Lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex enhance social modulation of avoidance.

Authors :: Masuda A
Aou S
Source :: Behavioural brain research [Behav Brain Res] 2011 Mar 01; Vol. 217 (2), pp. 309-14. Date of Electronic Publication: 2010 Nov 03.
Publication Year :: 2011
Abstract: Our previous study showed that social interactions induce inhibitory and facilitatory modulations of avoidance behavior under both safe and dangerous situations in rats. To understand the neural mechanisms for these phenomena, we investigated the effects of bilateral lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) on the social modulation of avoidance behavior. We found that the lesions did not impair but actually augmented both social inhibition and facilitation of avoidance. These results suggest that the mPFC in rodents plays a suppressive role in the social modulation of avoidance.<br /> (Copyright Â© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)