Blockage of Induced Pseudopregnancy by Electrochemical Stimulation of the Limbic System

Abstract

Pseudopregnancy induced by cervical stimulation was inhibited by acute electrochemical stimulation of the corticomedial amygdala or dorsal hippocampus under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia (40 mg/kg) in adult, cyclic female Sprague-Dawley rats. The degree to which pseudopregnancy was blocked depended on temporal conditions of brain stimulation and sodium pentobarbital administration. Pentobarbital alone had a suppressing effect on the incidence of pseudopregnancy, especially when it preceded cervical stimulation. Limbic stimulation before cervical stimulation had a tendency to potentiate the suppression of pseudopregnancy by pentobarbital. After cervical stimulation, hippocampal stimulation tended to inhibit the development of pseudopregnancy, potentiating the pentobarbital suppression, while amygdala stimulation tended to override the pentobarbital blockage of pseudopregnancy. These findings suggest a negative influence of these two limbic structures and pentobarbital on the secretion of prolactin.