Minireview: Cholinergic and monoaminergic substrates of startle habituation

Research is reviewed arising from the proposition that behavioral habituation is mediated by brain mechanisms operated by the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Effects of cholinergic drugs on habituation of the startle response in rats fail to support involvement of acetylcholine. Likewise, serotonergic drug effects do not favor the more recent view that startle habituation depends on brain serotonin, nor is there sufficient evidence for an essential role of either dopamine or noradrenalin. Because of persistence of habituation following challenge with a variety of pharmacological agents, the phenomenon probably depends upon a complex interplay between a number of transmitters and behavioral processes. Contrary to earlier belief, no single transmitter should be seen as crucially responsible for startle habituation.