Source Paper
A primary acoustic startle circuit: lesion and stimulation studies
M Davis, DS Gendelman, MD Tischler, PM Gendelman
Journal of Neuroscience • 1982
Source Paper
M Davis, DS Gendelman, MD Tischler, PM Gendelman
Journal of Neuroscience • 1982
The latency of the acoustic startle reflex in the rat is 8 msec, measured from tone onset to the beginning of the electromyographic response in the hindleg. This extremely short latency indicates that only a few synapses could be involved in some primary acoustic startle circuit. Acoustic startle is being used as a model system for studying habituation, sensitization, prepulse inhibition, classical conditioning, fear or anxiety, and drug effects on behavior. The present study attempted to delineate a short latency acoustic startle circuit, since this would provide critical information for further study in all of these areas. Bilateral lesions of the ventral cochlear nucleus, which receives the primary auditory input, abolish acoustic startle. Electrical, single pulse stimulation of the ventral cochlear nucleus elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 7 msec. Bilateral lesions of the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, which receive direct input from the ventral cochlear nuclei, abolish acoustic startle. Electrical stimulation of these nuclei elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 6 msec. Bilateral lesions of ventral regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis, which contain cell bodies that give rise to the reticulospinal tract, abolish acoustic startle. Electrical stimulation of these points elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 5 msec. Reaction product from horseradish peroxidase iontophoresed into this area is found in the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus. In contrast, lesions of the dorsal cochlear nuclei, vestibular nuclei, nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis, and dorsal regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis fail to abolish acoustic startle. Also, “startle” cannot be elicited electrically from these areas. The data suggest that a primary acoustic startle circuit in the rat consists of auditory nerve, ventral cochlear nucleus, nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis, spinal interneuron, lower motor neuron, and muscles. Hence, five synapses, plus the neuromuscular junction, are probably involved.
Objective: To delineate a primary acoustic startle circuit in rats by determining which brain regions are critical for the acoustic startle reflex through bilateral lesion studies
This is a Bilateral Lesion of Ventral Cochlear Nucleus protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 10 procedural steps, 3 equipment items. Extracted from a 1982 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Bilateral lesion of ventral cochlear nucleus • Measure acoustic startle latency • Electrical stimulation of ventral cochlear nucleus
Primary readouts
Key equipment and reagents
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Create bilateral lesions of the ventral cochlear nucleus, which receives primary auditory input
Note: This lesion abolishes acoustic startle reflex
“Bilateral lesions of the ventral cochlear nucleus, which receives the primary auditory input, abolish acoustic startle.”
Record electromyographic response in the hindleg following acoustic stimulus to measure startle reflex latency
Note: Normal latency is approximately 8 msec from tone onset to beginning of EMG response
“The latency of the acoustic startle reflex in the rat is 8 msec, measured from tone onset to the beginning of the electromyographic response in the hindleg.”
Apply single pulse electrical stimulation to the ventral cochlear nucleus and record resulting responses
Note: Stimulation elicits startle-like responses with latency of approximately 7 msec
“Electrical, single pulse stimulation of the ventral cochlear nucleus elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 7 msec.”
Create bilateral lesions of the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, which receive direct input from ventral cochlear nuclei
Note: These lesions abolish acoustic startle
“Bilateral lesions of the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, which receive direct input from the ventral cochlear nuclei, abolish acoustic startle.”
Apply single pulse electrical stimulation to the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus
Note: Stimulation elicits startle-like responses with latency of approximately 6 msec
“Electrical stimulation of these nuclei elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 6 msec.”
Create bilateral lesions of ventral regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis, which contain cell bodies giving rise to the reticulospinal tract
Note: These lesions abolish acoustic startle
“Bilateral lesions of ventral regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis, which contain cell bodies that give rise to the reticulospinal tract, abolish acoustic startle.”
Apply single pulse electrical stimulation to ventral regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis
Note: Stimulation elicits startle-like responses with latency of approximately 5 msec
“Electrical stimulation of these points elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 5 msec.”
Iontophorese horseradish peroxidase into nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis to trace neural connections
Note: Reaction product is found in the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, confirming connectivity
“Reaction product from horseradish peroxidase iontophoresed into this area is found in the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus.”
Create bilateral lesions of dorsal cochlear nuclei, vestibular nuclei, nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis, and dorsal regions of nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis as negative controls
Note: These lesions fail to abolish acoustic startle, indicating these regions are not critical for the reflex
“Lesions of the dorsal cochlear nuclei, vestibular nuclei, nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis, and dorsal regions of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis fail to abolish acoustic startle.”
Attempt electrical stimulation of dorsal cochlear nuclei, vestibular nuclei, nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis, and dorsal regions of nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis
Note: Startle responses cannot be elicited electrically from these areas
“Also, "startle" cannot be elicited electrically from these areas.”
This section explains what the experiment is doing, which readouts matter, what the data artifacts usually look like, and how the analysis should flow from raw capture to reported result.
To delineate a primary acoustic startle circuit in rats by determining which brain regions are critical for the acoustic startle reflex through bilateral lesion studies
Objective
To delineate a primary acoustic startle circuit in rats by determining which brain regions are critical for the acoustic startle reflex through bilateral lesion studies
Subjects
From paperrat • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified
Sample count
From paperNot specified
Cohort notes
From paperNone specified
Bilateral lesion of ventral cochlear nucleus (Not specified)
Measure acoustic startle latency (Not specified)
Electrical stimulation of ventral cochlear nucleus (Not specified)
Bilateral lesion of dorsal and ventral nuclei of lateral lemniscus (Not specified)
Presence or absence of acoustic startle reflex following bilateral lesions
From paperNot specified
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Latency of acoustic startle reflex (measured in milliseconds from tone onset to EMG response)
From paperNot specified
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Latency of electrically-evoked startle-like responses from different brain regions
From paperNot specified
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Anatomical connectivity patterns revealed by horseradish peroxidase tracing
From paperNot specified
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Presence or absence of acoustic startle reflex following bilateral lesions
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Latency of acoustic startle reflex (measured in milliseconds from tone onset to EMG response)
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Latency of electrically-evoked startle-like responses from different brain regions
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Anatomical connectivity patterns revealed by horseradish peroxidase tracing
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Acquisition
Collect raw experimental outputs with enough metadata to preserve sample identity, condition, and timing.
Preprocessing / cleaning
Not specified
Scoring or quantification
Quantify the primary readouts for this experiment: Presence or absence of acoustic startle reflex following bilateral lesions; Latency of acoustic startle reflex (measured in milliseconds from tone onset to EMG response); Latency of electrically-evoked startle-like responses from different brain regions; Anatomical connectivity patterns revealed by horseradish peroxidase tracing.
Statistical comparison
Statistical method not yet structured for this page.
Reporting output
Report representative outputs alongside summary comparisons for Presence or absence of acoustic startle reflex following bilateral lesions, Latency of acoustic startle reflex (measured in milliseconds from tone onset to EMG response), Latency of electrically-evoked startle-like responses from different brain regions, Anatomical connectivity patterns revealed by horseradish peroxidase tracing.
Source links and direct wording from the methods section for validation and deeper review.
Citation
M Davis et al. (1982). A primary acoustic startle circuit: lesion and stimulation studies. Journal of Neuroscience
Bilateral lesion of ventral cochlear nucleus • Protocol step
“Bilateral lesions of the ventral cochlear nucleus, which receives the primary auditory input, abolish acoustic startle.”
Measure acoustic startle latency • Protocol step
“The latency of the acoustic startle reflex in the rat is 8 msec, measured from tone onset to the beginning of the electromyographic response in the hindleg.”
Electrical stimulation of ventral cochlear nucleus • Protocol step
“Electrical, single pulse stimulation of the ventral cochlear nucleus elicits startle-like responses with a latency of about 7 msec.”
Bilateral lesion of dorsal and ventral nuclei of lateral lemniscus • Protocol step
“Bilateral lesions of the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, which receive direct input from the ventral cochlear nuclei, abolish acoustic startle.”
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