Dynamic and static phases of obesity following lesions in PVN and VMH

The effect of electrolytic lesions in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) has been compared during both the dynamic and static phase of weight gain. Hyperphagia and weight gain were greater in the VMH-lesioned rats than in the PVN-lesioned rats. Food intake increased at night after both lesions but increased in the daytime only in VMH-lesioned rats. During the dynamic phase of rapid weight gain, the diurnal pattern of corticosterone was blunted to a similar degree in both lesioned groups. The morning insulin concentrations were higher in both lesioned groups than in the sham-operated controls, but in the static phase only the VMH-lesioned rats had higher insulin levels. In the afternoon the insulin was higher in the VMH-lesioned rats than in either the sham-operated or PVN-lesioned rats. In the dynamic phase the weight of interscapular brown adipose tissue was significantly increased in the VMH-lesioned rats, but the specific GDP binding was depressed both in the morning and afternoon when compared with either the sham-operated or PVN-lesioned groups. In both the dynamic and static phases GDP binding was similar in sham-operated and PVN-lesioned animals. The differences in concentration of corticosterone in morning and afternoon were smaller in the lesioned groups than in the controls. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that animals with PVN lesions do not show the disturbances in food intake or in the autonomic nervous system that characterize the VMH-lesioned rats.