title: Dissociations among the anxiolytic effects of septal, hippocampal, and amygdaloid lesions.
abstract: Fear reactions of rats given bilateral lesions to the septum, hippocampus, or amygdala were compared with those of rats given sham lesions, in 2 animal models of anxiety: the shock-probe burying test and the elevated plus-maze test. Septal lesions produced anxiolytic effects in both tests (i.e., an increase in open-arm activity and a decrease in burying), whereas hippocampal and amygdaloid lesions produced neither of these effects. On the other hand, hippocampal and amygdaloid lesions impaired rats' passive avoidance of the electrified shock-probe, whereas septal lesions did not. These dissociations suggest that limbic structures such as the septum, amygdala, and hippocampus exert parallel but distinct control over different fear reactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. dtreit@psych.ualberta.ca
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Treit
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menard
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004597:Electroshock; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology