Injection of ACTH induces recovery from shuttle-box avoidance deficits in rats with amygdaloid lesions.

In an experiment with 27 female Wistar rats, amygdalectomy caused a deficit in the acquisition of a shuttle-box conditioned avoidance response and in other aversively motivated tasks, supporting previous findings. Amygdalectomized Ss given ACTH 1 hr. prior to acquisition exhibited no such deficit. Previous evidence relating the amygdaloid complex to the pituitary-adrenal axis is used as a basis for arguing that mobilization of steroid hormones is a necessary component of certain types of fear-motivated responses. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)