Effects of inferior colliculus lesions on the acoustic startle response.

"Nonspecific" electrolytic lesions (with respect to subdivision) of the mouse inferior colliculus (IC) resulted in the attenuation of acoustic startle response (ASR) amplitudes on the 1st post-operative day, but ASR amplitudes increased to above baseline levels 1 week later. Lesions of the IC central nucleus (CN) also attenuated ASR amplitudes on the 1st postsurgery day, but startle amplitudes recovered to baseline levels 1 week after surgery. Lesions of the IC lateral nucleus (LN) or dorsal cortex (DC) resulted in elevation of startle amplitudes above baseline 7 days after surgery and produced enhanced ASR amplitudes to repeated stimuli. Fourteen days after the surgery, lesion effects on startle amplitudes remained the same as those on Day 7 for each lesion condition. The present findings implicate the ICLN and the ICDC as inhibitory modulators of the ASR, but indicate only a minor role for the ICCN.