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

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...