Fear conditioning and passive avoidance in mice with septal lesions

Slotnick, Burton M.; Brown, David L.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(70)90036-3

Cited by 23 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…These data have several important implications. They confirm findings of other investigators (Slotnick & Brown, 1970;Slotnick & Jarvik, 1966;Thomas, 1972) showing that deficient passive-avoidance behavior can be demonstrated in animals with septal lesions under conditions in which differential responsiveness to the incentive properties of reinforcement cannot be a causal factor. However, the transient nature of the impairment-specifically, the reappearance of passive-avoidance behavior after an initial failure to display that behavior-seriously questions Thomas's interpretation that septal lesions produce deficits in passive-avoidance behavior which are secondary to deficits in fear conditioning.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The results of the previous experiment suggested that enhanced reactivity to the positive incentive properties of reinforcement might be partially responsible for the more rapid extinction of passive-avoidance behavior by animals with septal lesions. However, other workers (Slotnick & Brown, 1970;Slotnick & Jarvik, 1966;Thomas, 1972) have reported that rats and mice with septal lesions are less able to suppress activity when it is punished by electric shock and that this deficit in activity suppression is also observed in subsequent retention tests under nonpunished conditions (i.e., fear-conditioning tests). These latter findings suggest that increased reactivity to positive reinforcement is not necessary for the postoperative deficit in passive-avoidance retention.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Factors underlying deficient passive-avoidance behavior by rats with septal lesions.

Beatty

Beatty²,

O'Briant³

et al. 1973

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

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Analysis of passive-avoidance behavior in rats with septal lesions revealed 2 independent sources of the deficit in retention of passive-avoidance responding. One factor, increased responsiveness to positive reinforcement, causes a persistent deficit in passive-avoidance retention which cannot be alleviated by previous training on a different passive-avoidance task. A second factor, which can be described as a temporary defect in response inhibition, produces a transient deficit in passive-avoidance retention which can be alleviated by prior training on another passive-avoidance task or continued testing on the same task.Many studies (see Fried, 1972, for a review) have shown that septal lesions impair passive-avoidance behavior in a wide range of experimental situations. Several different explanations of this lesion deficit have been offered: First, septal lesions may disrupt a neural circuit concerned with inhibition of ongoing somatomotor responses (McCleary, 1966). Second, septal lesions may increase the strength of the approach response by enhancing the incentive properties of reinforcement (Harvey, Lints, Jacobson, & Hunt, 1965;Zucker, 1965). Third, septal lesions may increase the slope of the avoidance gradient in a conflict situation resulting in closer and more rapid approach to the goal box (Thomas, Hostetter, & Barker, 1968).The present series of experiments was designed to evaluate each of these explanations. GENERAL METHOD SubjectsAll subjects were male Holtzman rats that weighed 275-400 gm. at the start of the experiment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Factors underlying deficient passive-avoidance behavior by rats with septal lesions.

Beatty

Beatty²,

O'Briant³

et al. 1973

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

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“…With the mice under general ip anesthesia (Nembutal 60 mg/kg), stereotaxically (Kopf 900 adapted for mice) placed lesions were produced by using the following coordinates: frontal 1.0 mm anterior to bregma, vertical 3.2 mm from the surface of the skull, and lateral .4 mm from the midline (Slotnick & Brown, 1970). Lesions were made by passing a 2-mA anodal current (Grass LM3 radio-frequency) through a .031-mm-diam., enamel-insulated, stainless steel electrode, with a 1.0-mm exposed tip, to the brain for 10 sec.…”

Section: Surgical Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of septal lesions on factors of mouse emotionality.

Mos¹,

Lukaweski²,

Royce³

1977

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

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Sixty mice from two emotionally divergent inbred strains, BALB/Alb and C57BL/10Alb, were assigned to one of three experimental groups: septal surgery, control surgery, and intact. Subsequently, all animals were administered a battery of five tasks that yielded 19 measures of emotionality. Factor scores were computed on six invariant factors obtained previously from these measures. Each factor was analyzed by an analysis of variance design with main effects for strain, sex, lesion, and days of testing. Strain and lesion main effects were found on Motor Discharge and Autonomic Balance, Strain x Lesion interaction effects on Motor Discharge and Tunneling 1, and a Lesion x Sex interaction effect on Territorial Marking. The results support the interpretation that the septum affects distinct processes modulating Autonomic Balance and Motor Discharge factors.

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“…Investigation of the behavioral contribution of structures of the limbic forebrain, such as the septum and the hippocampus, has tended to focus on relatively simple behaviors such as those generated by operant reinforcement schedules (Ellen & Powell, 1962a, 1962bEllen, Wilson, & Powell, 1964) or avoidance contingencies, either active or passive (King, 1958;McCleary, 1961;Slotnick & Brown, 1970;Sodetz, 1970), with relatively little attention paid to the more complex functioning that is generated by mazes and reasoning tasks. For example, a recent review by Fried (1972) on the septum and behavior refers to only 3 studies (Carey, 1968;Gittelson & Donovick, 1968;Thomas, Moore, Harvey, & Hunt, 1959) concerned with septal damage and maze behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%