Evidence that nerve cell bodies in the zona incerta influence ingestive behavior

Iontophoretic applications of the neurotoxin kainic acid to the rostromedial zona incerta deplete this region (but not neighboring areas of the diencephalon) of nerve cell bodies. These injections reproduced many of the regulatory deficits typical of rats with large electrolytic lesions of the area (transient hypophagia and hypodipsia, persisting impairments in drinking responses to acute cellular dehydration and feeding responses to cellular glucoprivation). Since kainic acid appears to spare fibers of passage these results indicate that cellular components of the zona incerta contribute significantly to the regulation of food and water intake.