Association between Intermale Social Aggression and Cellular Density within the Central Amygdaloid Nucleus in Rats with Lithium/Pilocarpine-Induced Seizures 1

Abstract

Aggressive behaviors (numbers of bites/hour) within groups (ns = 8) of normal rats and rats in which seizures had been induced by a single systemic injection of lithium/pilocarpine were observed for 11 successive, 1-hr. periods. Mean numbers of neurons and glial cells were counted for 10 different nuclei of the amygdala for 16 different brains (8 control; 8 seizure). Although there was no significant difference found between rats with chronically induced seizures and controls for the numbers of neurons per area within the central medial amygdaloid nucleus, the neuronal density was correlated significantly (.92) with mean numbers of bites per hour for the chronically epileptic group only. The hypothesis that seizure-induced damage within proximal amygdaloid nuclei disinhibits the central nucleus and encourages aggression was supported.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bedard

A. W.

, & Persinger

M. A.

Prednisolone blocks extreme intermale social aggression in amygdaloid-damaged rats: implications for the central nucleus, corticotrophin releasing factor, and electrical seizures.

Psychological Reports, 1995, 77, 3–9.

Bureau

Y. R. J.

, Peredery

, & Persinger

M. A.

Concordance of quantitative damage within the diencephalon and telencephalon following systemic pilocarpine (380 mg/kg) or lithium (3 mEq/kg) pilocarpine (30 mg/kg) induced seizures.

Brain Research, 1994, 648, 265–269.

Bureau

Y. R. J.

, & Persinger

M. A.

Extreme hypothermia induced by a synergism of acute limbic seizures, physical restraint and acepromazinc: implications for survival following brain trauma.

Psychological Reports, 1993, 72, 248–250.

de Olmos

, Alheid

G. F.

, & Beltramino

C. A.

Amygdala. In Paxinos

(Ed.), The rat nervous system. New York: Academic Press, 1986. Pp. 223–334.

Kaada

B. R.

Stimulation and ablation of the amygdaloid complex with reference to functional representations. In Eleftheriou

B. E.

(Ed.), The neurobiology of the amygdala. New York: Plenum, 1972. Pp. 205–282.

Liang

K. C.

, Melia

K. R.

, Campeau

, Falls

W. A.

, Miserendino

J. D.

, & Davis

Lesions of the central amygdaloid nucleus, but not the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, block the excitatory effects of corticotrophin-releasing factor on the acoustic startle reflex.

The Journal of Neuroscience, 1992, 12, 2313–2320.

Paxinos

, & Watson

The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates. (2nd ed.) New York: Academic Press, 1986.

Persinger

M. A.

Maintained hypersexuality between male rats following chronically induced limbic seizures: implications for bisexuality in complex partial epileptic seizures.

Psychological Reports, 1994, 74, 647–652.

Persinger

M. A.

, Bureau

Y. R. J.

, Kostakos

, Peredery

, & Falter

Behaviors of rats with insidious multifocal brain damage induced by seizures following single peripheral injections of lithium and pilocarpine.

Physiology and Behavior, 1993, 53, 849–866.

10.

Persinger

M. A.

, Bureau

Y. R. J.

, & Peredery

Dissociation between conditioned taste aversion and radial maze learning following seizure-induced multifocal brain damage: quantitative tests of serial vs parallel circuit models of memory.

Physiology and Behavior, 1994, 56, 225–235.