Comparisons of behavioral effects of hippocampal and prefrontal cortex lesions in the rat.

Abstract

5 groups of 5 male Wistar rats each, with aspiration lesions of dorsomedial frontal cortex, ventrolateral frontal cortex, hippocampus, or posterior cortex, or with sham operations, were tested in 5 behavioral situations: emotionality assessment, serial spatial reversals, 70:30 spatial probability, differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL), and barpress extinction. Ss with posterocortical lesions did not differ from operated controls on any task. The effects of lesions in the 2 anatomically defined frontal subfields were clearly dissociated on spatial reversals, spatial probability, and DRL. Lesions in either subfield produced a significant increase in emotionality relative to controls, and neither lesion affected barpress extinction. Results suggest that both frontal subfields may be functionally related to the hippocampus but in different ways. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)