title: Prepulse inhibition of the startle response in risperidone-treated patients: comparison with typical antipsychotics.
abstract: Individuals with schizophrenia are known to show deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response. PPI refers to a response suppression in reaction to a strong startling stimulus, if preceded briefly by a weak non-startling stimulus and represents a well-established animal model to investigate information processing deficits in schizophrenia. This study examined PPI of the startle acoustic response in schizophrenic patients given typical antipsychotics or a second generation atypical antipsychotic, risperidone, using a naturalistic between-subjects design. Two groups of male schizophrenic patients: (i) stable on a range of typical antipsychotics (n = 20), and (ii) stable on risperidone (n = 10) were tested for PPI (prepulse-to-pulse intervals: 30, 60, and 120 ms, prepulses 15 dB above the background) of the acoustic startle response, and compared with a group of healthy male subjects (n = 20). Patients on typical antipsychotics showed significantly less PPI with 30 and 60 ms prepulse trials than healthy subjects. Risperidone-treated patients did not differ from healthy subjects for PPI with any prepulse trials. Further longitudinal within-subject studies are now required to examine whether risperidone is superior to typical antipsychotics in improving information processing functions, as assessed by PPI of the acoustic startle response, in treatment-responsive male patients with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cognitive Psychopharmacology, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Veena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumari
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Soni
authors.forename: Tonmoy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects*; D018967:Risperidone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018967:Risperidone