Brain lesions and locomotive exploration in the albino rat.

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Abstract
Effects of brain lesions upon activity of rats were observed in a test situation which provided S with the option of exploring a novel field or retreating to a smaller enclosed compartment. Lesions involving the cerebellum, portions of the neocortex, frontal poles, central gray matter, and dorsal mesencephalon, produced no significant effects upon locomotor activity in a novel environment. However, lesions of the ventral mesencephalon involving the reticular system produced large increments in activity both in an open field and in a "short-term" measure of wheel-running behavior. The effect of ventral mesencephalic lesions upon open-field ambulation resulted from a shift in initial level of reactivity rather than a gross change in the process of habituation.