Vasoconstriction Resulting from Diencephalic Stimulation

Received 2 September 1963 Abstract Using the Horsley‐Clarke technique in cats, diencephalic and rostral mesencephalic structures were systematically explored with stimulating electrodes. Blood pressure, and venous outflows from skeletal muscle, kidney, and intestine were measured. Except for areas where active cholinergic muscle vasodilatation was elicited, stimulation points which gave increases in blood pressure also gave Vasoconstriction in skeletal muscle, kidney and intestine. A search was made for areas which would give selective Vasoconstriction in a single organ or a differentiated response in the blood flows of different organs. A region in the reticular formation of the rostral mesencephalon was found where points giving Vasoconstriction in muscle and kidney beds were anatomically separate.