Startle and Fear System

Presentation

The 'Startle and Fear' system is a polyvalent system taking advantage of the same equipment for conducting both fear conditioning and startle reflex experiments, regardless the animal is a rat or a mouse.

Operating principle

Basically, the 'Startle and Fear' system allows the recording and the analysis of the signal generated by the animal movement through a high sensitivity Weight Transducer system. The analogical signal is transmitted to the STARTLE or FEAR software through the load cell unit for recording purposes and posterior analysis in terms of activity/immobility (fear conditioning) or startle response characterization (startle reflex). Two additional control units allow setting the frequency and the amplitude of the sound (pre-pulse, pulse, background noise) as well as the intensity of the shock.

The 'Startle and Fear' cage is made with black methacrylate walls and a transparent frond door. In fear conditioning experiment, the walls, cover and floor can be of different material or colour. Moreover, a transparent cylinder can be placed into the experimental chamber in order to modify the contextual spatial perception of the subject during the test phase.