Augmentation of the Rat's Acoustic Startle Reflex by Nonreflexogenic Stimuli

The size of the rat's acoustic startle reflex was augmented by brief acoustic clicks (which did not themselves elicit startle) presented several milliseconds before the reflex-eliciting stimulus (RS). The same clicks presented after the RS gave relatively weak augmentation that was present in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1990-12, Vol.104 (6), p.841-848
Main Authors: Hammond, Geoffrey R, Leitner, Donald S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation
Animal
Animal behavior
Animals
Arousal
Attention
Auditory Stimulation
Auditory Threshold
Biological and medical sciences
Ears & hearing
Electroshock
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Loudness Perception
Male
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Reaction Time
Reflex, Acoustic
Reflex, Startle
Startle Reflex
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Description
Summary:The size of the rat's acoustic startle reflex was augmented by brief acoustic clicks (which did not themselves elicit startle) presented several milliseconds before the reflex-eliciting stimulus (RS). The same clicks presented after the RS gave relatively weak augmentation that was present in the 1st, but not the 2nd, testing session. Brief footshocks set to 75% of each animal's flinch threshold augmented startle when presented both before and after the RS in both testing sessions. Augmentation by a leading footshock increased with shock intensity and was unaffected by the intensity of the RS. Augmentation by a trailing footshock increased with shock intensity and also with the intensity of the RS. Reflex size is not fixed at the time of reflex elicitation but can be augmented by a later nonreflexogenic stimulus. Reflex augmentation may be caused by the 2nd member of a stimulus pair discharging elements of the reflex pathway that were partially activated by the 1st.
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.104.6.841