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Related Concept Videos

Echo01:06

Echo

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The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case,...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Habituation and Prepulse Inhibition of Acoustic Startle in Rodents
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The startle reflex in echolocating odontocetes: basic physiology and practical implications.

Thomas Götz1, Aude F Pacini2, Paul E Nachtigall2

  • 1Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK tg45@st-andrews.ac.uk.

The Journal of Experimental Biology
|March 14, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The acoustic startle reflex in dolphins and false killer whales is similar to terrestrial mammals, showing frequency-dependent thresholds. Stimulus rise time significantly impacts startle magnitude, crucial for understanding anthropogenic noise effects.

Keywords:
Acoustic startle reflexAnthropogenic noiseBottlenose dolphinBrainstemHearing thresholdsPseudorcaRise timeStartle thresholdsTursiops

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Area of Science:

  • Marine Biology
  • Bioacoustics
  • Animal Physiology

Background:

  • The acoustic startle reflex is a rapid response to sudden sounds.
  • Odontocetes possess unique auditory adaptations for aquatic environments, including sensitivity regulation.
  • The impact of these adaptations on the startle reflex remains largely uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the acoustic startle reflex in odontocetes (bottlenose dolphins and false killer whales).
  • To determine the frequency-dependence and intensity-dependence of the startle reflex.
  • To assess the influence of stimulus rise time on startle responses and compare findings to terrestrial mammals.

Main Methods:

  • Exposed dolphins and a false killer whale to controlled sound pulses of varying frequencies and levels.
  • Quantified startle responses using a 3D accelerometer measuring muscle contractions.
  • Measured the effect of different stimulus rise times on startle magnitude.

Main Results:

  • Startle magnitude increased exponentially with sound level.
  • Startle thresholds were frequency-dependent, with lower thresholds at higher frequencies.
  • Startle responses were reduced by slower stimulus rise times, with complete mitigation requiring rise times over 140 ms.

Conclusions:

  • The acoustic startle reflex in odontocetes is conserved and operates on principles similar to terrestrial mammals.
  • Findings highlight the importance of stimulus characteristics, like rise time, in mitigating noise impacts.
  • Results are critical for assessing and managing anthropogenic noise effects on marine mammals.