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Maturation of prepulse inhibition ( PPI ) in childhood
Author(s) -
Gebhardt J.,
SchulzJuergensen S.,
Eggert P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01323.x
Subject(s) - prepulse inhibition , psychology , moro reflex , gating , developmental psychology , reflex , audiology , acoustic startle reflex , brainstem , mechanism (biology) , corneal reflex , startle response , neuroscience , psychiatry , medicine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , philosophy , epistemology
It is known that sensorimotor gating measured by the prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex ( PPI ) matures during childhood. Since certain disorders in children, for example, enuresis, show a significant loss in PPI , the PPI as a tool for investigating brainstem reflex control mechanism gains in importance. Therefore, it is crucial to know the natural course of PPI maturation in childhood. A total of 122 healthy children aged from 3–10 years and 10 healthy adults were examined. PPI was initiated by a 120 ms and a 60 ms prepulse and was measured by the EMG of M . orbicularis oculi . For the respective prepulse intervals, the PPI level in each age group increased from 3 to 9 or 10 years and showed a similar course. The findings confirm and extend knowledge about the maturation of PPI during childhood and emphasize the importance of age‐dependent standard values when investigating PPI in children.