1981/07/24 by Michael R. Murphy, Paul D. MacLean, Sue C. Hamilton · 142 citations
Psychology · Medicine · Neuroscience · #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior #Adipose Tissue and Metabolism #Stress Responses and Cortisol #Neocortex #Hamster #Neuroscience #Limbic system #Hippocampal formation #Hippocampus #Dorsum #Mesocricetus #Biology #Psychology #Rodent #Syrian hamsters #Anatomy #Central nervous system #Endocrinology
paper · doi:10.1126/science.7244642
published in Science 213(4506), 459-461 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 1981/07/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Hamsters deprived from birth of the neocortex developed normally and displayed the usual hamster-typical behavioral patterns. With the additional concurrent destruction of midline limbic convolutions (cingulate and underlying dorsal hippocampal), there were deficits in maternal behavior and a lack of development of play behavior. These findings demonstrate in a rodent (i) that the striatal complex and limbic system, along with the remaining neuraxis, are sufficient for giving expression to a wide range of unlearned forms of species-typical behavior and (ii) that midline limbic structures are required for the expression of play behavior and the integrated performance of maternal behavior.