Lesions in the mesencephalic reticular formation change open field and thirst motivated labyrinth behaviour of rats

Open field behaviour and thirst motivated running through two labyrinth variants were compared before and after bilateral symmetric lesions of the anterior part of the dorsolateral parabrachial nucleus (PBl) and in the anterior mesencephalic area cuneiformis (CU), both n = 9, on 4-month-old male Long-Evans rats. CU-rats were characterized by abolished visual placing responses, aphagia or hypophagia which was limited up to the 15th postoperative day, ambulatory hyperactivity, reduced climbing and grooming, but enhanced rearing. Their preoperatively learnt thirst motivated labyrinth passage remained unimpaired but their drinking behaviour was persistently changed. They interrupted drinking several times and regularly did not empty the cups. Thirst motivation was evidently reduced after CU-lesions. PBl-rats were ambulatory hypoactive and slowed with accelerated habituation, reduced climbing and changed incline-plane behaviour. A slight hypophagia was generally overcome after the 5th postoperative day. Labyrinth performance of PBl-rats was evidently changed with significantly slower runs and impaired differentiation of the second labyrinth type in which passage duration, errors and even duration of licking were enhanced. Water intake was less reduced than in CU-rats. Both nuclei include parts of the "mesencephalic locomotor region", but contribute differently to the regulation of spontaneous and goal-directed behaviour.