POSTERODORSAL AMYGDALOID-LESIONS IN RATS - LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON BODY-WEIGHT

Bilateral lesions in the most posterodorsal aspects of the amygdala in female rats resulted in immediate and dramatic weight gains on a stan dard lab chow diet. The rate of weight gain returned to normal by Day 20, but the difference in body weight between animals with amygdaloid lesions and those with sham lesions was maintained for the duration of the study (60 days). Because rats with posterodorsal amygdaloid lesio ns have also been found to be hyperinsulinemic, it is hypothesized tha t the lesions result in a similar, though smaller, version of the synd rome that follows lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.