Melia K R, Sananes C B, Davis M
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Physiol Behav. 1992 Jan;51(1):175-80. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(92)90220-v.
Many studies have investigated the role of the septum and the amygdala in emotional behavior. While the literature is somewhat inconsistent, most studies suggest a role for the septal nuclei in the inhibition of fear and stress responses (at the behavioral, autonomic and hormonal levels) while the central nucleus of the amygdala is involved in the production of such responses. The present study examined the ability of lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala to block the excitatory effects of complete septal ablation on the acoustic startle reflex. Septal ablation produced a significant increase in startle amplitude which was blocked by concomitant lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala. These results suggest that the increase in startle amplitude resulting from septal damage might be due to a disinhibition of neuronal activity in the central nucleus of the amygdala, a structure known to mediate the increase in startle associated with conditioned and unconditioned fear, or from antagonistic interactions at other target sites which themselves modulate startle.
许多研究探讨了隔区和杏仁核在情绪行为中的作用。尽管文献报道的结果有些不一致，但大多数研究表明，隔核在抑制恐惧和应激反应（行为、自主神经和激素水平）中发挥作用，而杏仁核中央核则参与此类反应的产生。本研究考察了杏仁核中央核损伤阻断完全隔区损毁对听觉惊吓反射的兴奋作用的能力。隔区损毁使惊吓幅度显著增加，而杏仁核中央核的同步损伤则阻断了这一增加。这些结果表明，隔区损伤导致的惊吓幅度增加可能是由于杏仁核中央核神经元活动的去抑制，已知该结构介导与条件性和非条件性恐惧相关的惊吓增加，或者是由于其他自身调节惊吓的靶位点的拮抗相互作用。
