Comparison of vestibular and auditory startle responses in the rat and cat

Cats, humans, and many other animals show stereotyped EMG responses in limb and axial muscles if suddenly dropped into free-fall. In cats, these free-fall responses (FFR) consist of highly synchronized bursts in most limb and axial muscles at 18-22 ms. We have used FFR to evaluate descending motor function and recovery in chronic spinal injured cats. Here FFR are compared with auditory evoked startle reflexes (ASR) in the hindlimb muscles of the rat and cat to determine whether they are related, and whether they could be used to evaluate descending motor function in the rat. ASR and FFR in the two species were similar except that the earliest components for both responses occurred around 9 ms in the rat versus 18-20 ms in the cat. Also, FFR in cats were usually more consistent and greater in amplitude during repeated drops than in rats, while the converse was true for ASR. Rat FFR amplitudes increased significantly after administering ketamine or 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), especially with both drugs together, while ASR amplitudes did not. FFR in cats recorded under ketamine analgesia were not normally improved by 4-AP. Finally, both FFR and ASR were suppressed by pentobarbital, chloralose, or motor activity. These data suggest that: (1) FFR appears to be a vestibular evoked startle reflex; (2) in the rat, ASR should be useful as a test of descending motor function following spinal injury, and (3) the combination of ketamine and 4-AP may be useful in revealing the presence of functional spinal pathways after CNS trauma.