While amygdaloid lesions do not affect locomotor reactivity to photic stimuli under nonappetitive conditions, such lesions markedly increase distractibility to flashes when animals are engaged in appetitive behavior. The enhanced distractibility would seem to reflect dysfunctions in appetitive behavior. Concurrent analysis of visual evoked responses (VERs) revealed evidence of heightened eleetrophysiological arousal in amygdaloid preparations with conditions of intensified photic stimulation, but no altered VERs that could be related to heightened distractibility. Analysis of appetitive dysfunctions by means of VERs to flash probe stimuli during different segments of the behavior indicated reduced eleetrophysiological reactivity by amygdaloid preparations to conditions of frustration instituted by intermittent withholding of reinforcement. These results are contrasted with those of septal lesions.