Seens, Robert Dale2024-08-152024-08-1519691969https://hdl.handle.net/1828/19670Grossman (1966) formulated the hypothesis that the behavioral effects of ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions were due to an enhancement of the emotional respons­iveness of the animal towards all sensory stimuli. In this study, following the placement of bilateral VMH lesions in adult, female hooded rats, behavioral measures were taken in an open-field; on resistance to handling; and in a simple one-way escape-avoidance situation, in order to assess the predictive power of Grossman's (1966) hypothesis. The variable of handling was also manipulated to determine if handling could act to attenuate primary lesion effects. It would be predicted from Grossman's hypothesis that VMH lesioned subjects would differ from control subjects by increased defecation and immobility in the open-field; increased resistance to handling; and, improved avoidance performance. No VMH lesion effect was found on open-field behavior. VMH subjects were significantly (p < .001) more resistant to being handled compared to control subjects. Handling was found ineffective as a means of attenuating the primary effects of VMH lesions. Finally, VMH lesions were found to impair one-way avoidance performance. These results are discussed in terms of the implications they pose for Grossman's (1966) hypothesis.84 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis