Dependency of prepulse inhibition deficits on baseline startle reactivity in a mouse model of the human 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome

Hemizygous microdeletion at the chromosomal locus 22q11.2 is a copy number variation with strong genetic linkage to schizophrenia and related disorders. This association, along with its phenotypic overlap with the 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome, has motivated the establishment of Df[h22q11]/+ mice, in which the human 22q11.2 orthologous region is deleted. Previous investigations using this model showed the presence of reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex, a form of sensorimotor gating known to be impaired in a number of psychiatric disorders. Concomitantly to reduced PPI, however, Df[h22q11]/+ mice are also characterized by a robust increase in baseline startle reactivity, which may complicate or confound the interpretation of PPI. Therefore, the present study re-examined the relationship between acoustic startle reactivity and PPI in this mouse model. We found that while PPI is reduced in Df[h22q11]/+ mice when using its relative indexation (ie, % PPI), this deficit is no longer apparent when using the absolute quantification, that is, the direct comparison between pulse-alone and prepulse-plus-pulse conditions with successively increasing prepulse intensities. We further identified marked negative correlations between % PPI and startle reactivity in Df[h22q11]/+ mice. Moreover, when stratifying Df[h22q11]/+ mice into subgroups displaying low- and high-startle reactivity, only the latter subgroup displayed a significant reduction in % PPI. Collectively, our data suggest that alterations in baseline startle reactivity can confound the outcomes and interpretation of PPI in this mouse model of the human 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome.