2022 Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 103-112
The startle blink reflex is evoked by a sudden, sharp and loud sound stimulus. When a weak stimulus is added just before the provocative stimulus, the reflex is inhibited. This phenomenon, termed prepulse inhibition (PPI), is a robust phenomenon identified in rats and humans. However, PPI disappears or attenuates in patients with schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that preattentional processes in the central nervous system are involved in the expression of PPIs, and many experimental and clinical studies have been reported.
In this paper, after reviewing the research related to PPI, we introduced the research on PPI of the startle eyeblink reflex in humans that the authors have been involved in, and mentioned the necessary research in the future.