Compound action potentials recorded in the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, and periaqueductal gray following rewarding stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus in the rat

Neurons activated by rewarding stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) were studied by two complementary means. To ensure that the same directly stimulated neurons were activated in both tests, the same subjects, stimulation sites, currents, and pulse durations were employed. In the first test, Yeomans’s method was used to obtain behaviorally derived measures of recovery from refractoriness in the neurons responsible for the rewarding …