Background
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating and is
impaired in a family of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by abnormalities
of inhibitory function. Adults with autistic disorder (AD) exhibit clinical features
of inhibitory deficits, such as restrictive and repetitive behaviors, that may be
explained by deficits in sensorimotor gating.
Methods
Acoustic startle reactivity, habituation, and PPI (30-, 60-, 120-msec interstimulus
intervals) were assessed in 14 adult men diagnosed with AD and 16 typically developing
normal comparison (NC) participants. All participants were administered measures of
intelligence and frontal-executive functioning.
Results
Adults with AD exhibited significantly less PPI in the 60-msec condition than NC participants,
which was correlated with increased ratings of restricted and repetitive behaviors.
The groups did not differ on measures of startle amplitude or overall habituation.
There was, however, a significant group-by-block habituation effect. Furthermore,
PPI was not related to intelligence but was moderately associated with performance
on a measure of frontal-executive functioning.
Conclusions
Adults with AD have sensorimotor gating deficits similar to other neurodevelopmental
disorders, implicating a failure of normal inhibitory regulation of sensory, motor,
and attentional mechanisms. Thus, PPI deficits may be indirectly linked to one of
the hallmark features of AD.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 06, 2006
Accepted:
September 20,
2005
Received in revised form:
July 12,
2005
Received:
February 15,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
