Return to search

Prepulse Inhibition and the Acoustic Startle Response in Nine Inbred Mouse Strains

This study examined the effects of genetic background on the acoustic startle response (ASR) and its modulation by prepulse inhibition (PPI) by comparing nine inbred strains of mice. The ASR, a jerk-like motor reflex, is elicited by bursts of noise or tones with sound pressure levels of 80-90 dB and greater. PPI is a type of modulation of the ASR, requires no training, and results in observable response in both mice and humans.
Data were obtained from nine inbred mouse strains, sixteen per strain, which were shipped at approximately 3-5 weeks old from The Jackson Laboratory. In general, ASRs were generally smaller when the startle stimulus was less intense. PPI was relatively weak for the 4 kHz prepulse, and stronger with prepulses of 12 kHz and 20 kHz. However, means varied widely across strains for both ASR and PPI, suggesting a strong influence of genetic background on these behaviors. In addition to genetic influences, peripheral hearing loss and central auditory processing factors must be taken into consideration.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:USF/oai:scholarcommons.usf.edu:etd-2442
Date25 March 2003
CreatorsO'steen, Jennifer Robin
PublisherScholar Commons
Source SetsUniversity of South Flordia
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceGraduate Theses and Dissertations
Rightsdefault

Page generated in 0.0018 seconds