The development of conditioned responses in cats after unilateral decortication.

Abstract

"Twelve normal and 12 unilaterally decorticate cats were studied in a shock-avoidance conditioned response situation. The conditioned stimulus was auditory and a flexion of either of the pair of legs being studied resulted in the avoidance of the unconditioned stimulus." The operated animals showed the following results: (1) when the unconditioned stimulus was applied to the foot contralateral to the intact cortex the great majority of conditioned responses were flexions of the stimulated leg; (2) when the unconditioned stimulus was applied to the foot ipsilateral to the intact cortex the conditioned responses were flexions of either or both legs with a trend for more of the responses to be flexions of the un-shocked leg. In the control animals, conditioned responses were more frequent in the shocked leg, but "the number of conditioned responses involving the unshocked leg (unshocked leg and both-leg conditioned responses) was significantly greater than those given by the unilaterally decorticate cats trained with the unconditioned stimulus applied to the foot contralateral to the intact cortex." Macroscopic description of the brains of the exptl. animals is given.