Jordan W P, Leaton R N
J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1982 Apr;96(2):170-83. doi: 10.1037/h0077880.
Extensive damage to the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) in rats altered long-term habituation of the acoustic startle response without disrupting short-term habituation. Animals with MRF lesions, although initially neither more nor less responsive than controls, could not attain as low a long-term asymptote of habituation as could control animals with repeated presentations of an auditory stimulus. Changing the quality of the auditory stimulus abolished the asymptotic difference in responsiveness. With repeated presentations of the second auditory stimulus, control animals again reached a significantly lower long-term habituation asymptote than did animals with MRF lesions. The course of long-term habituation for the two groups suggested a disruption of an extrinsic, inhibitory habituation process by the lesions. The effects of MRF lesions were specific to the acoustic startle response. Control animals and those with lesions showed comparable response levels, short-term habituation, and long-term habituation of the lick suppression response. responsiveness and habituation to tactile stimuli were comparable for the two groups in both lick suppression and startle response measures.
大鼠中脑网状结构（MRF）的广泛损伤改变了听觉惊跳反应的长期习惯化，而未扰乱短期习惯化。患有MRF损伤的动物，尽管最初与对照组相比反应性并无差异，但在反复呈现听觉刺激时，其习惯化的长期渐近线无法达到对照组动物那么低的水平。改变听觉刺激的质量消除了反应性的渐近差异。随着第二次听觉刺激的反复呈现，对照组动物再次达到比患有MRF损伤的动物显著更低的长期习惯化渐近线。两组的长期习惯化过程表明，损伤破坏了一种外在的抑制性习惯化过程。MRF损伤的影响仅限于听觉惊跳反应。对照组动物和有损伤的动物在舔舐抑制反应中表现出相当的反应水平、短期习惯化和长期习惯化。在舔舐抑制和惊跳反应测量中，两组对触觉刺激的反应性和习惯化相当。
