Knapp D J, Pohorecky L A
Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855-0969, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 1995 Nov;62(1-2):1-5. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(95)00044-5.
Rat 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are thought to reflect an aversive behavioral state, perhaps a type of anxiety or fear, and have proven useful in the study of the neural mechanisms of these states. This paper describes a simple procedure for presentation of an aversive but non-painful air-puff stimulus for the elicitation of USVs from rats. When directed at the rat's dorsal or dorsolateral head and neck region, this stimulus reliably elicits ultrasonic vocalizations from nearly all rats tested and as such represents a valuable alternative to other stimuli such as aggressive encounters, electric shock, or acoustic startle. The USV response may attenuate with repeated testing, yet remains readily inducible and is therefore suitable for studies involving habituation. The materials for generating this stimulus and the accompanying testing procedure comprise an efficient method with which this aversively motivated rodent behavior can be examined. The potential utility of this technique in studies of aversively motivated behaviors and its relevance to studies of startle responding is discussed.
大鼠发出的22千赫兹超声波发声（USV）被认为反映了一种厌恶行为状态，可能是一种焦虑或恐惧，并且已被证明在研究这些状态的神经机制方面很有用。本文描述了一种简单的程序，用于呈现一种厌恶但无疼痛的吹气刺激，以诱发大鼠发出超声波发声。当将这种刺激指向大鼠的背部或背外侧头部及颈部区域时，几乎所有接受测试的大鼠都会可靠地发出超声波发声，因此它是其他刺激（如攻击性遭遇、电击或听觉惊吓）的一种有价值的替代方法。随着重复测试，超声波发声反应可能会减弱，但仍然很容易诱发，因此适用于涉及习惯化的研究。产生这种刺激的材料和伴随的测试程序构成了一种有效的方法，通过该方法可以研究这种具有厌恶动机的啮齿动物行为。本文讨论了该技术在厌恶动机行为研究中的潜在效用及其与惊吓反应研究的相关性。
