Self-stimulation by DC current as a model of motivated behavior

Data are reported on the frequency spectrum and coherence function of the electrical activity of the motor and the visual cortex, the hippocampus, the olfactory bulb, and the emotionally positive and negative areas of the hypothalamus during selfstimulation of rats by DC current. It was shown that certain stages of motivated behavior are accompanied by natural changes in the synchronization of bioelectric activity of the structures of the brain studied: coherence in theta- and in alpha-activities on some leads increases before the animal has moved to the pedal and decreases with reinforcement once the animal is on the pedal. Since, according to M. Livanov, high coherence at these frequencies signals readiness of neural paths to conduct excitation, the obtained data suggest the involvement of backward conditional reflexes (according to I. P. Pavlov and E. Asratyan) and of a specialized dominant (corresponding to the third stage in the development of a dominant, using Ukhtomsky’s terminology) in the mechanisms of motivated behavior.