Reduced prepulse inhibition of startle in STAT6-deficient mice
- Authors:
- Published online on: October 1, 2005 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.16.4.673
- Pages: 673-675
Metrics: Total
Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Abstract
To determine the role of STAT6 transcription factors in brain function, we performed a battery of mouse behavioral analyses of STAT6-deficient mice. We recently showed that STAT6-deficient mice displayed increased locomotor activities and had reduced levels of dopamine transporter (DAT) expression in the striatum. To further examine the behavioral effects of STAT6 deficiency, we subjected STAT6-deficient mice to behavior task testing prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the auditory startle response. In acoustic prepulse conditions, STAT6-deficient mice displayed significantly lower levels of PPI in acoustic startle than did wild-type mice, indicating their sensorimotor gating deficits. Thus, STAT6 transcription factors may be crucially implicated in sensorimotor gating by modulating the expression of several genes, including DAT in brain neurons.
