Basic NeuroscienceA novel behavioural approach to detecting tinnitus in the guinea pig

Tinnitus, the perception of sound in the absence of an external stimulus, is a particularly challenging condition to demonstrate in animals. In any animal model, objective confirmation of tinnitus is essential before we can study the neural changes that produce it. A gap detection method, based on prepulse inhibition of the whole-body startle reflex, is often used as a behavioural test for tinnitus in rodents. However, in the guinea pig the whole-body startle reflex is subject to rapid habituation and hence is not an ideal behavioural measure. By contrast, in this species the Preyer or pinna reflex is a very reliable indicator of the startle response and is much less subject to habituation. We have developed a novel adaptation of the gap detection paradigm, which uses the Preyer reflex to measure the startle response, rather than whole-body movement. Using this method, we have demonstrated changes in gap detection, in guinea pigs where tinnitus had been induced by the administration of a high dose of salicylate. Our data indicate that the Preyer reflex gap detection method is a reliable test for tinnitus in guinea pigs.

► Prepulse inhibition can be reliably and robustly measured using the Preyer reflex. ► The Preyer reflex is a more reliable response than the whole-body startle in guinea pigs. ► Salicylate impairs gap detection at specific background noise frequencies, indicating the presence of tinnitus. ► Measuring gap detection using the Preyer reflex is a suitable method for identifying tinnitus.