Septal inhibition of aversive emotional states

Two experiments were carried out to test the proposition that electrical stimulation of the septal region of the cat has the capacity to inhibit aversive emotional states. In the first experiment the source of aversive stimulation was electrical stimulation of various hypothalamic regions. The results were: (1) The animals would perform a learned response in order to obtain septal stimulation only if given concomitant aversive hypothalamic stimulation. (2) If septal stimulation was omitted the animal showed a conventional extinction effect. (3) If non-aversive hypothalamic stimulation was substituted for aversive stimulation the animal did not perform to obtain septal stimulation. In the second experiment a side preference was influenced by septal stimulation only when carbachol was administered to the hypothalamus, otherwise septal stimulation was neutral. It was concluded that these data provide evidence of an emotion inhibitory function of activity of the septal region.