Effects of prefrontal lobotomy on conditioned fear and food responses in monkeys.

Abstract

After training on instrumental responses motivated by fear and by hunger, four monkeys were given bilateral prefrontal lobotomies, and their postoperative behavior compared with that of unoperated control animals. Both fear and food-motivated responses showed post-operative decrement, although the responses could be re-established by retraining. "The findings support the proposition that prefrontal lobotomy reduces fear in monkeys," although "they are equivocal concerning the possibility of a greater effect on fear-motivated responses than on food-motivated responses." 17 references.