Excitotoxic lesion of the medial prefrontal cortex in Wistar rats: Effects on trait and state anxiety.

•The neural substrate of trait anxiety was investigated in rats.•Both trait (Free-exploratory paradigm) and state (Hole board test) anxiety were tested.•Lesion of the medial prefrontal decreased trait anxiety of highly anxious rats.•Lesion of the medial prefrontal cortex decreased state anxiety.