Abstract
Eleven gerbils (Meriones) were tested for self-stimulation in posterior hypothalamic loci while hippocampal activity was monitored. Rewarding brain stimulation produced synchronization (theta) or regularization of hippocampal activity; no rebound of hippocampal desynchronization was observed immediately following termination of stimulation. Several seconds following termination of stimulation, however, "footstomping" behavior was observed. This activity was seen following, never during, rewarding brain stimulation. Hippocampal activity was most often desynchronized during this species-typical behavior pattern. Synchronization-desynchronization shifts in hippocampus previously thought to reflect reward-aversion were interpreted to reflect the participation of two mechanisms subserving, respectively, stimulus-related and motor-organizational processes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7-8,IN1-IN2,9-11 |
| Journal | Physiology and Behavior |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1969 |
Funding
All gerbils were observed for preoperative elicitation of footstomping by aversive footshock. The gerbils were then implanted stereotaxically with two bipolar nichrome electrodes directed ipsilaterally; one was aimed at lateral hypothalamus and the other was aimed at dorsal hippocampus. A single 1The research was supported, in part, by United States Public Health Service Contract MH 11991 to A.R. was a N.D.E.A. Predoctoral Fellow.
Keywords
- Brain stimulation
- Footstomping
- Gerbil
- Hippocampus
- Hypothalamus
- Medial forebrain bundle
- Self-stimulation
- Substantia nigra
- Theta
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience