[Role of amygdalar nuclei in alimentary and defensive conditioned reflexes in the rat].

Ninety experimentally naive male white rats were divided into groups with lateral (AL), medial (AME) and central (ACE) amygdalar nuclei lesions, sham-operated and normal controls. The AL-rats showed a facilitation of instrumental conditioned alimentary reflexes (CAR) acquisition and retardation of initial avoidance learning in a shuttle box; the AME-rats exhibited a slower acquisition of the CAR and a facilitation of avoidance conditioning; in the ACE-rats acquisition of the CAR was the same as in controls but avoidance performance was significantly impaired as compared with all experimental groups. It has been assumed that functional non-identity of the amygdalar nuclei in alimentary and avoidance behaviour is caused by dominant drive and by presence of "specific" amygdalar neurones participating in functional systems of the studied behavioural reactions.