Michael Kinder provides insight on the underlying technologies used in startle systems and explains what researchers should know about sensor capabilities and limitations and how that knowledge can help create effective protocols, address calibration and properly analyze data.

The startle reflex in rodents is typically studied using startle chambers with integrated transducers to measure elicited responses to aversive stimuli. The importance of startle systems in pre-clinical research labs is evident based on the pervasive use of this technology in both academia and industry for applications such as behavioral phenotyping, pre-pulse inhibition studies and safety pharmacology and toxicology screening. As is true with any scientific instrument, understanding the underlying technology and inherent limitations is important when designing experimental protocols, setting up and calibrating the equipment and analyzing data.

During this webinar, Michael Kinder, System Designer at Kinder Scientific, presents advancements in modern startle systems that scientists should know. Topics include: What are the technologies available that scientists need to understand? What are the physical characteristics of the sensory assemblies? Does subject weight matter in startle response studies? Should scientists be comparing raw startle amplitude between animals of different sizes? Does the unit of measure matter? and what does an analog only trial provide (or not provide)?

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Presenters

President
Kinder Scientific Company LLC

Production Partner

Kinder Scientific

Kinder Scientific is a leading animal behavior assay development and manufacturing company.

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