Electrolytic Lesion of Rostral Midbrain Central Gray
Objective: Determine whether lesions of areas projected to by the central amygdaloid nucleus disrupt classical conditioning of autonomic and/or behavioral emotional responses, specifically testing effects of rostral midbrain central gray lesions on conditioned fear responses
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
Equipment5
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Materials1
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Protocol Steps
Surgical lesion creation
Create electrolytic lesions of the rostral midbrain central gray region using electrolytic lesioning apparatus
Note: Lesions were made in the rostral central gray region specifically
View evidence from paper
“Electrolytic lesions of the rostral CG disrupted conditioned freezing but not conditioned changes in arterial pressure”
Recovery period
Allow animals to recover from surgical lesion procedure
Note: Recovery period before behavioral conditioning
View evidence from paper
“Two weeks later, the animals were classically conditioned by pairing an acoustic stimulus with footshock”
Classical conditioning
Pair acoustic stimulus with footshock to establish conditioned fear response
Note: Single pairing session described
View evidence from paper
“the animals were classically conditioned by pairing an acoustic stimulus with footshock”
Extinction trials and measurement
Present acoustic conditioned stimulus and measure conditioned changes in autonomic activity (arterial pressure increases) and behavioral responses (freezing) during extinction trials
Note: Both autonomic and behavioral measures were recorded simultaneously
View evidence from paper
“The next day, conditioned changes in autonomic activity (increases in arterial pressure) and emotional behavior ('freezing,' or the arrest of somatomotor activity) evoked by the acoustic conditioned stimulus (CS) were measured during extinction trials”