Relationships between current intensity self-stimulation rates, escape latencies, and evoked behavior in rhesus monkeys.

Abstract

To examine effects of current intensity on self-stimulation rates and escape latencies in rhesus monkeys and to investigate the relationship of these functions to evoked behaviors (e. g., food intake, passivity, biting, and erection of the penis), 12 electordes were permanently implanted in 4 rhesus monkeys in various subcortical areas. Stimulation produced mixed behaviors from many locations. Current intensity markedly affected both self-stimulation rate curves and escape latencies. Certain kinds of self-stimulation curves were clearly related to the type of evoked behavior obtained. Self-stimulation rates and escape latencies did not correlate in any simple fashion; it seems necessary to relate various motivational measures to actual evoked behavior to interpret them unequivocally.