Effect of Cingulate and Fornix Lesions on Emotional Behavior in Rabbits (Oryctolagus Cuniculus)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1981

Description

The effects of fornix and cingulate lesions on two-way active avoidance, passive avoidance, and tonic immobility were studied in rabbits. Fornix lesions facilitated acquisition of the active avoidance task, impaired acquisition of passive avoidance, and prolonged the duration of tonic immobility. Cingulate lesions impaired the acquisition of the active avoidance task, facilitated acquisition of passive avoidance, and decreased the duration of tonic immobility. The pattern of degeneration produced by these lesions was determined using the Fink-Heimer procedure. In addition to their individual projection patterns, both lesions caused degeneration in the ventral anterior thalamic nucleus and in the area of the zona incerta. We propose that some form of response modulation hypothesis best accounts for the behavioral data and that the ventral anterior thalamus and zona incerta are probable regions where the cingulate gyrus, and structures which contribute to the fornix, directly interface in interactions which influence behavior.

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