Open(G)PIAS: An open-source solution for the construction of a high-precision acoustic startle response setup for tinnitus screening and threshold estimation in rodents

Gerum R, Rahlfs H, Streb M, Krauß P, Grimm J, Metzner C, Tziridis K, Günther M, Schulze H, Kellermann W, Schilling A (2019)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Book Volume: 13

Article Number: 140

DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00140

Abstract

The modulation of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) by a pre-stimulus called pre-pulse inhibition (PPI, for gap of silence pre-stimulus: GPIAS) is a versatile tool to, e.g., estimate hearing thresholds or identify subjective tinnitus percepts in rodents. A proper application of these paradigms depends on a reliable measurement of the ASR amplitudes and an exact stimulus presentation in terms of frequency and intensity. Here, we introduce a novel open-source solution for the construction of a low-cost ASR setup. The complete software for data acquisition and stimulus presentation is written in Python 3.6 and is provided as an Anaconda package. Furthermore, we provide a construction plan for the sensor system based on low-cost hardware components. Exemplary GPIAS data from two animal models (Mus musculus, Meriones unguiculatus) show that the ratio histograms (1-GPIAS) of the gap-pre-stimulus and no pre-stimulus ASR amplitudes can be well described by a log-normal distribution being in good accordance to previous studies with already established setups. Furthermore, it can be shown that the PPI as a function of pre-stimulus intensity (threshold paradigm) can be approximated with a hard-sigmoid function enabling a reproducible sensory threshold estimation. Thus, we show that the open-source solution could help to further establish the ASR method in many laboratories and, thus, facilitate and standardize research in animal models of tinnitus and/or hearing loss.

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How to cite

APA:

Gerum, R., Rahlfs, H., Streb, M., Krauß, P., Grimm, J., Metzner, C.,... Schilling, A. (2019). Open(G)PIAS: An open-source solution for the construction of a high-precision acoustic startle response setup for tinnitus screening and threshold estimation in rodents. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00140

MLA:

Gerum, Richard, et al. "Open(G)PIAS: An open-source solution for the construction of a high-precision acoustic startle response setup for tinnitus screening and threshold estimation in rodents." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 13 (2019).

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