Faculty Publications

Mr/Har And Mnra/Har Maudsley Rat Strains: Differences In Acoustic Startle Habituation

Document Type

Article

Keywords

acoustic startle, anxiety, emotionality, Maudsley rat strains, response habituation

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Behavior Genetics

Volume

18

Issue

6

First Page

663

Last Page

669

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. © 1988 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Department

Department of Psychology

Original Publication Date

11-1-1988

DOI of published version

10.1007/BF01066848

Link to Full Text

Comments?

Share

COinS