The Startle Reflex apparatus measures very sensitive variations of the force applied on the circular floor of the cage. Our apparatus analyzes the startle of the animal after the emission of a strong and brief sound.
We designed our Startle Reflex apparatus to be compatible with the coupling of other techniques, such as electrophysiology and optogenetics.
We offer different apparatus to study the Startle Reflex in Rats or Mice.
The software on Windows allows managing 4 Startle Refelx apparatus simultaneously and independently. Our software allows:
- a fine configuration of the sounds emitted: duration of prepulsen inter-pulse, pulse, level of the sounds up to 110dB,
- playing sounds form the computer (WAV files),
- creating randomized sequences of sounds,
- recording millisecond per millisecond the value measured by the weight sensor in a specific file,
- displaying the reflex responses on graphs in real time,
- recording and datation of all the events,
This software displays the results in a Microsoft Excel compatible datasheet.
Coupling with Electrophysiology / Optogenetics
We propose solutions to couple the analysis of the Startle Reflex with electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic activation.
Electrophysiology
We propose:
Optogenetics
We developed:
- a rotation and rearing compensator, compatible with any optical commutator,
- a device to activate lasers. This accessory sends electric signals up to 500Hz. The experimenter decides the exact moment according to clocks or behavioral outputs at which a customized train of pulses may be sent to the laser to specifically activate the targeted bunch of neurons.
