Disturbed social behavior and motivation in rats selectively bred for deficient sensorimotor gating

Deficient prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle reflects disturbed sensorimotor gating found in certain neuropsychiatric disorders. We here tested whether rats selectively bred for deficient PPI are deteriorated in behavioral paradigms used to model negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Rats with low PPI preferred standard rat-chow when having the choice between lever-pressing for reward-pellets or freely available rat-chow, suggesting reduced motivation. Additionally, these rats show deteriorated social behavior during interaction with a juvenile rat. Rats selectively bred for low PPI may therefore be used as a model to study the biological mechanisms and therapeutic strategies of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.