Discussions 



183 



destruction in the posterior tuberal region. There is no significant acceleration of 

 puberty in any of the groups except the last, but there is a clear-cut and highly 

 significant acceleration of puberty in the animals with posterior tuberal lesions. 



Notice that there is a fair amount of variation in the time of onset of puberty in 

 the rats with anterior hypothalamic lesions. A few individual animals in this group 



Area common to 

 : lesions in 8 rats 



Sagittol section 



Ventral view 



Fig. 7. 



matured quite early. Accordingly, if we had analysed our data in the manner used by 

 Harris and Critchlow, we might have called a few of these animals precocious; but 

 the average for the group is not different from the controls. 



The common area of destruction in the animals with posterior tuberal lesions is 

 shown in Fig. 6. The inclusive area destroyed by lesions of the anterior hypothalamus 

 is shown in Fig. 7. It seems quite clear that precocious puberty is a consistent finding 

 when a small area in the arcuate nucleus, immediately above the infundibulum, is 

 destroyed (Gellert and Ganong, Acta Endocrinol., in press, 1960). In recent experiments 

 we have also found precocious puberty after lesions of the amygdala, confirming 

 Dr. Critchlow. 



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