Men are more inhibited than women by weak prepulses

Swerdlow, Neal R.; Auerbach, Pamela P.; Monroe, Sean M.; Hartston, Heidi; Geyer, Mark A.; Braff, David L.

doi:10.1016/0006-3223(93)90079-s

Cited by 205 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

101

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In healthy populations, women when tested regardless of where they are in their menstrual cycle show less PPI than men (Swerdlow et al, 1993(Swerdlow et al, , 1999Abel et al, 1998;Kumari et al, 2003Kumari et al, , 2004Aasen et al, 2005) even when possible confounds such as cigarette smoking are controlled for (Swerdlow et al, 1999). The same phenomenon (ie, less PPI in females than males) has been observed in rats (Koch, 1998;Faraday et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

A Comparison of Prepulse Inhibition in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women and Age-Matched Men

Kumari

Aasen

Papadopoulos

et al. 2008

Neuropsychopharmacol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response is sensitive to sex with women showing less PPI compared with age-matched men and varies according to the menstrual cycle in women. Relatively less is known about sex differences in prepulse facilitation (PPF). To examine further the roles of sex and circulating sex hormones, pre-(n ¼ 20) and postmenopausal women (n ¼ 20) were compared with men of similar ages (n ¼ 17, 18-40 years; n ¼ 18, 55-69 years). All participants were assessed on PPI and PPF, and provided saliva samples for measurement of 17b-estradiol (estrogen) and testosterone. Premenopausal women showed less PPI compared with age-matched men, with no significant difference in PPF. Postmenopausal women did not differ in PPI but showed more PPF than age-matched men. There was less PPI and PPF in older, relative to young, men; pre-and postmenopausal women did not differ significantly. PPI showed no association with the levels of sex hormones. PPF showed small positive associations with both the levels of estrogen and testosterone, especially in young men. The present findings extend recent observations in mice showing less PPI in premenopausal, but not postmenopausal, female compared with male mice of similar ages (Ison and Allen, Behav Brain Res, 2007) to humans. There appear to be no substantial relationships between individual differences in endogenous levels of sex hormones and PPI; fluctuations within an individual may have a stronger role.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

A Comparison of Prepulse Inhibition in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women and Age-Matched Men

Kumari

Aasen

Papadopoulos

et al. 2008

Neuropsychopharmacol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The discrepancy between the current study and the study of Meincke et al (2004) regarding sensitization might be explained by the difference in subject population: in the current study, only males were included, whereas in the study of Meincke et al (2004) both males and females were included. As there are numerous reports in literature describing a gender difference in both PPI (Swerdlow et al, 1993Jovanovic et al, 2004;Kumari et al, 2004) and/or prepulse facilitation (Aasen et al, 2005), it is not inconceivable that gender differences might also exist in the processes of habituation and sensitization. Another explanation might be the difference in the intensity level of the background noise, which was slightly higher in the current study (70 dB) than in the study of Meincke et al (2004) (65 dB), which might have reduced the sensitization effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Increased Central Serotonergic Activity on Prepulse Inhibition and Habituation of the Human Startle Response

Jensen

Oranje

Wienberg

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sensorimotor gating is critical to normal brain functioning, and disruptions are associated with certain mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia. Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) (PPI) is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating, of which evidence for a serotonergic modulation is currently inconsistent. In a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design, 18 healthy male volunteers received either placebo or a dose of 10 mg of escitalopram (SSRI), after which they were tested in both PPI and habituation of the startle reflex paradigms. No significant differences between the two treatments were observed on PPI, although escitalopram was found to significantly delay habituation of the ASR. In the current study, escitalopram was found to delay habituation, but it did not affect PPI in healthy male volunteers. As escitalopram is a highly specific SSRI, the results suggest that an increased serotonergic activity disrupts habituation, but not PPI in healthy volunteers.

show abstract

“…However, some of the findings (e.g., increased sustained anxiety in the non-abstinent smokers) are consistent with hypotheses based on adult samples (Gilbert 1995). Other limitations include the use of only one interval (120 ms) in the PPI study, the lack of counterbalancing of the three experiments in the current study may have led to less sensitivity of the PPI test, the relatively brief withdrawal period, and the lack of control for phase of the menstrual cycle in women in the PPI experiment (Swerdlow et al 1993).…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Fear-Potentiated Startle to Threat, and Prepulse Inhibition Among Young Adult Nonsmokers, Abstinent Smokers, and Nonabstinent Smokers

Grillon

Avenevoli

Daurignac

et al. 2007

Biological Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Men are more inhibited than women by weak prepulses

Cited by 205 publications

References 22 publications

A Comparison of Prepulse Inhibition in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women and Age-Matched Men

A Comparison of Prepulse Inhibition in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women and Age-Matched Men

The Effects of Increased Central Serotonergic Activity on Prepulse Inhibition and Habituation of the Human Startle Response

Fear-Potentiated Startle to Threat, and Prepulse Inhibition Among Young Adult Nonsmokers, Abstinent Smokers, and Nonabstinent Smokers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About