Variations in hoarding behavior following regional hippocampal lesions in rats

Instinctual behaviors of feeding (food intake) and hoarding (HS) so also the body weight and estrus cycles (EI) were studied before and after discrete bilateral electrolytic lesions of dorsal hippocampus in female rats. Following the lesions, there was significant increase in food intake, body weight, hoarding score and disruption of 4-5 days estrus cycles with EI of more than one, as compared to the control (prelesioned) period and the sham operated rats. Lesions of ventral hippocampus in the earlier study (Indian J exp Biol, 26 (1988) 53) had shown a significant decrease in hoarding thus suggesting a differential role of the hippocampus probably mediated through the amygdala and/or hypothalamus both of which either alone or together exert a more direct and pivotal control in the feeding and hoarding behaviour.