain region, lateral preoptic area, hypothalamus, ventral midbrain and amygdala.

In dogs pressing a lever for a brain-stimulation reward, arterial blood pressure (ABP) was elevated for 20 out of 24 sites tested, but this effect was usually conspicuous only at twice the threshold current sustaining stable performance. Hypertension was seen only in one ventral tegmental and two hypothalamic sites. In three anterior placements the ABP and heart rate (HR) increased more upon a fixed ratio than on continuous reinforcement. In most sites, self-stimulation was accompanied by cardiac acceleration; however, in some placements the HR was similar to or even less than control values. Continuous stimulation (5-10 sec) at one nucleus accumbens and four hypothalamic sites by the experimenter was aversive and produced a clearcut pressor response. The cardiovascular changes seem to depend on a spread of current to brain centres controlling circulatory functions and also, to some extent, on the animal's motor activity. The results contradict the claim that a causal relationship exists between the autonomic concomitants of self-stimulation and the intrinsic nature of the brain-stimulation reward.

Amygdala↗

Osmotic thirst suppression elicited by electrical stimulation of the basal forebrain in the dog.

Reactivity of the thirst mechanism to osmotic stimuli was measured in conscious dogs chronically implanted with electrodes in the basal forebrain. It was found that the thirst threshold to the osmotic stimulus increases markedly during electrical stimulation of the preoptic area, septum, nucleus accumbens septi, and to smaller degree during stimulation of the nucleus caudatus. The possibility of existence of some inhibitory components in the neural system controlling thirst in the dog is suggested.

Animals↗

Hyperthermia and inhibition of feeding produced by self-stimulation in the septum and preoptic area in dogs.

Dogs bearing electrodes implanted in the anterior part of the basal forebrain were tested for their response to food upon electric stimulation of rewarding sites, and for self-stimulation-produced hyperthermia. Self-stimulation and forced (experimenter-induced) stimulation of 12 out of 16 loci evoked a negative reaction to food the strength of which was determined according to occurrence and persistence of three effects: ignoring food (the dog performing self-stimulation in the presence of readily available meat), food rejection (the dog's failure to take meat offered together with passive stimulation of the rewarding site), and food ejection (throwing meat out of the mouth upon passive stimulation). The rise in body temperature during self-stimulation was positively correlated with the rate of responding. Hyperthermia was significantly higher during self-stimulation in sites where stimulation produced a strong negative reaction to food, as compared with those where stimulation failed to stop the animal from eating. The stimulus-contingent negative reaction to food may reflect a short-term satiety which is supposed to play an essential role in the mechanism of reinforcement. Hyperthermia, and particularly stabilization of hypothalamic temperature on an elevated but fairly constant level, argues for a shift of the set-point for temperature regulation. Occurrence of the two effects supports the claim that self-stimulation produces some complex activation of neural processes controlling energy homeostasis.

Animals↗

Some characteristics of self-stimulation behavior of dogs.

Self-stimulation was studied in dogs chronically implanted with electrodes in different points within the basal forebrain. The animals exhibiting pure self-rewarding behavior were defined as "optimal" and "good self-stimulators", whereas those with concomitant aversive phenomena were incorporated into the third category called "self-stimulation-withdrawal". In "optimal self-stimulators" a remarkable resistance of the response to extinction was noted. A strong negative attitude toward food was found in four dogs upon stimulation of the self-rewarding loci. Penile erection accompanied self-stimulation in two animals. Sniffing at first always followed incentive brain stimulation, but later it appeared at the beginning of each experiment and/or preceded the bouts of pressing. A rise of hypothalamic temperature was noted in mast of the animals. In some cases this was equal to or exceeded 1 degree Celsius. The temperature increase was accompanied by intense panting between the bouts. Seizures appeared locally as contractions of masticatory muscles and sometimes developed into a generalized fit. Anatomically the "reward area" in the dog extends from the septum and the preoptic area to the mammillary bodies and reaches laterally to the internal capsule.

Animals↗

[Alström-syndrome: a missed diagnosis with consequences].

BACKGROUND: Alström-syndrome (OMIM: 203 800) is a rare disease with autosomal recessive inheritance. Characteristic features are retinal degeneration, truncal obesity, diabetes mellitus and sensorineural hearing loss. Further variable symptoms include chronic hepatitis and asthma. CASE REPORT: A patient with asthma associated with retinal degeneration is presented. The investigations demonstrated truncated obesity, sensorineural deafness and impaired glucose tolerance and Alstrom-syndrome was diagnosed. She received hearing aids, diabetes training and is regularly reinvestigated for further manifestations of Alström-syndrome.

Asthma↗