Institute of Higher Nervous Activity, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Differentiation between emotional sphere and the cognitive one is believed to be a very important point when experimental models of pathology and recovery are studied in animal (trauma, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.). Using the multi-alternative maze in rats we found two categories of cognitive activity: - Corresponding to level of instrumental reflex (learning to take food reward from 2 goal places). - Corresponding to level of cyclic activity in the same situation (learning to take reward, go out the maze, reenter and repeat all sequences of acts). In this case there is catching the meaning of the problem task: more reentering - more rewards. The problem won't come out by the majority of rats but only by 30-40% of all animals.
The way of problem solving may be expressed by several strategies determined by the character of curve (number of cycles as a function of number of sessions), the dynamics of errors and the structure of searching in the maze (pattern of pair vectors). Emotional sphere of activity is revealed as some frequency of different inborn reactions reflecting the animal state (stopping, freezing, "hesitations", chattering, grooming and some other).
Thus all kinds of reactions are registrated by method of "event recorder" continuously during time session (10 min). Using the quantitative analysis of above-mentioned parameters we showed that after amygdala brain damage (coagulation of the part limbic system) cognitive learning of both the first and second levels isn't different from the norm, yet complex of emotional reactions has peculiarities. Problems of registration and processing may be discussed.