Hippocampal activity during avoidance behavior in the rat.

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Abstract
In a Sidman avoidance task irregular hippocampal EEC activity changed to regular 5-7 cps theta activity just preceding and during an avoidance lever press. This finding suggests that the theta rhythm is not dependent upon exteroceptive stimuli, but rather is a correlate of centrally initiated attention or arousal. Simultaneous stimulation and recording showed that altering the hippocampal rhythms did not disrupt avoidance behavior when stimulating voltage was below seizure inducing levels; this finding suggests that hippocampal theta activity, though correlated, is not causally related to arousal.