A New Computational Tool for the Post Session Analysis of the Prepulse Inhibition Test in Neural Science

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to the reduction in startle reaction towards a startle-eliciting ldquopulserdquo stimulus when it is shortly preceded by a sub-threshold ldquoprepulserdquo stimulus. PPI deficits have been seen in various neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, Tourette´s syndrome, and Huntington´s disease. Animal studies have employed PPI test to address issues relevant to mental disorders. Measuring the acoustic startle reflex and calculating PPI in small animals produces myriads of numeral data. These raw data need to be justified and organized properly before being analyzed statistically. Therefore, organizing and analyzing these raw data without a computer software is time consuming and tedious. The software we created is useful and powerful in the post session data analysis of PPI test as it has the following three advantages: (1) grouping data under different chambers and trials; (2) eliminating questionable data; (3) batch processing data, which enable researchers to finish the post session data analysis for a number of PPI tests in a few seconds.