Startle and prepulse inhibition as a function of background noise: A computational and experimental analysis

N. A. Schmajuk*, J. A. Larrauri, N. Hagenbuch, E. D. Levin, J. Feldon, B. K. Yee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Schmajuk and Larrauri [Schmajuk NA, Larrauri JA. Neural network model of prepulse inhibition. Behav Neurosci 2005;119:1546-62.] introduced a real-time model of acoustic startle, prepulse inhibition (PPI) and facilitation (PPF) in animals and humans. The model assumes that (1) positive values of changes in noise level activate an excitatory and a facilitatory pathway, and (2) absolute values of changes in noise level activate an inhibitory pathway. The model describes many known properties of the phenomena and the effect of brain lesions on startle, PPI, and PPF. The purpose of the present study is to (a) establish the magnitude of startle and PPI as a function of pulse, prepulse, and background intensity, and (b) test the model predictions regarding an inverted-U function that relates startle to the intensity of the background noise.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)182-196
Number of pages15
JournalBehavioural Brain Research
Volume170
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Jun 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Background noise
  • Computational model
  • Neural networks
  • Prepulse inhibition
  • Startle

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