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Related Experiment Videos

Shock sensitization of startle in the developing rat.

R Richardson1, A Vishney

  • 1School of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of New South Wales, UNSW SYDNEY 2052, Australia.

Developmental Psychobiology
|May 8, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Young rats do not show shock-induced startle potentiation until 23 days of age. This developmental delay in fear potentiation of startle is not explained by contextual conditioning differences.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Fear conditioning in rodents can lead to a potentiated startle response.
  • Previous research suggests this potentiation is linked to fear and contextual cues.
  • The developmental emergence of these fear-related responses is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental timeline of shock-induced startle potentiation in rats.
  • To determine if preweanling rats exhibit this fear potentiation effect.
  • To explore the relationship between shock sensitization, fear conditioning, and development.

Main Methods:

  • Rats were exposed to a series of shocks to induce sensitization.
  • Startle responses to acoustic stimuli were measured in shocked and non-shocked groups.

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  • Experiments varied testing procedures and assessed contextual conditioning across different ages.

    • Main Results:

    • Shock sensitization of startle was observed in 23-day-old rats, but not in younger, preweanling rats.
    • This developmental emergence was consistent across different experimental setups.
    • Age-related differences in contextual conditioning did not account for the lack of effect in younger rats.

    Conclusions:

    • Fear potentiation of startle, specifically shock sensitization, emerges relatively late in rat development.
    • This finding contributes to understanding the developmental trajectory of fear-related behaviors.
    • The study highlights the distinct developmental emergence of startle potentiation compared to other fear responses like freezing.