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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1972 Jun;69(6):1583–1586. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.6.1583

Circadian Rhythms in Drinking Behavior and Locomotor Activity of Rats Are Eliminated by Hypothalamic Lesions

Friedrich K Stephan 1, Irving Zucker 1
PMCID: PMC426753  PMID: 4556464

Abstract

Bilateral electrolytic lesions in the suprachiasmatic nuclei permanently eliminated nocturnal and circadian rhythms in drinking behavior and locomotor activity of albino rats. The generation of 24-hr behavioral rhythms and the entrainment of these rhythms to the light-dark cycle of environmental illumination may be coordinated by neurons in the suprachiasmatic region of the rat brain. Destruction of the medial preoptic area had no effect on 24-hr drinking rhythms.

Keywords: suprachiasmatic and medial preoptic nuclei, retino-hypothalamic projection

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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