STUDIES OF FUNCTION OF AMYGDALOID COMPLEX IN MACACA MULATTA

Two groups of experiments are described. The first tested the ability of amygdalectomized monkeys to perform behavior sequences. Impairment was limited to those sequences which were not externally prescribed; i.e. amygdalectomized monkeys appear unable to make choices within the context of some internally produced set. The second group of studies tested directly the ability to develop sets. Amygdalectomized Ss failed to form discrimination reversal learning set, an impairment produced by the split brain procedure in the amygdalectomized hemisphere only. The conclusion reached is that the amygdala is important to choice behavior dependent on the development of sets and that this formation of sets is unlikely to be a motor" phenomenon as typically conceived. © 1969."