Specific lesion in habenular nucleus induced by the intraventricular injection of monosodium glutamate in mice

Lateral cerebro-ventricular injection of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in adult mice specifically damaged the bilatcral habenular nucleus but spared other circumventricular organs. The habenular nucleus lesions produced by MSG were dose-dependent and irreversible. A high dose of MSG (350 ug/20 ul) induced convulsions in up to 95.8 % of the mice. but these convulsions were reversible and most of the mice survived. It is suggested that lateral cerebro-ventricular injection of MSG may be a suitable animal model to study the functions of the habenular nuclcus.