Contralateral turning after unilateral electrolytic lesion of substantia nigra in thalamic rats

Unilateral electrolytic lesions of the substantia nigra of rats induced contralateral turning in intact as well as 'thalamic' rats (devoid of neocortex, hippocampus, striatum, amygdala, septal nuclei, including most of n. accumbens). Therefore, telencephalic structures, including nigrostriatal neurons, are not critically involved in the turning that follows electrolytic nigral lesions.