Light-Enhanced Startle Testing
Objective: Measurement of acoustic startle response amplitude enhancement in the presence of bright light as an unconditioned anxiogenic response, and examination of neuroanatomical substrates involved in light-enhanced versus fear-potentiated startle
This is a Light-Enhanced Startle Testing protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 3 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 2 materials. Extracted from a 1997 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
Intracranial infusion administration • Light-enhanced startle testing • Fear-potentiated startle testing
Primary readouts
- Acoustic startle response amplitude in light-enhanced startle condition
- Acoustic startle response amplitude in fear-potentiated startle condition
- Effects of AMPA receptor antagonist infusions on startle response enhancement
- Differential involvement of brain regions (basolateral amygdala, central nucleus of amygdala, bed nucleus of stria terminalis) in conditioned versus unconditioned fear responses
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Intracranial infusion administration
Immediately before light-enhanced or fear-potentiated startle testing, rats received intracranial infusions of either AMPA receptor antagonist or PBS vehicle control
Note: Infusions were targeted to specific brain regions: basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala, or bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
View evidence from paper
“Immediately before light-enhanced or fear-potentiated startle testing, rats received intracranial infusions of the AMPA receptor antagonist 2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulphamoylbenzo(F)-quinoxaline (3 µg) or PBS”
Light-enhanced startle testing
Measurement of acoustic startle response amplitude in the presence of bright light as an unconditioned anxiogenic stimulus
Note: Light-enhanced startle reflects an unconditioned response to an anxiogenic stimulus
View evidence from paper
“The amplitude of the acoustic startle response is reliably enhanced when elicited in the presence of bright light (light-enhanced startle)”
Fear-potentiated startle testing
Measurement of acoustic startle response amplitude in the presence of cues previously paired with shock
Note: Fear-potentiated startle reflects a conditioned response to a fear-eliciting stimulus
View evidence from paper
“The amplitude of the acoustic startle response is reliably enhanced when elicited in the presence of bright light (light-enhanced startle) or in the presence of cues previously paired with shock (fear-potentiated startle)”