Effect of amygdaloid lesions on avoidance learning in the rat

Abstract

Rats with bilateral lesions in the basolateral amygdaloid nuclei were taught to press a lever to avoid electric shock. The difficulty of the avoidance task was manipulated by using an auditory or visual cue to signal the preshock period during which an avoidance response could be made. Amygdaloid lesions had no effect, either disruptive or facilitative on either the easy or difficult task. The effect of septal lesions on the acquisition of easy and difficult avoidance tasks obtained by other investigators is compared with the results obtained in the present experiment.