ISSN:
1573-3297
Keywords:
Maudsley rat strains
;
response habituation
;
acoustic startle
;
anxiety
;
emotionality
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Psychology
Notes:
Abstract Female Maudsley Reactive (MR/Har) and Nonreactive (MNRA/Har) rats were tested for initial acoustic startle reactivity and within-session startle habituation. Subjects were exposed in each of five weekly sessions to 12 acoustic startle noise bursts at a 20-s interstimulus interval, a procedure in which genetically heterogeneous Sprague Dawley rats have been shown to exhibit robust within-session habituation. Although initial startle reactivity was comparable in the two strains, significant differences in withinssession habituation were observed. Specifically, MR/Har rats were observed to exhibit substantial within-session habituation to these acoustic stimuli, while rats of the MNRA/Har strain exhibited little, if any, habituation to these repeated acoustic stimuli. The basis for this dramatic difference in within-session startle habituation in these Maudsley rats is at present unexplained and under investigation.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01066848
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