[Functional transswitching of dominant motivation in the systems organization of behavioral acts]

Abstract

In experiments on rabbits, instrumental and complex conditioned alimentary behaviour was studied at various ways of raising alimentary motivation to extreme levels. Animals behaviour in these conditions could acquire an outwardly non-motivated (in relation to alimentary need) character. It is suggested that these phenomena are based on the transformation of the dominant motivation and not on the mechanism of "shifted" activity. In experiments on rats, a long "pseudoreinforcement" of extremely enhanced motivation of thirst by ethanol led to profound changes of physiological and neurochemical properties of the primary drinking motivation centres of the hypothalamus. It is suggested that such changes underlie the realization of plasticity properties of the dominant motivation.