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Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Habituation and Prepulse Inhibition of Acoustic Startle in Rodents
Published on: September 1, 2011
Acoustic startle and prepulse inhibition in 40 inbred strains of mice
James F Willott1, Lisa Tanner, Jennifer O'Steen
1Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa 33620, USA. jimw@niu.edu
Abstract:
A high-throughput phenotype screening protocol was used to measure the acoustic startle response (ASR) and prepulse inhibition (PPI) in mice. ASRs were evoked by noise bursts; prepulses for PPI were 70 dB sound pressure level tones of 4, 12, and 20 kHz. Forty inbred strains of mice were tested (in most cases using 10 males and 10 females of each strain). The data on both the ASR and PPI had high internal and test-retest reliability and showed large differences among inbred strains, indicative of strong genetic influences. Previously obtained measures of hearing sensitivity in the same inbred strains were not significantly correlated with ASR or PPI measures.