Abstract

Abstract Spontaneous activity was studied in rats with lesions of the septal area, hippocampus and cingulate cortex under conditions of deprivation and sensory stimulation. Cingulate animals were similar to controls throughout the experiment. Hippocampal animals were generally more active than controls, but were relatively unaffected by deprivation and stimulation. Septal animals displayed initially high activity levels which dropped well below control levels after 5 days. The septal group responded to conditions of food and water deprivation and auditory stimulation with an increase in total activity. An analysis of within-session activity measures indicated superior habituation rates for septal animals under normal conditions. However, habituation patterns were severely disrupted when deprivation or stimulation was imposed. This disruption did not occur in any of the other groups. It was suggested that spontaneous activity is a function of behavioral inhibition and facilitation, both mediated through the septum. Removal of the septum results in an exaggeration at both ends of the activity scale.

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