This study compared the interaction of strain with isolation rearing on startle reactivity, habituation, and prepulse inhibition (PPI) in male Lewis, Sprague-Dawley, and Fischer F344 rats tested as adults. Lewis and Fischer rats exhibited lower startle reactivity than Sprague-Dawley rats. Lewis rats displayed more rapid habituation than the other strains. Most important, isolation rearing produced deficits in PPI in both Sprague-Dawley and Fischer rats but had no effect in Lewis rats. By contrast, isolation rearing had no effect on startle reactivity or habituation. In a separate study, 0.5 mg/kg apomorphine disrupted PPI in Fischer but not in Lewis rats. Thus. PPI in Lewis rats is relatively unaffected by either a pharmacological or a developmental manipulation, both of which disrupt PPI in Sprague-Dawley and Fischer F344 rats.