Abstract Recovery from frontal neocortical lesions in rats was assessed with two measures: (1) amphetamine-induced stabilimeter activity and (2) spontaneously occurring daily wheel running activity. Frontal ablation potentiated the stimulant-like properties of amphetamine in rats tested 10 days after surgery but had little or no affect on animals tested 30 days after surgery. These results held true across a wide range of dosages. The increased wheel running produced by frontal lesions was, on the other hand, still prominent in animals given 40 days of postoperative recovery.