An essential webinar for all behavior researchers interested in best-practices and prescribed techniques for Acoustic, Tactile and PPI (Pre-Pulse Inhibition) paradigms for startle reflex testing in rodents.

The goal of this webinar was to show how different modalities can be leveraged in startle reflex testing and to compare less frequently employed methods, namely Tactile and PPI procedures, with the main stream acoustic startle application specifically discussing the relevance of detecting the time-course of an effect.

First, Jason Adair reviews basic startle components for acoustic startle, tactile startle and PPI while highlighting operation of the SR-LAB System by San Diego Instruments. Following, Dr. Vorhees shared how he has employed various startle techniques in his laboratory as a means to detect and investigate neurotoxicity in both adult and young rats.