Facilitation of recovery by propantheline bromide after lateral hypothalamic damage.

Following lateral hypothalamic (LH) lesions rats pretreated with propantheline bromide, a peripherally-acting antimuscarinic, ate significantly sooner and at higher body weights than saline pretreated controls. The present results could not readily be accounted for by the widely held explanations of an alteration in body weight-set point, or the occurrence of denervation supersensitivity or regeneration of damaged neural processes. Therefore, it is suggested that propantheline most likely facilitated functional recovery of ingestive behaviors by acting as a prophylaxis against the viscero-metabolic disorders typically induced by LH damage.