Science, Vol 201, Issue 4355, 536-538
Copyright © 1978 by American Association for the Advancement of Science
Electrical stimulation of the amygdala as a conditioned stimulus in a bait-shyness paradigm
AG Phillips
and
FG LePiane
Animals receiving low-intensity electrical stimulation of the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala while drinking plain tap water were injected with toxic doses of lithium chloride to examine whether brain stimulation can serve as a conditioned stimulus in a bait-shyness paradigm. Subjects receiving this pairing greatly reduced their water intake in a retention test, in a similar manner to a group in which saccharin was paired with poisoning. Pairing lithium chloride with stimulation of the amygdala had no effect on subsequent water intake in the absence of brain stimulation. This effect appears to be locus specific, as caudate stimulation could not serve as a conditioned stimulus.