The Central Nervous Mechanism for Emotional Responses

Abstract

Certain essential conditions for studying the neural bases of emotional responses are outlined. It is pointed out that a technique for producing controlled destruction in subcortical regions with a minimal impairment of the overlying cortex is needed in order: a) that the deeper nuclei may be studied when the normal restraining influence of the cortex is present, b) that individual nuclear regions in the mesencephalon and diencephalon may be separately studied, c) that the rage responses may be restrained by the intact cortex allowing other emotional responses to be studied, and d) that chronic preparations may be used and the experimental period sufficiently extended to include many responses from the same animal. A technique for obtaining such controlled destruction by means of an electrode excited by radio frequency currents is described. The necessity of holding the electrode voltage constant irrespective of changes due to varying electrode contact is pointed out, and the design of a radio frequency generating unit which meets the requirements of stability and flexibility is given. Using this unit in conjunction with a .014 inch insulated electrode, a controlled globular region of destruction may be produced surrounding the non-insulated electrode tip in the interior of a tissue mass with only slight mechanical injury to the overlying tissue. The unit has been used to produce experimental brain lesions in animals.