Hippocampal lesions disrupt maternal, not sexual, behavior in the albino rat.

1 January 1967

journal article
Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

Vol. 63 (3) , 401-407
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0024605

Abstract

THERE WAS LITTLE OR NO NOTICEABLE EFFECT OF BILATERAL DORSAL HIPPOCAMPAL LESIONS ON COPULATORY BEHAVIOR IN EITHER MALE OR FEMALE ALBINO RATS; THOSE DIFFERENCES WHICH DID OCCUR (INCREASED EXPLORING, LESS SELF-CARE, ETC.) WERE NOT UNIQUELY RELATED TO SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. THERE WAS NO EFFECT OF NEOCORTICAL LESIONS ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN RATS, BUT HIPPOCAMPAL-LESIONED SS DISPLAYED IMPAIRED MATERNAL BEHAVIOR, INDEXED BY FEWER PUPS SURVIVING TO WEANING, INCREASED MATERNAL CANNIBALISM, LESS FREQUENT AND LESS EFFICIENT NURSING, POORER NEST BUILDING, AND POORER RETRIEVING. FROM THESE AND PREVIOUS REPORTS, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT HIPPOCAMPUS AND CINGULATE CORTEX MAY BE PART OF A NEURAL SYSTEM RESPONSIBLE FOR EXECUTION OF MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN THE RAT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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