Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The septal forebrain and the inhibitory modulation of attack and defense in the rat. A review

1980; Academic Press; Volume: 30; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0163-1047(80)91247-9

1557-8003

D.J. Albert, Grace Chew,

Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications

Lesions of the septal region produce a dramatic change in behavior that is commonly known as septal rage. The present review of the literature indicates that this behavioral change occurs following damage to the lateral septum or to the region ventral to the anterior septum. Analysis of the behaviors resulting from lesions in these areas indicates that there is an increase in defensiveness and an increase in the tendency to attack. The increased defensiveness is seen in the enhanced reactivity to the human experimenter or in the shock-induced fighting situation, while the increased tendency to attack is seen most clearly in enhanced mouse and rat pup killing. The tendency for eating of the prey to occur suggests that the attack may have a predatory origin. Inconsistent effects have been reported on behavior in social situations. The lesion-induced changes in behavior are influenced by both pre- and postoperative experience and occur in many species in addition to the rat. They do not appear to be mediated by a cholinergic, dopaminergic, noradrenergic, or glutaminergic system. It is argued that most of the existing evidence can be accounted for if the septal forebrain region is considered to exert an independent inhibitory control over attack and defense.