Prepulse inhibition
Prepulse Inhibition
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) (/priːpʌls ɪnɪˈbɪʃən/), is a neurological phenomenon in which a weaker pre-stimulus (or "prepulse") inhibits the reaction of an organism to a subsequent strong startling stimulus, often referred to as the "pulse". The reduction in the amplitude of the startle response is termed "inhibition". This process is thought to measure the ability of the nervous system to temporarily inhibit the processing of sensory information.
Etymology
The term "Prepulse inhibition" is derived from the English words "pre", meaning before, "pulse", referring to the startling stimulus, and "inhibition", referring to the reduction in response.
Related Terms
- Startle response: A rapid, involuntary reaction to a sudden unexpected stimulus.
- Sensory gating: A neurological process of filtering out redundant or unnecessary stimuli in the brain.
- Neurological Phenomenon: An observable event that is the result of the function or the pathology of the nervous system.
- Inhibition (psychology): The subconscious restraint of impulses by the prefrontal cortex.
Clinical Significance
Prepulse inhibition is used in research as an operational measure for information processing in the brain that is thought to reflect a basic inhibitory mechanism of motor response. Deficits in PPI have been reported in patients with certain neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Therefore, PPI is often used in clinical studies to explore the role of various neurotransmitters and genes in these disorders.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Prepulse inhibition
- Wikipedia's article - Prepulse inhibition
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski