Animal and human models of startle, emotion, and depression

Bruno Brizard

pp. 73-80

in: Natalie Depraz, Anthony Steinbock (eds), Surprise, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

Emotion is an essential feature of both animal and human behavior. Film industry has well understood the impact of emotions on human experiences and has applied strategies that induce the viewer to feel strong emotions. The startle effect is the main tool used as "the ultimate form of sensationalism, artlessness, and mindlessness…[it] reaffirm[s] the animalistic, the atavistic, and the irrational expressions".Here we would like to show how startle is linked to both human and animal emotions, and how experimental studies can inform us on this relation. We will also give an account on how the animal models are used to characterize the neurobiological features of depression and how startle is impaired depression as shown in experimental studies.