Abstract
A study was planned to evaluate the effects of removal of the cingulate cortex upon the occurrence of any behavior commonly displayed by the rat, and to compare the effects of cingulectomy with those of removal of the parietal, parieto-occipital, or occipital regions. The subjects were 54 male albino rats (Holtzman strain, body weight $200{\sim}330\;gm$) including 14 rats in which the cingulate gyri between splenium and genu of the corpus callosum were bilaterally ablated by suction (cingulate group), 9 animals which had their parietal cortices (chiefly area 7) partially removed (parietal group), 9 rats whose parietal and occipital regions (chiefly areae 7 & 17), 13 animals in which the occipital cortices (chiefly area 17) were removed bilaterally (occipital group), and 9 normal rats (normal control group). Eighteen observation cages, each of which housed a subject and was provided with food and water ad lib., were arranged in 6 rows on a rack and the behavior of each subject was scanned by an observer at a distance of 1.5 m from the rack. The observer scanned the first and second rows 6 times in 1 min, then proceeded to the 3rd and 4th rows, scanning for another 1 min, and finally to the 5th and 6th rows. The speed of scanning was such that behavioral observations of all of the 18 rats were completed in 3 min, each subject receiving 6 observations. The scanning was repeated every 3 min for 18 min, which constituted one observation session and was followed by a 72 minutes' recess. The whole procedure was repeated through 24 hours so that a total of 576 behavioral observations were made on each subject in 16 observation sessions. Behaviors checked were sleeping, lying, lying and sniffing, standing, standing and sniffing, exploring, eating, drinking, grooming (included were washing, licking, and scratching), and others. Results obtained were as follows: 1. The cingulate group ate significantly more often than the normal control, the parietal, and the parieto-occipital groups. 2. Exploration was significantly less frequent in the cingulate group than in the normal control, the parietal, and the occipital groups. There was, in the case of the cingulate group, a significant negative correlation between the occurrence of eating and the exploratory activity. 3. The general activity, as judged from the value obtained by adding the occurrence of exploration, eating, drinking, grooming, and standing and sniffing, was significantly increased in the cingulate group compared with those of any other groups including the normal control. 4. Though statistically insignificant, the cingulate group slept least often among all the animal groups tested. 5. The parieto-occipital group tended to groom less, and the parietal group to eat less often than the normal control group did, but the difference was not significant. There were no significant differences among all the groups except the cingulate group as regards other behaviors analyzed. Based on the above results, it was inferred that the cingulate cortex exerts an inhibitory influence upon the occurrence of eating and general activity, while it tends to facilitate the occurrence of sleep.