Hypothalamic linkage in stress-induced hypocalcemia, gastric damage, and emotional behavior in rats

The effects of hypothalamic lesions on stress-induced hypocalcemia, gastric damage, and swim test-evoked behavior were examined in rats. Bilateral lesions of the ventromedial nucleus in the hypothalamus (VMH) eliminated water-restraint stress-induced hypocalcemia and attenuated any gastric damage compared with those in the sham-operated rats. In contrast, lesions in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) exacerbated both the stress-induced hypocalcemia and gastric lesions in comparison with those in the control rats. In a forced-swimming test, the VMH-lesioned rats showed a significantly shorter time of immobility as well as a longer duration of struggling than the control rats, respectively, while the PVN-lesioned animals spent a longer time in immobility and a shorter period struggling than the control rats. These results suggest that the VMH has an accelerative action in stress-induced hypocalcemia, gastric lesions, and behavioral despair, while the PVN has an opposite effect.