Long-term habituation of the acoustic startle response: role of the cerebellar vermis.
The cerebellar vermis has been recognized as a key region of a circuit essential for long-term habituation of the acoustic startle response in rats. The removal of this neuronal structure before training prevents the build-up of this long-term behavioral change. Our data show that, when the same lesion is performed after training for long-term habituation, the learned behavior is not affected. These results indicate that the cerebellar vermis is essential for the acquisition, but not for the retention of long-term habituation of the startle response.
Lopiano
L
L
Dipartimento di Anatomia e Fisiologia Umana, Università di Torino, Italy.
de'Sperati
C
C
Montarolo
P G
PG
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*