Lateral hypothalamus: hoarding behavior elicited by electrical stimulation.

Electrical stimulation of those points in the lateral hypothalamic area of the brain that promote feeding, but not of other points, elicited intense hoarding activity in satiated rats, similar to that produced by long-term food deprivation. This result suggests that hoarding of food is organized by a hypothalamic drive mechanism sensitive to the efflects of long-term nutritional depletion.