Geyer M A, McIlwain K L, Paylor R
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Mol Psychiatry. 2002;7(10):1039-53. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4001159.
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is the phenomenon in which a weak prepulse stimulus attenuates the response to a subsequent startling stimulus. Patients with schizophrenia and some other neuropsychiatric disorders have impaired PPI. Impaired PPI in these patient populations is thought to reflect dysfunctional sensorimotor gating mechanisms. Recently, various inbred mouse strains and genetically modified mouse lines have been examined to investigate the potential genetic basis of sensorimotor gating. This review provides a synopsis of the use of mouse models to explore genetic and neurochemical influences on PPI. Studies describing the PPI responses of various inbred strains of mice, mice with genetic mutations, and mice treated with various drugs prior to July 2001 are reviewed. The continuous nature of the distribution of PPI responses among inbred strains of mice indicates that PPI is a polygenic trait. Findings from spontaneous and gene-targeted mutants suggest that mutant mice are important tools for dissecting and studying the role of single genes and their products, and chromosomal regions in regulating PPI. Pharmacological studies of PPI have typically confirmed effects in mice that are similar to those reported previously in rats, with some important exceptions. The use of mice to study PPI is increasing at a dramatic rate and is helping to increase our understanding of the biological basis for sensorimotor gating.
前脉冲抑制（PPI）是一种现象，即微弱的前脉冲刺激会减弱对随后惊吓刺激的反应。精神分裂症患者和其他一些神经精神疾病患者存在PPI受损的情况。这些患者群体中PPI受损被认为反映了感觉运动门控机制的功能失调。最近，人们对各种近交系小鼠和基因改造小鼠品系进行了研究，以探究感觉运动门控的潜在遗传基础。本综述概述了利用小鼠模型探索遗传和神经化学对PPI影响的情况。回顾了2001年7月之前描述各种近交系小鼠、基因突变小鼠以及用各种药物处理过的小鼠的PPI反应的研究。近交系小鼠中PPI反应分布的连续性表明PPI是一种多基因性状。自发突变体和基因靶向突变体的研究结果表明，突变小鼠是剖析和研究单个基因及其产物以及染色体区域在调节PPI中作用的重要工具。PPI的药理学研究通常证实了在小鼠中产生的效应与先前在大鼠中报道的效应相似，但也有一些重要的例外情况。利用小鼠研究PPI的情况正在以惊人的速度增加，并有助于增进我们对感觉运动门控生物学基础的理解。
