Septal lesions in rats produce reversal deficits in a simultaneous visual discrimination.

Abstract

Rats with septal lesions and their operated controls were trained on a 2 choice simultaneous brightness discrimination problem and its reversal by means of a correction procedure in a maze with 4 sequential choice points. Rats with septal lesions were deficient in the reversal of this brightness discrimination. This deficit was seen only in a measure of repeated errors and was considerably altered by forced preexposure to selected cues involved in the discrimination. Perseveration was seen as measured by repeated errors even though the rats with lesions reached criterion in the same number of trials as the operated controls. These findings again indicate the critical nature of stimulus conditions, response measures and the history of the animal in determining the effects of brain damage on behavior.