At a dose of 5 mg/kg, the tricyclic antidepressant drugs chlorimlpramine (ClMI), desipramine (DMI), Imipramlne (IMI), ii and chlordeslpramine (C-DMI) all blocked the excitatory effects of a low dose (30 _g/kg) of LSD on the acoustic startle response in the rat. Over a dose range from I-5 " , mg/kg, CIMI and DMI were about equally potent in blocking the LSD effect, despite the fact that both dru...

Emotional-motivational dysfunctions may significantly contribute to symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and sensation seeking could be the result of a search for reinforcers, and cognitive dysfunctions might be due to a low motivational drive. Emotional-motivational dysfunctions could also explain social dysfunctions in ADHD patients becau...

KEY POINTS Using high-speed videos time-locked with whole-animal electrical recordings, simultaneous measurement of behavioural kinematics and field potential parameters of C-start startle responses allowed for discrimination between short-latency and long-latency C-starts (SLCs vs. LLCs) in larval zebrafish. Apart from their latencies, SLC kinematics and SLC field potential parameters were int...

Research has shown that learned fear emerges in a response-specific sequence. For example, freezing is observed at a younger age than is potentiated startle (P. Hunt & B. A. Campbell, 1997). The present study shows that the age at which a specific learned fear response emerges is influenced by the animal's early experiences. Specifically, fear potentiation of startle emerges earlier in developm...

The reticulospinal Mauthner cells (M-cells) of the startle circuit have been considered to be dedicated to one basic motor output and the C-type startle response in fish. The neural circuit underlying the C-start, a startle behavior in which the fish forms a "C"-shaped body bend has been described in depth in goldfish and zebrafish [1, 2] and is thought to occur in other species [3, 4]. However...

Marine mammal interactions with fisheries create conflicts that can threaten human safety, economic interests and marine mammal survival. A deterrent that capitalizes on learning mechanisms, like fear conditioning, may enhance success while simultaneously balancing welfare concerns and reduce noise pollution. During fear conditioning, individuals learn the cues that precede the dangerous stimul...

Tinnitus or ringing of the ears is a subjective phantom sensation necessitating behavioral models that objectively demonstrate the existence and quality of the tinnitus sensation. The gap detection test uses the acoustic startle response elicited by loud noise pulses and its gating or suppression by preceding sub-startling prepulses. Gaps in noise bands serve as prepulses, assuming that ongoing...