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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice
Published on: May 10, 2019
Quantitative descriptions of generalized arousal, an elementary function of the vertebrate brain
Amy Wells Quinkert1, Vivek Vimal, Zachary M Weil
1Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior and Laboratory of Biological Modelling, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. awells@rockefeller.edu
Abstract:
We review a concept of the most primitive, fundamental function of the vertebrate CNS, generalized arousal (GA). Three independent lines of evidence indicate the existence of GA: statistical, genetic, and mechanistic. Here we ask, is this concept amenable to quantitative analysis? Answering in the affirmative, four quantitative approaches have proven useful: (i) factor analysis, (ii) information theory, (iii) deterministic chaos, and (iv) application of a Gaussian equation. It strikes us that, to date, not just one but at least four different quantitative approaches seem necessary for describing different aspects of scientific work on GA.
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