Nature of behavioral deficits and degree of recovery differ after lesions of dorsal and ventral aspects of rostral cortex

Abstract

Bilateral lesions of either the dorsal or the ventral aspects of the rostral half of the cortex in rats both significantly depressed eating, drinking and body weight, but animals with dorsal cortex lesions recovered more quickly and more completely than those with ventral lesions. Furthermore, spontaneous locomotor activity in the open field of animals with ventral cortex lesions was unaltered relative to this group's preoperative level. On the other hand, relative to their preoperative baseline, the activity of animals with dorsal lesions was significantly depressed during the early postoperative period, and then was significantly elevated during intermediate and late periods. The discussion attempts to interpret these findings on the nature and degree of the locomotor and ingestive behavior deficits resulting from lesions of the dorsal and ventral aspects of the rostral cortex, and the subsequent recovery of behavioral function in light of current electrophysiological, anatomical and behavioral concepts of localization of function within the rat's cortex.