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Science 21 August 1970:
Vol. 169. no. 3947, pp. 782 - 785
DOI: 10.1126/science.169.3947.782
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Articles

Temporal Summation and Refractoriness in Hypothalamic Reward Neurons as Measured by Self-Stimulation Behavior

Nicole Schupf Smith 1 and Edgar E. Coons 2

1 Department of Psychology, Rockefeller University, New York
2 Department of Psychology, New York University, New York

A neurophysiological technique of double-pulse stimulation has been applied to freely moving rats with chronic indwelling electrodes in the hypothalamic reward area. Self-stimulation thresholds, measured as a function of the interpulse interval, generated curves with time constants characteristic of refractory periods and temporal synaptic summation. The results indicate a way of studying central neuronal processes for which the overt behavior of the animal is the dependent variable.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)