lateral hypothalamic syndrome
a four-stage pattern of recovery from lesions of the lateral hypothalamus induced in nonhuman animals. The first stage is marked by inability to eat and drink (aphagia and adipsia), and without assistance (including forced feeding), the animal is likely to die. The second stage includes a period of continued inability to drink and poor appetite for food (adipsia-anorexia), when only wet, palatable foods are accepted. In the third stage, the animal will eat hydrated dry food but continues to avoid water intake and may suffer dehydration. Recovery is the fourth stage, in which new, altered feeding and drinking habits are established and the animal maintains a stable, albeit lower, body weight. Compare ventromedial hypothalamic syndrome.