Inheritance of dopaminergic phenotypes in congenic strains of C3H mice and their relationships to a novel method of PPI analysis

Rodent prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex (PPI) and dopamine-induced modulations of PPI are pre-clinical models for reductions in PPI commonly observed in patients with symptoms relating to psychosis.

This project investigates the inheritance of a number of dopaminergic phenotypes, such as dopamine-induced hypothermia and dopamine-induced disruptions to PPI. Mice represent a convenient rodent model for investigation due to their ease of breeding and genetic modification.

There is much debate over the similarities and differences of rodent and human models of PPI. Many of the reported species differences relate to different sensory perceptions of acoustic stimuli rather than differences in the neurobiology of PPI.

The PPI model being developed in this project can more accurately determine whether differences are pharmacological or parametric. This project specifically seeks to characterise the murine phenotypes of the novel procedure in C3H mice. This project is being supervised by Associate Professor Mathew Martin-Iverson.

Contact

Researcher Chris Stoddart Phone: +61 8 9347 6492