Alimentary vs. nonalimentary behavior in rats with medial amygdala lesions

Three types of behavior in three different groups of animals were studied: (i) water and food intake, (ii) instrumental performance reinforced by water or food, and (iii) spontaneous locomotor activity. Amygdalar rats, in comparison with control ones, revealed a transient decrease in the total amount of the unconditioned daily water and food intake, which did not influence body weight. On the other hand, they showed profound decrease of instrumental performance reinforced both by water or food. Locomotor activity of amygdalar rats was higher than that of controls.