Peak or integrated movement response to a startling acoustic pulse, usually measured with a force plate, accelerometer, or startle chamber.
Use acoustic startle amplitude when the experiment needs a reflexive sensorimotor or hyperarousal readout. It can support questions about startle reactivity, habituation, threat sensitivity, or drug effects, but interpretation depends on hearing, body weight, chamber calibration, baseline movement, and trial history.
| Primary value | Peak or integrated startle response after an acoustic pulse |
|---|---|
| Common units | System-specific amplitude units, grams-force, volts, or normalized response |
| Compatible assays | Acoustic startle, fear-potentiated startle, habituation, PPI baseline pulse trials |
| Required boundary | Pulse intensity, background noise, response window, and calibration method |
| Do not infer alone | Fear, anxiety, hearing acuity, sensorimotor gating, or emotional state |
Define whether amplitude is peak response, average response, area under the response curve, or baseline-corrected movement. Include no-stimulus and pulse-alone trials so movement artifact and habituation can be separated from reflex amplitude.
Higher amplitude may reflect stronger reflex reactivity or hyperarousal, but it can also reflect body weight, restraint posture, chamber resonance, hearing threshold, baseline movement, sensitization, or trial-order effects.
Store animal ID, trial type, pulse intensity, background noise, response window, baseline movement, peak amplitude, average amplitude, habituation block, chamber ID, calibration date, and exclusion flags.
Endpoint pages should cite the method literature behind the scored value and keep high-specificity protocol claims qualified unless the source supports them.
Endpoint articles link to adjacent products, software workflows, and sibling endpoints where the connection is useful and already routable.
