Cindy brought a fake rubber snake into the lab where her rhesus monkeys lived. Most of the monkeys responded with fear vocalizations, but one did not. Cindy knew this monkey had been in a lesion experiment prior to coming to her lab, but she didn't know what type of lesion had been done. What would you tell Cindy about her monkey?
A) He probably didn't have a lesion at all, as ignoring fake snakes is considered normal for rhesus monkeys.
B) He probably had a lesion in the hippocampus of both hemispheres.
C) He probably had a lesion in the amygdala of both hemispheres.
D) He probably had a lesion of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The amygdala is known to play a key role in fear conditioning and response, including responses to potential threats such as snakes. Therefore, if a monkey does not respond with fear to a fake snake, it is possible that it has a lesion in the amygdala of both hemispheres. Lesions in other brain regions, such as the hippocampus or VMH, would not necessarily affect the monkey's fear response to a fake snake. It should be noted, however, that not all rhesus monkeys necessarily respond to a fake snake with fear vocalizations, so this is not a definite diagnosis.

Cindy Brought a Fake Rubber Snake into the Lab Where