Inhibition and the septal nuclei: breakdown of the single concept model

The term inhibition has played an important role in the theoretical discussions on brain function since Sherrington and Pavlov. The interpretation of the term was a major issue in Konorski's monograph of 1948, and a main point of difference between his views and those of Pavlov. In his 1967 monograph Konorski revised and expanded his views on the various types of inhibitory phenomena. The term has also been used extensively in neuropsychology, in particular in research related to the frontal lobes and limbic structures. Among the limbic structures, it is the septal/subcallosal area that has received most attention from this point of view. The aim of this paper is to review how the term inhibition has been used in the analysis of the function of the septal nuclei, how this relates to Konorski's views on inhibition, and to what extent inhibition still is a useful explanatory concept in describing the behavioral role of these nuclei. The paper will not attempt to give a comprehensive review of the literature on the septal nuclei, excellent reviews are available (Fried 1972, Caplan 1973, Lubar and Numan 1973, Grossman 1975). Only those papers will be dealt with that are relevant for the theoretical positions discussed.