Recently, our group described the ether-à-go-go1(Eag1) voltage-gated potassium (K(+)) channel (Kv10.1) expression in the dopaminergic cells indicating that these channels are part of the diversified group of ion channels related to dopaminergic neurons function. The increase of dopamine neurotransmission induces a reduction in the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex in rode...

it has been reported previously that modulatory effects of pleasant and unpleasant slides on the human acoustic reflex are observed only if startle probes are presented to the left ear or with binaural presentation. the present study examined the effects of the left and the right ear stimulation on modulated startle reflex (as indexed by eyeblink component, measured at the right eye) employing ...

We examined the effect of perinatal hypothyroidism on auditory function in rats using a prepulse inhibition paradigm. Pregnant rats were treated with the antithyroid drug methimazole (1-methyl-2-mercaptoimidazole) from gestational day 15 to postnatal day 21 via drinking water at concentrations (w/v) of 0 (control), 0.002 (low dose), or 0.02% (high dose). Rats from methimazole-treated mothers we...

1. An acoustic startle stimulus delivered in place of a 'go' signal in a voluntary reaction time (RT) task has been shown previously to advance the onset latency of a prepared distal limb movement without affecting the amplitude of the muscle response or movement kinematics. The primary goal of this study was to use muscles with a larger startle response to investigate whether the startling sti...

Some findings overturn basic assumptions in the field and make it obvious how little we really understand. In my opinion, findings by Le Duc et al. (2016) regarding age differences in how emotional stimuli influence startle reactivity fit this profile. They found age differences in how viewing pleasant, unpleasant and neutral pictures modulated a startle response to a loud noise (Figure 1A). Wh...

A population of reticulospinal neurons with short latency response to startle-inducing stimuli was identified in the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (NRPC) and nucleus gigantocellularis (NRGC) of the medial pontomedullary reticular formation. The threshold and magnitude of response to auditory stimuli was correlated in these cells and in the muscles mediating startle. Startle-related neuron...

Startle modification is a robust phenomenon that has been used as a tool in the research of emotion and motivation. In a picture viewing paradigm, valence of affective pictures modulates startle magnitude. There is a debate on whether emotional or attentional processes are the mechanism of startle modification. The present study sought to address this question by investigating the individual di...

Startle probe modulation during affective picture viewing was assessed in a Spanish prison population. As for North American inmates, psychopaths failed to display normal blink potentiation during unpleasant slides even though their evaluative judgments and autonomic reaction to affective stimuli paralleled those of other inmate and noninmate participants. The results suggest that diminished de...