Antisocial and borderline personality disorder symptomatologies are associated with decreased prepulse inhibition: The importance of optimal experimental parameters

Although antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and borderline personality disorders (BPD) have been hypothesized to be associated with decreased prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response, empirical support for this contention has been inconsistent. Accordingly, we measured symptoms of ASPD, BPD, and a common feature of both disorders – alcohol dependence symptomatology – in a sample of 53 nonclinical college females using the MCMI-III, and then correlated their scores with their PPI levels. Results indicated that all constructs were intercorrelated (p < .001), and that all constructs were negatively correlated with PPI of amplitude (p < .05), but only at a signal-to-noise ratio (SnR) of +15 dB. These findings suggest that, even in a nonclinical sample, ASPD, BPD, and alcohol dependence symptomatology are associated with decreased PPI, and further specify that a SnR of +15 dB and other optimal experimental parameters should be employed when investigating these associations.