Inhibition of Cortical Evoked Responses to Sound Pulses by Preceding Silent Gaps.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The basic principle of sensorimotor gating (SMG) relies on the ability of a weak lead stimulus (such as a pre-pulse) to inhibit a startling effect of a following, more intense, abrupt stimulus-the so-called pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm. PPI has been used for near half a century as a means to investigate psychiatric disorders in which its disruption is a surrogate for altered SMG in schizophrenia. However, the blinking response is very variable, making it a poor outcome measure at the individual level. Unlike PPI, which is regulated in the lateral globus pallidus from the basal ganglia, inhibition of the startle reflex by preceding silent gaps embedded in continuous background noise is processed in the auditory cortex, making it particularly suitable for measuring cor

SUBMITTER: Shabestari PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12528562 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature