Some characteristics of self-stimulation behavior of dogs.
Self-stimulation was studied in dogs chronically implanted with electrodes in different points within the basal forebrain. The animals exhibiting pure self-rewarding behavior were defined as "optimal" and "good self-stimulators", whereas those with concomitant aversive phenomena were incorporated into the third category called "self-stimulation-withdrawal". In "optimal self-stimulators" a remarkable resistance of the response to extinction was noted. A strong negative attitude toward food was found in four dogs upon stimulation of the self-rewarding loci. Penile erection accompanied self-stimulation in two animals. Sniffing at first always followed incentive brain stimulation, but later it appeared at the beginning of each experiment and/or preceded the bouts of pressing. A rise of hypothalamic temperature was noted in mast of the animals. In some cases this was equal to or exceeded 1 degree Celsius. The temperature increase was accompanied by intense panting between the bouts. Seizures appeared locally as contractions of masticatory muscles and sometimes developed into a generalized fit. Anatomically the "reward area" in the dog extends from the septum and the preoptic area to the mammillary bodies and reaches laterally to the internal capsule.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001831:Body Temperature; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology; D004285:Dogs; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008326:Mammillary Bodies / Q000502:physiology; D008410:Masticatory Muscles; D009042:Motivation; D012119:Respiration; D012201:Reward; D012640:Seizures; D012653:Self Stimulation; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000502:physiology