Stimulation in prefrontal cortex inhibits conditioned increase in blood pressure and avoidance bar pressing in rats.

In our previous work, it was established that stimulation in a precisely defined area of the prefrontal cortex and in nucleus accumbens inhibits motor and cardiovascular components of the defence reaction elicited by stimulation in hypothalamus or amygdala, but it did not inhibit operant appetitive bar pressing. In the present investigations it was shown that electrical stimulation in the same area of prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens inhibited blood pressure increases elicited by a conditioned sound. In another set of experiments it was also shown that it inhibited bar pressing developed with Sidman's schedule. It is therefore concluded that inhibition originating in the described region of the prefrontal cortex is specifically addressed to motor and cardiovascular components motivated by fear or aggression.