Brain Mechanisms in Problem Solving and Intelligence: A Lesion Survey of the Rat Brain

223 Pages·1990·5.351 MB·English

by  Robert Thompson, Francis M. Crinella, Jen Yu (auth.)

Brain Mechanisms in
Problem Solving and
Intelligence
A Lesion Survey of the Rat Brain
CRITICAL ISSUES IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
Series Editors
Antonio E. Puente Cecil R. Reynolds
University of North Carolina, Wilmington Texas A&M University
ASSESSMENT ISSUES IN CHILD NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
Edited by Michael G. Tramontana and Stephen R. Hooper
BRAIN MECHANISMS IN PROBLEM SOLVING AND
INTELLIGENCE: A Lesion Survey of the Rat Brain
Robert Thompson, Francis M. Crinella, and Jen Yu
BRAIN ORGANIZATION OF LANGUAGE AND
COGNITIVE PROCESSES
Edited by Alfredo Ardila and Peggy Ostrosky-Solis
HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL CHILD NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
Edited by Cecil R. Reynolds and Elaine Pletcher-Janzen
MEDICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY: The Impact of Disease on Behavior
Edited by Ralph E. Tarter, David H. Van Thiel, and Kathleen L. Edwards
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION AND BRAIN IMAGING
Edited by Erin D. Bigler, Ronald A. Yeo, and Eric Turkheimer
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, NEUROPSYCHIATRY, AND BEHAVIORAL
NEUROLOGY
Rhawn Joseph
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT
Michael D. Franzen
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Brain Mechanisms in
Problem Solving and
Intelligence
A Lesion Survey of the Rat Brain
Robert Thompson
Late of University of California Irvine
Irvine, California
Francis M. Crinella
Stale Developmental Reswrch Inslilules
Cos/a Mesa, California
and
Jen Yu
University of California Irvine
Irvine, California
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
L1brary of Congress Catalog1ng-1n-Publ1cat1on Data
Thompson, Robert, 1927-
Brain mechanisms in prob1em so1v1ng and 1nte11igence a 1esion
survey of the rat brain 1 Robert Tho•pson, Francis M. Crine11a, and
Jen Yu.
p. cm. -- <Cr 1t i ca 1 1s sues 1n neuropsvcho 1o gy >
Inc1udes bib1iographica1 references p.
ISBN 978-1-4757-9550-9 ISBN 978-1-4757-9548-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-9548-6
1. Learning--Physio1ogica1 aspects. 2. Brain--Loca11zation of
funct1ons. 3. Rats--Physio1ogy. 4. Neuroanatomy. I. Crine11a,
Francis M. II. Yu, Je.n. III. Tit1e. IV. Series.
OP408.T48 1990
599' .0188--dc20 89-26560
CIP
© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1990
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
AII rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
To our wives: Pitsa, Terrie, and Janet
Whereas man's successes, persistences and socially unacceptable divaga
tions-that is, his intelligences, his motivation and his instabilities-are
all ultimately shaped and materialized by specific cultures, it is still true
that most of the formal underlying laws of intelligence, motivation and
instability can still be studied in rats as well as, and more easily than, in
man. -Edward Chace Tolman
It is easier to say where than it is to explain how. But localization of
function in the brain must come first. . . . -Wilder Penfield
Preface
This book is the outcome of a decade of research on the neu
roanatomical mechanisms of learning in the young laboratory
rat. It is essentially a discourse on the functional organization
of the brain in relation to problem-solving ability and intelli
gence.
During the period between 1980 and 1989, well over 1000
weanling albino rats were subjected to localized brain damage
(or sham operations in the case of the controls) under deep
anesthesia and aseptic surgical conditions, were allowed tore
cover, and subsequently were tested on a wide variety of prob
lems designed to measure general learning ability. Since vir
tually every part of the brain rostral to the medulla has been
explored with lesions, it has become possible not only to map a
number of "putative" brain systems underlying the acquisition
of distinctive problem-solving tasks, but to isolate several neu
roanatomical mechanisms that appear to be selectively in
volved in the acquisition of particular kinds of goal-directed
learned activities. Of particular interest was the discovery of a
"nonspecific mechanism" (previously referred to in our re
search reports as the "general learning system") inhabiting the
interior parts of the brain.
One objective of this volume was to make these maps
available in a single source. Another was to provide a descrip
tion of learning syndromes arising from local lesions to differ
ent parts of the brain. A third objective was to determine, by
means of correlational and factor analyses, whether the ob
served individual differences in problem-solving ability reflect
variations in a "g" factor, or general intelligence. The final ob-
7
8 PREFACE
jective was to erect a conceptual framework within which these
data could be interpreted. The resultant conceptualization,
which is largely based on Penfield's "centrencephalic" theory,
bears on several experimental and clinical issues related to the
functions of the brain underlying higher mental activities.
Some of these issues include the structure of animal (and
human) intelligence, the neurology of learning, the distinction
between cortical and subcortical dementia, and the neu
roanatomical basis of mental retardation.
This book should be of use to those who are engaged in
neurobehavioral research. It will be of particular interest to the
increasing number of investigators who are searching for neu
rophysiological and neurochemical correlates of learning and
memory or correspondences between the recently described
chemical (and anatomical) pathways of the brain and behavior.
Students and instructors in physiological psychology or behav
ioral neuroscience courses may also find the book informative,
especially when a question arises concerning the effects upon
learning of a lesion to a brain structure that is not given de
tailed discussion in whatever textbook they are using. Finally, it
is certain to appeal to most readers having an interest in cog
nitive psychology or tending to take an extreme position in
connection with the modular (localization) vs. equipotential
(nonlocalization) models of brain organization.
As expected, an enterprise of this magnitude could not
have been accomplished without the dedicated assistance of
research associates. We are especially indebted to those work
ers who spent at least one year in our laboratory. Among these
(listed in chronological order) are David Harmon, Kathy Gallar
do, Peter Huestis, Victor Bjelajac, and Susan Fukui.
We also wish to pay tribute to our statistician, Todd Fisher,
and to Phyllis Wood, who typed multiple versions of parts of
this monograph.
Robert Thompson
Francis M. Crinella
Jen Yu
Contents
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 13
Learning vs. Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Defense of the Lesion Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Some Criticisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Plan of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 2. GENERAL METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Subjects and Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Appetitively Motivated Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Aversively Motivated Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appetitively Motivated Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Aversively Motivated Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Histology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Constructing the Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Maps of Learning Syndromes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Maps of Learning Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
9