The dependence of the dominant form of the defensive behavior of white male mongrel rats on the functional state of the brain stem inhibitory locomotor system has been studied in chronic experiments. It was established that the electrolytic destruction of the inhibitory zones of the cuneate nucleus of the midbrain, the medial parabrachial nucleus, the central and great nuclei of the raphé leads to the dominance of active defensive reactions in animals in confrontations with partners. The opposite effect is exerted by local injection of kainic acid into these regions of the brainstem. It is hypothesized that the functional state of the brain stem inhibitory locomotor system can exert a modulating influence on the formation of the defensive behavior of animals.
We have developed a conditioned defense reflex in chronic experiments with rats using electrodes implanted in the reticular oral pons nucleus, the corticomedial group of amygdalar nuclei, the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, and the central gray matter of the midbrain. We showed that the synchronization of the activity of neuronal groups of emotiogenic formations of the brain structures investigated was enhanced during formation of the conditioned reflex. We established a dependence of the correlation of the activity of limbic neuronal groups on the functional state of the reticular formation, and also neurochemical correlation mechanisms. We were able to show that an increase/decrease in the coefficients of mutual correlation of the activity of the neuronal aggregates of limbic structures is accompanied by a change in the parameters of the evoked potentials recorded in them.
The effect of arginine vasopressin on the behavior of rats after its microinjection into the caudal ventrolateral region of the brain stem and corticomedial amygdala was investigated. In the region of the brain stem vasopressin has a predominant inhibitory effect of motor activity and orienting behavior evoked by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus. In the region of the corticomedial amygdala under the effect of the peptide an alternation of motor inactivation with orienting reflexes, grooming, and genital genital grooming is observed. In this case an increase of the spontaneous frequency of neuronal impulses occurs in the investigated regions of the brain.
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