405. Startle habituation and prepulse inhibition studies in mutant mice

Abstract

hypothesized that clinically unaffected relatives of schizophrenia patients would also have inhibitory deficits in the PPI paradigm, reflecting a genetic susceptibility to sensorimotor gating abnormalities. Twenty-five normal subjects, 23 schizophrenia patients, 34 relatives of schizophrenia patients, and 11 SPD subjects were assessed in an acoustic startle paradigm. The eye blink component of the startle response was assessed bilaterally using EMG recordings of the obicularis oculi muscle. Schizophrenia patients, their relatives and SPD subjects all had reduced PPI when compared to normals and these deficits were more evident in measures of right eye blink PPI. As a group, normal subjects demonstrated greater right versus left eye blink PPI while the probands, their relatives and SPD subjects showed less PPI asymmetry when compared to normal subjects. These data support the notion that there is a genetically transmitted susceptibility to the sensorimotor gating abnormalities observed in schizophrenia spectrum patients.