**2.4. Cannulation**

Cannula was implanted into the amygdala. The rats were anesthetized and fixed in a stereotaxic instrument (Stoelting Co., IL, USA) and a hole was opened at the skull by a dental drill; a 22-gauge stainless steel guide cannula 313-G/Spc (Plastics One Inc., VA, USA) was implanted aseptically into amygdala region (coordinates: - 2.6 mm posterior to the bregma; + 4.3 mm lateral to the midline and -8.4 mm ventral according to the skull). The guide cannula was secured in place by dental cement (Dental Products of Turkey, Istanbul) affixed to two mounting screws. A stainless steel dummy cannula was used to occlude the guide cannula when not in use. Each cannulated rat was then kept individually for a week to recover from surgery.
