A preliminary report on the supraoptic nucleus and control of intraocular pressure

Four animals received unilateral optic nerve sections which ablated that eye's rise in intraocular pressure in response to water drinking. Bilateral supraoptic nucleus lesions in two animals resulted in ablation of the other eye's response to water drinking. Both animals showed histopathologic proof of the lesion site. Two animals received sham operations for the supraoptic nucleus lesions with no change in their differential response to water drinking. This report gives preliminary evidence of the hypothesis of a supraoptic nuclear control mechanism of intraocular pressure.