Prepulse Inhibition of Startle
Objective: Assessment of prepulse inhibition of startle response to evaluate sensorimotor gating and detect potential tinnitus presence in mice with noise-induced cochlear neuropathy
This is a Prepulse Inhibition of Startle protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 5 procedural steps, 4 equipment items. Extracted from a 2013 paper published in Journal of Neurophysiology.
Model and subjects
mouse • Not specified in provided text • unknown • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Noise exposure conditions • Acoustic Startle Response (ASR) testing • Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) testing
Primary readouts
- Acoustic Startle Response (ASR) magnitude
- Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) percentage
- Gap detection ability via Gap PPI
- Auditory Brainstem Response wave 1 amplitude
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Noise exposure conditions
Expose mice to either neuropathic noise, nonneuropathic noise, or no exposure (control condition)
Note: Neuropathic noise causes immediate, permanent degeneration of cochlear nerve despite complete threshold recovery and lack of hair cell damage. Nonneuropathic noise is lower-intensity.
View evidence from paper
“Responses were measured in mice exposed either to a neuropathic noise or to a lower-intensity, nonneuropathic noise and in unexposed control mice”
Acoustic Startle Response (ASR) testing
Measure startle responses to acoustic stimuli in exposed and control mice
Note: Mice with cochlear neuropathy displayed hyperresponsivity to sound, evidenced by enhanced ASR
View evidence from paper
“Mice with cochlear neuropathy displayed hyperresponsivity to sound, evidenced by enhanced ASR and PPI”
Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) testing
Measure prepulse inhibition of startle response to evaluate sensorimotor gating
Note: Enhanced PPI observed in mice with cochlear neuropathy
View evidence from paper
“Mice with cochlear neuropathy displayed hyperresponsivity to sound, evidenced by enhanced ASR and PPI”
Gap PPI testing
Perform gap prepulse inhibition tests to assess gap detection and potential tinnitus presence
Note: Limited gap detection deficits observed only for certain gap-startle latencies in mice with cochlear neuropathy, inconsistent with tinnitus filling in the gap
View evidence from paper
“Gap PPI tests, often used to assess tinnitus, revealed limited gap detection deficits in mice with cochlear neuropathy only for certain gap-startle latencies”
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) measurement
Record auditory brainstem response to measure cochlear nerve activity and brainstem neural responses
Note: Wave 1 significantly reduced in mice with cochlear neuropathy, representing reduced cochlear nerve activity. Later peaks unchanged or enhanced, suggesting compensatory neural hyperactivity.
View evidence from paper
“Despite significantly reduced wave 1 of the auditory brainstem response, representing cochlear nerve activity, later peaks were unchanged or enhanced”