Impairment of social behavior in amygdalar cats

Abstract

Social dominance in predatory animals was tested before and after amygdala lesions. Cats after damage of dorsal part of amygdala did not show predatory behavior in group and lost their social rank in hierarchy, but in the same animals predatory attack remained unchanged in nonsocial situations. In the cat with medial amygdala lesions total abolishment of mouse-killing behavior was observed in both social and nonsocial situations. It has been concluded that amygdala plays an essential role in emotional-motivational mechanisms of predatory competitions as one of the forms of social behavior.