The startle response in rats: effect of ethanol

Pohorecky, Larissa A.; Çağan, Murat; Brick, John; Jaffe, L.S.

doi:10.1016/0091-3057(76)90247-1

Cited by 63 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The finding of an ethanol-induced decrease in the ASR in rats replicates previous reports by Pohorecky et al (1976) and Jones et al (2000) and is an effect that has also been observed in humans (Stritzke et al 1995;Curtin et al 1998). However, the lack of an age difference in the magnitude of the ethanol-induced decrease in startle was surprising given previous ontogenetic findings that adolescents are less sensitive than mature animals to several relevant ethanol effects.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The animals were injected intraperitoneally 20 min (d-amphetamine) or 30 min (ethanol and saline) before testing and placed back into their cages; these injection test intervals were chosen based on prior ASR research with ethanol (Pohorecky et al 1976) and amphetamine (Bell et al 2003). Five minutes before the onset of the test session, each animal was placed inside the startle apparatus for a 5-min habituation period.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pharmacological treatments also affect the ASR, with depressant drugs that generally decrease overall neural activity typically decreasing the ASR whereas an increase is often evident after administration of agents which increase overall neural activity (see Koch 1999, for a discussion). For example, ethanol has been shown to decrease the ASR in both rats (Pohorecky et al 1976) and humans (Grillon et al 1994), while the stimulant amphetamine often increases the ASR (Bell et al 2003; although see also Varty et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Effects of acute ethanol or amphetamine administration on the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition in adolescent and adult rats

Brunell

Spear

2006

Psychopharmacology

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Effects of acute ethanol or amphetamine administration on the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition in adolescent and adult rats

Brunell

Spear

2006

Psychopharmacology

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“…In our study rats withdrawn from oral diazepam intake increased their magnitude of startle response, in a similar manner to that verified during withdrawal from other drugs of abuse, such as alcohol (Chester et al, 2004;Pohorecky et al, 1976), morphine (Harris and Gewirtz, 2004;Kalinichev and Holtzman, 2003) and nicotine (Acri, 1994;Helton et al, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Analysis of the chronic intake of and withdrawal from diazepam on emotional reactivity and sensory information processing in rats

Ross

Castilho

Brandão

et al. 2008

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry

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It has been demonstrated that, on abrupt withdrawal, patients with chronic exposure can experience a number of symptoms indicative of a dependent state. In clinical patients, the earliest to arise and most persistent signal of withdrawal from chronic benzodiazepine (Bzp) treatment is anxiety. In laboratory animals, anxiety-like effects following abrupt interruption of chronic Bzp treatment can also be reproduced. In fact, signs that oscillate from irritability to extreme fear behaviours and seizures have been described already. As anxiety remains one of the most important symptoms of Bzp withdrawal, in this study we evaluated the anxiety levels of rats withdrawn from diazepam. Also studied were the effects on the motor performance and preattentive sensory gating process of rats under diazepam chronic treatment and upon 48-h withdrawal on three animal models of anxiety, the elevated plus-maze (EPM), ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) and startle + prepulse inhibition tests. Data obtained showed an anxiolytic-and anxiogenic-like profile of the chronic intake of and withdrawal from diazepam regimen in the EPM test, 22-KHz USV and startle reflex.Diazepam chronic effects or its withdrawal were ineffective in promoting any alteration in the prepulse inhibition (PPI). However, an increase of PPI was achieved in both sucrose and diazepam pretreated rats on 48-h withdrawal, suggesting a procedural rather than a specific effect of withdrawal on sensory gating processes. It is also possible that the prepulse can function as a conditioned stimulus to informing the delivery of an aversive event, as the auditory startling-eliciting stimulus. All these findings are indicative of a sensitization of the neural substrates of aversion in diazepam withdrawn animals without concomitant changes on the processing of sensory information.

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“…The ASR is decreased after ethanol administration/ consumption in rodents and humans (Pohorecky et al, 1976; Rassnick et al, 1992; Grillon et al, 2000; Hutchison et al, 2003). During the early phases of ethanol withdrawal, ASR is increased (Pohorecky et al, 1976; Macey et al, 1996; Krystal et al, 1997; Chester et al, 2004). It has been suggested the enhanced ASR during the early phases of withdrawal from drugs is an index of increased anxiety (Harris and Gewirtz, 2004).…”

Section: 0 Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Periadolescent ethanol exposure reduces adult forebrain ChAT+IR neurons: correlation with behavioral pathology

et al. 2011

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Substance abuse typically begins in adolescence; therefore, the impact of alcohol during this critical time in brain development is of particular importance. Epidemiological data indicate that excessive alcohol consumption is prevalent among adolescents and may have lasting neurobehavioral consequences. Loss of cholinergic input to the forebrain has been demonstrated following fetal alcohol exposure and in adults with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. In the present study, immunohistochemistry for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was determined to assess forebrain cholinergic neurons (Ch1–4), and behavioral changes following periadolescent alcohol exposure. Wistar rats were exposed to intermittent ethanol vapor (14 hrs on/10 hrs off/day) for 35 days from PD 22-PD 57 (average blood alcohol concentration (BAC): 163 mg%). Rats were withdrawn from vapor and assessed for locomotor activity, startle response, conflict behavior in the open field, and immobility in the forced swim test, as adults. Rats were then sacrificed at day 71/72 and perfused for histochemical analyses. Ethanol vapor exposed rats displayed: increased locomotor activity 8 hrs after the termination of vapor delivery for that 24 hr period at day 10 and day 20 of alcohol vapor exposure, significant reductions in the amplitude of their responses to prepulse stimuli during the startle paradigm at 24 hrs withdrawal, and at two weeks following withdrawal, less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict, and more immobility in the forced swim test. Quantitative analyses of ChAT immunoreactivity revealed a significant reduction in cell counts in the Ch1–2 and Ch3–4 regions of the basal forebrain in ethanol vapor exposed rats. This reduction in cell counts was significantly correlated with less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict test. These studies demonstrate that behavioral measures of arousal, affective state, disinhibitory behavior and ChAT+IR, are all significantly impacted by periadolescent ethanol exposure and withdrawal in Wistar rats.

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The startle response in rats: effect of ethanol

Cited by 63 publications

References 15 publications

Effects of acute ethanol or amphetamine administration on the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition in adolescent and adult rats

Effects of acute ethanol or amphetamine administration on the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition in adolescent and adult rats

Analysis of the chronic intake of and withdrawal from diazepam on emotional reactivity and sensory information processing in rats

Periadolescent ethanol exposure reduces adult forebrain ChAT+IR neurons: correlation with behavioral pathology

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