Involvement of amygdaloid nuclei and pathways in the control over interspecies and shock-induced aggression in the rat

369 but in the execution of the motor responses involved in feeding (see further ref. 3). One aim of this work is to clarify the neurology of feeding by analyzing the activity of neurones in different regions of the brain during feeding. 1 Burton, M. J., Rolls, E. T. and Mora, F., Effects of hunger on the responses of neurones in the lateral hypothalamus to the sight and taste of food, Exp. Neurol., (1976) in press. 2 Rolls, E. T., The Brain and Reward, Pergamon, Oxford, 1975. 3 Rolls, E. T., Neurophysiology of feeding. In T. Silverstone (Ed.), Dahlem Workshop on Appetite and Food Intake, Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin, 1976. 4 Rolls, E. T., Burton, M. J. and Mora, F., Hypothalamic neuronal responses associated with the sight of food, Brain Research, 111 (1976) 53-66.

Involvement of amygdaloid nuclei and pathways in the control over interspecies and shock-induced aggression in the rat M. VERGNES, C. PENOT and P. KARLI - - Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie, Centre de Neurochimie du CNRS, Strasbourg (France)

Initiation of mouse-killing behaviour was observed after prolonged postoperative delays (30-120 days) in non-killing rats that had undergone bilateral lesions of the medial part of the amygdala. Such manifestations of interspecific aggressiveness are clearly facilitated by manipulations which provoke hyperreactivity (e.g., a 3-day food deprivation, or a septal lesion). The same degree of hyperreactivity induces only rarely mouse-killing behaviour in non-amygdalectomized non-killers. Interspecific aggressiveness can also be provoked through a bilateral interruption of the stria terminalis, but never through lesions that are limited to the lateral part of the amygdala. Considering that the stria terminalis is the main efferent pathway of the cortico-medial amygdaloid nuclei, the medial amygdala appears to be deeply involved in the development of a stable inhibition of the killing behaviour in non-killing rats, presumably through complex interactions with the olfactory input. Stria terminalis lesions do not modify shock-induced intraspecies aggression in the rat. The latter kind of aggressive response can be markedly suppressed through lesions which destroy the lateral part of the amygdala. It thus appears that different amygdaloid mechanisms take part in the neural control over two different types of aggressive behaviour in the rat: i.e., mouse-killing behaviour and shock-induced aggression.

Effects of denervation of the tongue on air-licking and current-licking behaviour in, the rat JAN A. W. M. W E I J N E N - Department of Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg (The Netherlands) Reinforcing properties of oral sensory stimulation can be demonstrated in rats and other rodents. This applies not only to gustatory stimulation, but also to the sensory consequences of air-licking (resulting in mouth cooling) and of current-licking (lickcontingent electrical stimulation of the tongue). Both types of licking behaviour require