Brain lesions in the paraventricular nuclei and catecholaminergic neurons minimize salt hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats.

1. The rise in blood pressure in Dahl salt-sensitive rats that received intracerebroventricular 6-hydroxydopamine was almost half that of the control rats throughout 20 weeks of high (8%) NaCl feeding. 2. The rise in blood pressure in Dahl salt-sensitive rats with bilateral complete electrolytic lesions of the paraventricular nuclei was almost half that of the control rats during 12 weeks of high (8%) NaCl feeding. 3. The bilateral complete electrolytic lesions of the suprachiasmatic nuclei enhanced the development of NaCl hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. 4. These results show that NaCl-induced hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats requires the integrity of the central nervous system catecholaminergic neurones and the paraventricular nuclei for its full expression.