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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Developing a Behavioral Box for Assessing Prepulse Inhibition and Neural Activity in Psychiatric Animal Models
Published on: July 22, 2025
An investigation of prepulse inhibition in pediatric bipolar disorder
Brendan A Rich1, Deborah Vinton, Christian Grillon
1Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch, Unit on Affective Psychophysiology, Mood and Anxiety Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1255, USA. brendanrich@mail.nih.gov
Insights
Children with bipolar disorder (BPD) showed no deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI), a measure of sensorimotor gating. These findings suggest sensorimotor gating may not underlie emotional dysregulation in pediatric BPD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a measure of sensorimotor gating, often impaired in schizophrenia and adult bipolar disorder (BPD).
- Sensorimotor gating deficits may contribute to emotional and behavioral dysregulation in pediatric BPD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits in children diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BPD).
Main Methods:
- Compared 16 medicated, euthymic, non-psychotic children with BPD to 13 controls.
- Assessed startle habituation, startle-alone response, and PPI using 60-ms and 120-ms prepulses.
Main Results:
- Both groups exhibited startle inhibition; no significant differences in PPI magnitude were found between groups.
- No between-group differences observed in startle habituation or baseline startle response.
- PPI levels did not correlate with mood symptoms or differ with comorbid ADHD.
Conclusions:
- The absence of PPI deficits in this pediatric BPD sample contrasts with findings in adult BPD and schizophrenia.
- These results may be influenced by medication status and the euthymic, non-psychotic state of the participants.
- Sensorimotor gating deficits may not be implicated in the emotional and behavioral dysregulation observed in pediatric BPD.
Objectives:
Deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI), a measure of sensorimotor gating, have been noted in psychopathologies including schizophrenia and adult bipolar disorder (BPD). Sensorimotor gating deficits may contribute to the emotional and behavioral dysregulation characteristic of pediatric BPD. The current study investigated possible PPI deficits in children with BPD.
Methods:
Sixteen children with BPD (medicated, euthymic and non-psychotic) were compared with 13 control subjects on the magnitude of startle habituation, startle-alone response, and inhibition of startle following a 60 or 120-ms prepulse.
Results:
Both groups displayed startle inhibition by a prepulse, with no significant between-group differences on the magnitude of inhibition after the 60- or 120-ms prepulse. In addition, there were no between-group differences on habituation or baseline startle response. PPI level was not significantly correlated with mood symptoms and did not differ based on comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Conclusions:
A lack of PPI deficits in our pediatric bipolar sample contrasts with previous results in adult bipolar and schizophrenic samples. These negative results may reflect the fact that our sample was medicated and was neither acutely manic nor psychotic. Deficits in sensorimotor gating may not be implicated in the emotional and behavioral dysregulation in pediatric BPD.
