Abstract
The effects of electrolytic amygdala lesions on retention of an active avoidance response were investigated in overtrained and non-overtrained rats. All overtrained rats exhibited normal retention following bilateral amygdala lesions while retention was impaired in three out of four of the non-overtrained rats in which the basolateral nuclei were damaged. These results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that the amygdala is primarily involved in acquisition processes and not long-term memory storage.
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1. The authors wish to thank John S. Buckley for his valuable assistance in collecting the data and Ruth BreMiller for the histology. This investigation was supported in part by a Public Health Service Research Grant, MH 08545-03 from the National Institutes of Mental Health, D. P. Kimble, principal investigator.
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Thatcher, R.W., Kimble, D.P. Effect of amygdaloid lesions on retention of an avoidance response in overtrained and non-overtrained rats. Psychon Sci 6, 9–10 (1966). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327931
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327931