"Hypo" means below. The Hypothalamus is a structure that is below the Thalamus near the bottom of the brain.
The hypothalamus is involved in many types of motivated behavior including food consumption
The two areas of the hypothalamus that we will be investigating are the lateral hypothalamus and the ventromedial hypothalamus
often abbreviated as LH & VMH respectively
In order to influence the electrical activity of the hypothalamus; electrodes must be inserted into the brain
As it is unethical to implant electrodes and alter a persons brain, rats are often used as a substitute
The rats brain differs from ours in many ways, but a rats hypothalamus is very similar to ours