Electrophysiological investigation of the hippocampal projections to the neurosecretory cells of the supraoptic nucleus of the rat hypothalamus.

The impulse activity of antidromically identified neurosecretory cells of the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus of rats in response to stimulation of the ventral hippocampus was investigated. Short-latency phasic excitation reactions were identified, and inhibition reactions were not found. The presence of excitatory synaptic inputs from the hippocampus to other neurons of the nucleus and of the perinuclear zone, which are predominant by comparison with analogous projections to the neurosecretory cells, was demonstrated. The features of limbic-hypothalamic relationships are discussed in the context of afferent control of the activity of the neurosecretory cells.