TY - JOUR
T1 - Within-subjects vs between-subjects co-variation of prepulse-elicited reaction and the diminution of startle to the succeeding pulse stimulus in the prepulse inhibition paradigm
AU - Sun, Keng Ting
AU - Lam, Wing Yeung Jimmy
AU - Tai, Chi Shing
AU - Lau, Wui Man
AU - Yee, Kay Yan Benjamin
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was supported by funding from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Grant numbers: ZE64, ZVQV ) and the University Mental Health Research Centre (Grant number: BBCG ). The funding agencies have no specific roles or involvement in the design and conduction of this study. We are grateful to the technical support by Ms Karena Wong at the University Research Facility in Behavioural & System Neuroscience.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/5/25
Y1 - 2022/5/25
N2 - Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to the diminution of the startle reflex to a sudden and intense acoustic stimulus (pulse) when this startle-eliciting pulse is preceded shortly by a weaker prepulse stimulus. PPI is widely used in evaluating the effects of psychomimetic and antipsychotic drugs on sensorimotor gating, but individual differences in PPI expression have received scant attention. We have previously shown that mice and rats exhibiting stronger motor response to the prepulse also exhibit more PPI. It remains unexplored, however, if this between-subjects correlation may be similarly observed across trials from a within-subjects perspective. Here, we mapped the prepulse-elicited response to the diminution of the startle response to the succeeding pulse stimulus, trial-by-trial, across nine prepulse-pulse definitions with varying prepulse and pulse intensities. The resulting within-subjects correlation independently obtained in 113 adult C57BL6 mice revealed that trials registering a stronger prepulse reaction also recorded a larger startle response to the pulse stimulus, indicative of weaker PPI, especially when higher-intensity prepulses were paired with low-intensity pulses. The within- and between-subjects analyses have apparently yielded two contrasting relationships between the direct motor response to the prepulse and the inhibition of subsequent startle reaction induced by the same prepulse. One interpretation is that the within-subjects correlation reflects state-dependent variation, whereas the between-subjects correlation stems from trait-dependent individual variation. Finally, whether our present findings may depend on the nature of the prepulse reaction is further discussed.
AB - Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to the diminution of the startle reflex to a sudden and intense acoustic stimulus (pulse) when this startle-eliciting pulse is preceded shortly by a weaker prepulse stimulus. PPI is widely used in evaluating the effects of psychomimetic and antipsychotic drugs on sensorimotor gating, but individual differences in PPI expression have received scant attention. We have previously shown that mice and rats exhibiting stronger motor response to the prepulse also exhibit more PPI. It remains unexplored, however, if this between-subjects correlation may be similarly observed across trials from a within-subjects perspective. Here, we mapped the prepulse-elicited response to the diminution of the startle response to the succeeding pulse stimulus, trial-by-trial, across nine prepulse-pulse definitions with varying prepulse and pulse intensities. The resulting within-subjects correlation independently obtained in 113 adult C57BL6 mice revealed that trials registering a stronger prepulse reaction also recorded a larger startle response to the pulse stimulus, indicative of weaker PPI, especially when higher-intensity prepulses were paired with low-intensity pulses. The within- and between-subjects analyses have apparently yielded two contrasting relationships between the direct motor response to the prepulse and the inhibition of subsequent startle reaction induced by the same prepulse. One interpretation is that the within-subjects correlation reflects state-dependent variation, whereas the between-subjects correlation stems from trait-dependent individual variation. Finally, whether our present findings may depend on the nature of the prepulse reaction is further discussed.
KW - Acoustic startle reflex
KW - Prepulse inhibition
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Sensorimotor gating
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130535821&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113924
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113924
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0166-4328
VL - 430
JO - Behavioural Brain Research
JF - Behavioural Brain Research
M1 - 113924
ER -