Motivational support of complex behavioral reactions in rats

The activity of neurons of the medial wall of the frontal cortex (MWFC) of the brain of rats trained to a delayed spatial choice task was investigated. Significant reorganizations of the activity of the neurons were found when the motivational state of the animal was changed. Direct connections were identified between hypothalamic nuclei and the MWFC using the retrograde axonal horseradish peroxidase transport method. The role of hypothalamocortical interactions in providing the motivational-emotional components of behavior is discussed.