Diazepam blocks fear-enhanced startle elicited electrically from the brainstem.
Startle-like responses were elicited electrically from the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) in darkness or in the presence of a light that had previously been paired with shocks. These startle-like responses were potentiated by the light and potentiation was selectively decreased by diazepam in a dose-related fashion (0.625 to 2.5 mg/kg). The benzodiazepine antagonist RO15-1788 attenuated the effect of diazepam. The data indicate that potentiation of electrically elicited startle behaves like acoustically elicited startle, providing further evidence that electrical elicitation of startle is a viable experimental technique.
D000818:Animals; D001570:Benzodiazepinones / Q000494:pharmacology; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003975:Diazepam / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005442:Flumazenil; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects*
D001570:Benzodiazepinones; D005442:Flumazenil; D003975:Diazepam