Abstract
Using the New Zealand albino rabbit as an animal model, it has been determined that the medial prefrontal cortex is intimately involved in, and may be necessary for, acquisition of classically conditioned bradycardia. The interconnected nuclei of the medial thalamus, most notably the mediodorsal nucleus, conversely appear to be associated with the development of the tachycardia that accompanies classical conditioning of the eyeblink and nictitating membrane response. Neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, brain stimulation, and lesion data are reviewed, which support the conclusion that the prefrontal-thalamic axis is intimately involved in acquisition of classically conditioned visceral changes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brodmann, K. (1909). Vergleichende Lokalisationslehre der Grosshirnrinde inihren Prinzipien dargstellt auf grund des Zellenbaues. J.A. Barth: Leipzig, Austria.
Buchanan, S.L., & Powell, D.A. (1982a). Cingulate cortex: Its role in Pavlovian conditioning.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 96, 755–774.
Buchanan, S.L., & Powell, D.A. (1982b). Cingulate damage attentuates conditioned bradycardia.Neuroscience Letters, 29, 261–268.
Buchanan, S.L., & Powell, D.A. (1986). Electrical stimulation of anteromedial and mediodorsal thalamus elicits differential cardiovascular response patterns from conscious rabbits.Physiological Psychology, 14, 115–123.
Buchanan, S.L., & Thompson, R.H. (1990). Mediodorsal thalamic lesions and Pavlovian conditioning of heart rate and eyeblink responses in the rabbit.Behavioral Neuroscience 104, 912–918.
Buchanan, S.L., Valentine, J.D., & Powell, D.A. (1985) Autonomic responses are elicited from medial but not lateral frontal cortex in rabbits.Behavioral Brain Research, 18, 51–62.
Dawson, M.E., & Schell, A.M. (1987). Human autonomic and skeletal classical conditioning: The role of conscious cognitive factors. In G., Davey, (Ed.),Cognitive processes and Pavlovian conditioning in humans. (pp. 27–55). Chichester, UK. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Domesick, V.B. (1969). Projections from the cingulate cortex in the rat.Brain Research, 12, 296–320.
Gibbs, C.M., & Powell, D.A. (1991). Single-unit activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex during the expression of discriminative bradycardia in rabbits.Behavioural Brain Research, 43, 79–92.
Gibbs, C.M., Prescott, L.B., & Powell, D.A. (in press). A comparison of multiple-unit activity in the medial prefrontal and agranular insular cortices during Pavlovian heart rate conditioning in rabbits.Experimental Brain Research.
Gormezano, I. (1966). Classical conditioning. In J.B. Sidowski, (Ed.),Experimental methods and instrumentation in psychology (pp. 385–420). NY: McGraw Hill.
Hurley, K.M., Herbert, H., Moga, M.M., & Saper, C.B. (1991). Efferent projections of the infralimbic cortex of the rat.The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 308, 249–276.
Kapp, B.S., Schwaber, J.S., & Driscoll, P.A. (1985). The organization of insular cortex projections to the amygdaloid central nucleus and autonomic regulatory nuclei of the dorsal medulla.Brain Research, 360, 355–360.
Kazis, E., Milligan, W.L., & Powell, D.A. (1973). Autonomic-somatic relationships: Blockade of heart rate and corneoretinal potential.Journal of Comparative Physiological Psychology, 84, 98–110.
Neafsey, E.J., Hurley-Guis, K.M., & Arvanitis, D. (1986). The topographical organization of neurons in the rat medial frontal, insular and olfactory cortex projecting to the solitary nucleus, olfactory bulb, periaqueductal gray and superior colliculus.Brain Research, 377, 261–270.
Powell, D.A., Buchanan, S.L., & Gibbs, C.M. (1990). Role of the prefrontal-thalamic axis in classical conditioning. In H.B.M. Uylings, C.G. Van Eden, J.P.C., De Bruin, M.A., Corner, & M.G.P., Feenstra, (Eds.),Progress in brain research, vol. 85”. The prefrontal cortex: Its structure, function and pathology (pp. 433–466). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
Powell, D.A., Buchanan, S.L., & Hernandez, L.L. (1985). Electrical stimulation of insular cortex elicits cardiovascular adjustments but insular lesions do not abolish conditioned bradycardia.Behavioral Brain Research, 17, 125–144.
Powell, D.A., & Kazis, E. (1976). Blood pressure and heart rate changes accompanying classical eyeblink conditioning in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).Psychophysiology, 13, 441–447.
Powell, D.A., & Levine-Bryce, D. (1989). Conditioned bradycardia in the rabbit: Effects of knife cuts and ibotenic acid lesions in the lateral hypothalamus.Experimental Brain Research, 76, 103–121.
Schneiderman, N., Smith, M.C., Smith, A.C., & Gormezano, I. (1966). Heart rate classical conditioning in rabbits.Psychonomic Science, 6, 241–242.
Van Der Kooy, D., Koda, L.Y., McGinty, J.F., Gerfen, C.R., & Bloom, F.E. (1984). The organization of projections from the cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus to the nucleus of the solitary tract in rat.The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 224, 1–24.
Vogt, B.A., Sikes, R.W., Swadlow, H.A., & Weyland, T.G. (1986). Rabbit cingulate cortex: Cytoarchitecture, physiological border with visual cortex, and afferent cortical connections of visual, motor, postsubicular, and intracingulate origin.The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 248, 74–94.
Walker, A.E. (1940). A cytoarchitectural study of the prefrontal area of the macaque monkey.Journal of Comparative Neurology, 73, 59–86.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Powell, D.A. The prefrontal-thalamic axis and classical conditioning. Integr. psych. behav. 27, 101–116 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698500
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698500