Dissociation of hippocampal EEG from its behavioral correlates by septal and hippocampal electrical stimulation

(1) Electrical stimulation of septum or hippocampus produced frequency specific hippocampal synchrony and hippocampal desynchrony. (2) Behaviors normally correlated with the occurrence of hippocampal desynchrony continued during elicitation of synchrony. Similarly, behaviors normally correlated with the occurrence of synchrony continued during elicitation of desynchrony. Stated conversely, specific hippocampal patterns were elicited without eliciting the behaviors which occur when similar patterns are generated by the spontaneously behaving animal. (3) These results suggest that the import of hippocampal patterns highly correlated with specific types of behaviors might best be sought in processes remote from the endpoint of motor performance per se.