Acoustic startle and open-field behavior in mice bred for magnitude of swim analgesia.

Acoustic startle response (ASR) and open-field activity was examined in the 46th generation of mice that have been selectively bred for high analgesia (HA) and for low analgesia (LA) induced by 3-min swimming in 20 degrees C water. These lines were earlier found to differ in brain opioid receptor density and in the expression of opioid-mediated phenomena, as analgesic sensitivity to opiates and reversibility of swim stress-induced analgesia (SSIA) by naloxone. For comparison, a randomly bred control (C) line was used. To measure the amplitude of ASR, the mice were exposed to 110-dB acoustic stimuli in a Coulbourn apparatus. In saline-injected mice, the ASR force was found significantly lower in the LA than in the HA, as well in the C line, but did not differ between the two last lines. Naltrexone hydrochloride (10 mg/kg IP 30 min before ASR testing) augmented the startle in the opioid receptor-dense HA line, but had no effect in the opioid receptor-deficient LA line, as well in the C line; therefore, the ASR magnitude in naltrexone-injected HA mice was significantly higher compared to the C line. HA mice displayed less activity in an open-field test; that is, they remained immobile longer in the center of the field, and thereafter performed less ambulation and less rearing against the wall compared to the LA line. Naltrexone failed to modify the open-field activity in any line. The results confirm that the pattern of ASR depends on the genetic makeup of the animals. The higher amplitude of ASR, taken together with the lower open-field activity of HA mice, can be interpreted in terms of higher anxiety level, compared to the LA line. It is suggested that the higher ASR in HA mice relies on a nonopioid mechanism, which is tonically inhibited by the opioid system.

Effect of nonaversive and aversive stimulations in infancy on the acoustic startle response in adult rats.

Two groups, each consisting of 8 three-week-old rat pups, were exposed to different behavioral treatments with the aim to determine how the experimental manipulation influenced their adult emotional reactivity. Every day for two weeks the pups from the first group received 15 min of handling whereas the animals from the second group were exposed to various aversive stimuli, differing each day. Following these manipulations, after a 5-day break the acoustic startle response (ASR) was measured in all animals and the testing was repeated after another four weeks. Statistical analysis of the data revealed significant differences between groups in the ASR parameters. Surprisingly, in the test which directly followed the treatment the mean ASR amplitudes were similar in both groups. Highly significant differences, however, were observed in the ASR amplitude four weeks later. The rats from the handling group responded with greater amplitudes. The latency of the ASR was significantly shorter in the nonaversive group compared with the second group exposed to aversive stimuli. The results suggest that early exposure to aversive stimulation significantly decreases rats emotional reactivity whereas nonaversive and impoverished stimulation clearly elevates arousal levels when the animal is placed in a novel situation.

Effect of acoustic stimulus characteristics on the startle response in hooded rats.

The acoustic startle response (ASR) depends on stimulus parameters such as duration, intensity and particularly on the stimulus rise time. The aim of our study was to determine to what extent the ASR parameters are affected by the spectral characteristics of the stimulus. Therefore, in this experiment the amplitude and the latency of the acoustic startle reflex were assessed for a fixed pulse duration and for a variety of stimulus frequencies ranging between 3 and 23 kHz. The ASRs were studied in 11 adult hooded rats exposed to 2-ms (120 dB SPL) tone pulses of different frequencies presented in random order, with or without 70 dB white noise background. Statistical analysis of the data revealed significant differences between ASR amplitudes for different frequencies. In our experimental situation the rats responded more readily to a low frequency stimulus. The startle amplitude decreased with tonal frequencies and distinguishable difference were seen for 3, 7, and 10 kHz pulses. However, such differences were not readily observed for higher frequencies i.e. 15, 20, 23 kHz. The same pattern of differences was observed when the acoustic stimulus was presented with the white noise background. The observed differences may be attributed, firstly, to a spectral characteristic of the stimulus and thus to an audibility in rats and secondly to a behavioral meaning of a stimulus of a different frequency.

Sex and strain differences of acoustic startle reaction development in adolescent albino Wistar and hooded rats.

Acoustic startle responses (ASR) were studied in 12 young Wistar albino and in 15 hooded rats of both genders. The six week old animals were first exposed to a 6.9 kHz tone pair of 2 ms pulses of 120 db intensity with the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) between 2 and 11 ms. ASR amplitudes and latencies as a function of the ISI, animal strain and gender were recorded and analyzed for ten consecutive weeks. No differences in the ASR amplitude between Wistar and hooded rats were found. ASR amplitude increased during the experimental period and followed body weight increase. Significant differences were also observed between male and female rats in their startle responses to acoustic stimuli. Generally, male subjects responded with a greater ASR amplitude than females, and the changes may be attributed to the difference in neuromuscular development between genders. This experiment sets a background for further developmental studies.