Paraventricular lesions: hormonal and cardiovascular responses to hemorrhage

The responses of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), renin, epinephrine and norepinephrine and arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) to hypotensive hemorrhage were examined before and 1 h after lesion of the paraventricular nuclei (PVN) in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats and 1 day before and 4 days after lesion of the PVN in conscious rats. The ACTH response to hemorrhage was abolished 1 h (n = 8) and 4 days (n = 14) after PVN lesion whereas the ACTH response in the sham groups (in both anesthetized and conscious studies, n = 8 and 16 respectively) remained intact. PVN lesion had no effect on basal ACTH levels 4 days after lesion. The responses of renin, epinephrine, norepinephrine and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and HR to hemorrhage were not affected 1 h or 4 days after PVN lesion. Resting levels of the above variables did not change 4 days after lesion. The PVN lesion had a small (but significant) effect on the baroreceptor reflex in the conscious study (reflex changes in HR caused by phenylephrine- or nitroglycerin-induced change in MABP) and had no effect on the baroreceptor reflex in the anesthetized study. The group with PVN lesions gained more weight 6 days after lesion than the group with sham lesions. We conclude that the PVN are part of a neural pathway involved in ACTH regulation during perturbations of the cardiovascular system and on weight gain and that PVN lesions have little or no effect on resting or stimulated (hemorrhage) levels of renin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, HR and MABP or on the baroreceptor reflex.