Effect of visual experience on the habituation of orienting behavior.

Three experiments studied the orienting behavior (OB) at 30, 60, 90, or 120 days old of male Long-Evans rats, of whom 88 were light-reared (LR) and 84 dark-reared (DR). OB was assessed by examining S's ability to interrupt ongoing licking and perform appropriate head and postural adjustments when presented with apparently moving or stationary light displays or tones. When the lights were first presented to the LR and DR Ss, their OB did not differ at any of the ages. However, age and visual experience did influence habituation and recovery of orienting with changes in the light display. The older DR Ss habituated with fewer repeated presentations of the light displays than the LR Ss and did not recover orienting as effectively to all the subsequent changes of the light displays. The younger LR and DR Ss did not differ reliably. Results are discussed with regard to the nature of the habituation process for rodents and the relation between visual experience and habituation of attentional responses. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensory preconditioning in rats following early visual deprivation.

Conducted 3 experiments in which a total of 131 light- and dark-reared (LR and DR) male hooded rats were given sensory preconditioning (SPC). In each experiment, Ss were presented with 2 stimuli either paired or unpaired, followed by conditioning to 1 and extinction on the other. 2 auditory stimuli were used in Exp. I. SPC was found for both LR and DR Ss, with no significant difference due to rearing condition either in acquisition or in the SPC test. In Exp. II, light and tone were employed; SPC was demonstrated and was more effective for LR than DR Ss. In Exp. III, rectangle stimuli were employed. The effect of SPC was evidenced in LR Ss; however, performance of DR Ss was not significantly different from that of controls. Results are discussed in terms of the effect of early visual deprivation on information-processing mechanisms. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serotonin, the superior colliculus, and grooming behavior in cats with neocortical lesions.

Previous studies of cats with pontile lesions indicate that a serotonergic deficit exists in the superior colliculi and that this deficit is involved in an abnormal grooming behavior. Cats with frontal neocortical lesions exhibit the same serotonergic deficit and abnormal grooming behavior. The present study with 20 male cats established that the serotonergic deficit is involved in mediation of the abnormal grooming behavior in cats with frontal neocortical lesions. Microinjections of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) into the superior colliculi abolished or significantly reduced the abnormal behavior in Ss with frontal neocortical lesions, whereas no effects of 5-HTP were observed after injections into the superior colliculi, into the tegmentum beneath the superior colliculi, or into the medial dorsal nucleus rostral to the superior colliculi. Tryptophan, noradrenaline, and gamma-aminobutyric acid had no effect on abnormal behavior when injected into the superior colliculi. Evidence implicating a serotonergic deficit in the mediation of abnormal behavior was obtained by systemic injections: The behavior was abolished with 5-HTP in Ss with frontal neocortical lesions and in adrenalectomized Ss previously treated with para-chlorophenylalanine. Findings also demonstrate that the abnormal behavior is induced by frontal neocortical lesions and not by more caudal lesions of the cortex. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for anatomical but not functional asymmetry in the hemidecorticate rat.

Studied 51 male Long-Evans rats with unilateral ablation of the left or right cerebral neocortex or left or right hippocampus using a battery of tests of spatial orientation, motor coordination, and social behavior, including Morris water task, radial arm maze, feeding, narrow beam traversing, puzzle latches, hoarding, grooming, nest building, running wheel activity, male–male interaction, and shock-induced aggression. Comparison of the brains of operated and control Ss confirmed previous suggestions that the right hemisphere of the rat is bigger and may have different connections than the left hemisphere. Despite the morphological asymmetries, comparison of the behavior of Ss with right and left hemidecortication and right and left hippocampal lesions failed to show a single instance of functional asymmetry in the rat brain. These behavioral results contrast with previous reports of functional asymmetry in the control of activity, orientation, and rotation. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal behavior of mice with cingulate cortical, amygdala, or septal lesions.

Evaluated nest building, pup retrieving, and pup survival and growth in 11 primiparous female CF-1 strain mice and in 36 others with cingulate cortical, neocortical, amygdala, or septal lesions. Ss with neocortical or amygdala lesions showed little or no deficits in maternal behavior. Ss with septal lesions were severely impaired in all aspects of maternal care. These did not build nests, showed a variety of aberrant behaviors during pup retrieving, and their pups died or gained significantly less weight than those of controls. Ss with cingulate cortical lesions retrieved pups more slowly than controls, and retrieving deficits were correlated with the extent of retrograde degeneration found in the anterior thalamic nuclei. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Habituation of startle response, lick suppression, and exploratory behavior in rats with hippocampal lesions.

34 male albino Holtzman rats with bilateral hippocampal lesions (HLs) and 22 controls with neocortical lesions (NLs) were compared on the habituation of lick suppression and startle response. Ss with HLs showed no consistent differences from controls on any measure within these 2 response systems. Ss with HLs showed significant retention of habituation over periods of 24 hrs and 21 days. Experimental and control differences were not revealed when stimulation was presented on a 1-sec interstimulus interval. None of these results varied with the extent of the HLs, which ranged from relatively small lesions restricted to the dorsal hippocampus to large lesions that damaged the hippocampus in its dorsal, posterior, and ventral aspects. In contrast to the startle response and lick suppression results, HLs significantly disrupted Y-maze exploratory behavior, and the disruption was directly related to the extent of hippocampal damage. Data suggest that the hippocampus is not involved in any important way in the control of either short- or long-term habituation of elicited, reflex-like behaviors but is importantly involved in the control of emitted, exploratory behaviors. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EEG hemispheric asymmetry during sexual arousal: Psychophysiological patterns in responsive, unresponsive, and dysfunctional men.

Investigated patterns of EEG hemispheric asymmetry and penile tumescence in 12 sexually functional and 6 dysfunctional men. All Ss were aged 31–60 yrs. Six sexually functional Ss were responsive and 6 were unresponsive to laboratory presentations of erotic stimuli. Each S was exposed to a counterbalanced sequence of visual and auditory conditions over 2 sessions of testing. Response measures included bilateral temporal and occipital EEG amplitude integrated over 5-sec epochs, strain gauge measures of penile tumescence, and subjective estimates of arousal. Analysis of the hemispheric laterality results indicated a pattern of right-temporal activation in association with maximum tumescence responses in the high-normal Ss. In contrast, the dysfunctional Ss showed moderate tumescence in response to the visual erotic stimuli but greater right-hemisphere activation in response to the auditory erotic stimuli. These psychophysiological patterns are consistent with the literature on cerebral asymmetry and affective arousal. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parallel perceptual/cognitive functions in humans and rats: Space and time.

Examined 24 dark- (DR) and 24 light-reared (LR) male rats' ability to learn discriminations involving location of sounds or lights. Auditory signals were more effective and more salient in terms of establishing stimulus-response associations. Visually inexperienced DR Ss learned initial discriminations as rapidly as their LR controls except under ipsilateral response conditions with light signals. Visually naive DR Ss failed to demonstrate as much cross-modal transfer as did visually experienced LR Ss. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unilateral lesions and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised: No sex differences.

Tested sex differences previously reported in WAIS—R scores (Verbal IQ vs Performance IQ discrepancies) in male patients with unilateral lesions by administering the WAIS—R to 31 Ss (16 males [mean age 42.6 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 38.4 yrs]) with right-hemisphere lesions and to 32 Ss (17 males [mean age 32 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 40.7 yrs]) with left hemisphere lesions. Results show that both males and females had expected discrepancies between Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of glucocorticoids in an abnormal grooming behavior in cats with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions.

Cats with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions display a tactually elicited dissociation of appetitive and consummatory grooming behaviors. In the present study with 75 adult male cats, systemic administration of glucocorticoids abolished the abnormal grooming behavior in cats with lesions, even when the stimulatory effect of glucocorticoids on serotonin metabolism was blocked by administration of para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA). Microinjections of glucocorticoids into the superior colliculi also significantly decreased the abnormal grooming behavior. Adrenalectomized Ss did not display the abnormal grooming behavior, but the abnormal behavior did occur in PCPA-treated adrenalectomized Ss. Administration of either glucocorticoids or 5-hydroxytryptophan abolished the abnormal behavior in PCPA-treated adrenalectomized Ss. Thus, it appears that the pontile and frontal neocortical lesions produce deficits in both glucocorticoids and serotonin, and these deficits are necessary and sufficient conditions for inducing the abnormal grooming behavior. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grooming reflexes and Brown-Séquard epilepsy in cats with pontile lesions.

The literature on the relation between the scratch reflex and Brown-Séquard epilepsy in the guinea pig indicates that the scratch reflex is a stimulus-induced myoclonus that is the 1st component of a complete seizure. In the present experiment, with 26 male cats, Ss with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions exhibited the scratch reflex and other grooming reflexes. The grooming reflexes in Ss with pontile lesions developed over a period of a year or more into complete seizures that were similar to Brown-Séquard epilepsy. Cinematographic analyses revealed that the scratch reflex in Ss with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions had the same frequency and the same complex spatial and temporal pattern as normal scratching behavior. The myoclonus of the complete seizures was identified as the scratch reflex, representing a vigorous and long-lasting afterdischarge. Reconstructions of the pontile lesions indicated that the lateral and rostral portions of the paralemniscal tegmental fields were destroyed along with portions of the pontile gray and pyramidal tract. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of unilateral and bilateral caudate lesions on side preferences and timing behavior in rats.

Trained 24 female Sprague-Dawley rats to barpress on a DRL-16 sec schedule for water reinforcement. Ss were allowed to barpress on either of 2 levers (left and right). All Ss showed consistent side preferences. For the nonsignaled condition, normal rates were related to the strength of side preferences; lower rates and better timing performance were significantly correlated with greater preferences. Unilateral lesions in the caudate nucleus ipsilateral to side preferences facilitated performance during nonsignaled test sessions and increased side preferences during both. Unilateral lesions contralateral to side preferences impaired performance during nonsignaled test sessions and decreased side preferences during all sessions. Bilateral lesions transiently depressed response rates without significantly affecting timing performance or side preferences. It is suggested that side preferences are intimately involved in the control of behavior by internal stimuli and that an inherent asymmetry in nigrostriatal function underlies side preferences; the effect of a unilateral striatal lesion will depend on whether the lesion is placed in the more or less active striatum. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ipsiversive progression and unilateral posterior cortical lesions in the rat.

Hypothesized that nonvisual deficits ascribed to visual cortex lesions reflect an impairment in spatial progression. To evaluate this possibility, 64 male hooded rats were enucleated, subjected to unilateral neocortical lesions, and tested for ipsiversive progression. The hypothesis was not supported since destruction of the visual cortex alone did not produce the effect while similar-sized, more anteriorly placed, lesions did. Moreover, there was nothing to indicate that visual cortex destruction in combination with an effective lesion enhanced the effect. Results support those who have criticized the belief that the visual cortex carries out nonvisual functions. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preoptic area and substantia nigra interact in the control of maternal behavior in the rat.

Investigated the influence of the lateral connections of the medial preoptic area (MPOA) on maternal behavior via the substantia nigra (SN). In Exp I, conducted with 45 postpartum lactating Charles River CD rats, the effects of large and small bilateral electrolytic lesions of SN were investigated. Large lesions severely disrupted maternal behavior and caused stereotyped activity in Ss. A 2nd experiment employed an asymmetrical lesion design and 37 Ss. Ss that received a unilateral knife cut severing the lateral connections of the MPOA and a contralateral lesion of the SN showed larger deficits in maternal behavior than either sham Ss or Ss that received a unilateral preoptic cut paired with an ipsilateral SN lesion. Measurements of body weights, body temperatures, and stereotyped behavior indicated that the differences in maternal behavior between the ipsilateral and contralateral groups could not be explained on the basis of nonspecific effects. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of conditional discriminations in hippocampal lesioned and decorticated rats: Evidence for learning that is separate from both simple classical conditioning and configural learning.

This study examined whether hippocampal or neocortical lesions would impair acquisition of a discrimination task using taste aversions. Male rats were injected with a drug 15 min before a flavored solution–LiCl pairing. On alternate days, vehicle injections preceded and followed access to the same flavored solution. Ss learned to consume significantly more of the flavored solution after vehicle injections than after drug injections. Ss with hippocampal lesions or neonatal decortication performed as well as controls. Ss with hippocampal lesions also learned a similar task in which visual and textural cues predicted whether access to a flavored solution would be followed by an injection of LiCl or vehicle. However, these hippocampal lesions did impair performance in the Morris water task. Occasion setting may involve a type of learning dissociated from both simple classical conditioning and configural learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of telencephalic lesions on visually mediated prey orienting behavior in the leopard frog (Rana pipiens). I. The effects of complete removal of one telencephalic lobe, with a comparison to the effects of unilateral tectal lobe lesions

In this paper, we report studies aimed at characterizing the relationship between forebrain and midbrain systems involved in the control of prey orienting behavior in the leopard frog. In frogs, unilateral forebrain lesions, like unilateral tectal lobe lesions, have their most prominent effects in the contralateral monocular visual field. Such lesions produce partial reductions in response frequency in the binocular visual field as well. Similar sequelae follow unilateral tectal lobe removal. These findings suggest that the effects of unilateral forebrain removal can be largely attributed to removal of a facilitating influence on the tectal lobe on the same side of the brain. In the case of both forebrain and midbrain lesions, behavior was assayed not only in terms of the frequency with which animals responded to stimuli at various locations in the visual field (as is usually done) but also in terms of the latency of whatever responses were observed. A striking inverse relationship between response frequency and response latency was found, both in lesioned and in normal frogs. This relationship has not previously been noticed, doesn't appear to be an obvious consequence of any existing models of the neuronal circuitry underlying anuran orienting behavior, and is difficult to account for in terms of the time scales associated with axonal conduction times and synaptic delays. It may be easier to account for in terms of the responses to perturbation of large interacting systems of neurons, and this possibility seems worthy of further exploration.     

Neocortex and feeding behavior in the rat.

Consummatory behavior and weight-regulation capacity were measured in 12 normal male Long-Evans rats and in 43 similar Ss that survived complete (C), sequential unilateral (U), anterolateral (A) , or posterior (P) neocortical ablations. Groups C and A displayed aphagia and adipsia followed by a sequence of recovery stages qualitatively identical to, but shorter than, recovery typically seen following lateral hypothalamic lesions. After recovery, Group C displayed long-term effects of finickiness and prandial drinking. These effects and a measure of recovery of body-weight-regulation capacity were significantly intercorrelated with lesion size, and body-weight set point remained significantly lower than normal. Group U was relatively unaffected by the 1st unilateral ablation and showed, relative to Group C, facilitated recovery of consummatory behaviors following the 2nd ablation, but displayed the long-term effects. Group P, though significantly affected by the lesion, did not display the pattern or intensity of effects described for the other bilaterally ablated groups. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laboratory observations of aggregative behavior of garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis: Roles of the visual, olfactory, and vomeronasal senses.

Two experiments determined (a) whether male garter snakes require a functional vomeronasal or olfactory system to return to previously preferred shelter locations and (b) the sensory modalities used to aggregate in the absence of previously deposited chemical cues. In Exp I, 22 male garter snakes with vomeronasal nerve lesions did not return to previously preferred shelter locations when tested individually. However, when tested with a group that included 9 control Ss, they returned to previously preferred shelters. The shelter-selection behavior of Ss with olfactory nerve lesions improved postoperatively, whereas the behavior of Ss with sham lesions was unchanged. In Exp II, 32 Ss were tested for aggregation in aquaria in which the substrate and other contents were cleaned between trials. After blindfolding or olfactory nerve cuts, Ss aggregated at normal levels. When Ss' vomeronasal ducts were sutured closed, aggregation scores were significantly depressed, although 2 of the 3 groups with vomeronasal duct sutures did aggregate just above change levels. Results from both studies indicate that use of chemical signals by garter snakes in shelter selection and aggregation is mediated by the vomeronasal system and that neither the olfactory nor the visual system is critical for these behaviors. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social, emotional, and intellectual behavior at school among children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Four classroom teachers rated the school behavior of 44 12–17 yr olds of schizophrenic parents and 70 Ss of normal parents as part of an ongoing high-risk study. The ratings were made by teachers using the Pupil Rating Form and the Hahnemann High School Behavior Rating Scale. Ss of schizophrenic parents showed greater interpersonal disharmony, less scholastic motivation, more emotional instability, and lower intelligence than the control Ss, but the difference in introversion was not significant. Two of the 4 Ss with 2 schizophrenic parents had extremely low ratings for scholastic motivation, harmony, emotional stability, and intelligence and a 3rd was rated extremely low on emotional stability, but none of them was extremely introverted. On the basis of the results and a preliminary examination of intermediate outcomes (early hospitalization or psychological treatment after the initial school assessments), it is concluded that disharmony, emotional instability, and low intelligence are the early markers for vulnerability to schizophrenia worthy of most attention. The surprising absence of introverted behavior among Ss of schizophrenic parents indicates that introversion—when it is observed—may best be construed not as a static typology of preschizophrenic character but as a dynamic phase in a process of coping and retreat that precedes schizophrenic breakdown, sometimes by many years. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Failure of seriatim dorsal hippocampal lesions to spare spatial reversal behavior in rats.

Notes that the assessment of unaided functional sparing following sequential lesions has usually involved either neocortically controlled learned behaviors or nonneocortically controlled unlearned behaviors. Typically, the learned behaviors are protected by the seriatim operative procedure but the unlearned behaviors are not. This pattern of results could be a function of either the involved behavior (learned vs. unlearned) or the brain area mediating the behavior (neocortical vs. nonneocortical). In an attempt to distinguish between these 2 possibilities, a hippocampally controlled learned response was used to assess the occurrence of unaided functional sparing following sequential, spaced lesions in 30 male hooded rats. Results give no indication that the learned response was spared by the seriatim operative procedure even when the Ss were provided interlesion remedial training. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)