Ventromedial hypothalamic lesions prevent the fasting-induced changes in day-night pattern of locomotor activity

The time-course of day-night organization of running wheel activity during prolonged fasting was studied in rats, with or without electrolytic lesions in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). For each individual, dates were referenced to the metabolic transition from lipid to protein utilization in late fasting; this was estimated by daily weighing. In fasted sham-operated controls, daytime activity increased progressively over the fast. This fasting-induced rise in diurnal activity was not due to daily handling, since it was observed also in non-handled (fasted) controls. The pattern of the increase in sham-operated rats differed between 2-hour periods (8-10 h to 18-20 h). The distribution of nocturnal activity was also modified during food deprivation: nocturnal activity in late fasting increased in the 20-22 h period and concomitantly decreased in the two 4-6 h and 6-8 h periods. By contrast, VMH lesions markedly limited and delayed the rise in diurnal running activity, irrespective of the 2-hour period. They prevented any significant change in nocturnal activity pattern over the fast. In fasted sham-operated rats, the data may be interpreted as a phase-advance of the nocturnal pattern of locomotor activity, concomitant with the increase of activity during daytime. These changes were suppressed by the VMH lesions. This suggests that the fasting-induced changes in the day-night pattern of locomotor activity are centrally mediated by a neuronal circuit involving the ventromedial hypothalamus.