A broadband acoustic stimulus is more likely than a pure tone to elicit a startle reflex and prepared movements.

ABSTRACT: A loud acoustic stimulus that elicits a startle reflex has long been used to study the neurophysiology of cortical and subcortical neural circuits. More recent investigations have shown that startle can act as an early trigger for prepared actions, suggesting a brainstem role in the preparation and initiation of actions. However, in order to attribute any startle-triggered voluntary responses to activation in subcortical structures it is necessary to measure a startle-related activity in these structures. The current study investigated the most effective stimulus for eliciting a detectible startle reflex. While more intense stimuli are more likely to elicit a startle reflex, the current study examined whether broadband noise is more likely than a pure tone to produce a startle at various i

SUBMITTER: Carlsen AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4562592 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature