Selective Attention Effects on the Reflex Blink

Silverstein, Louis D.; Graham, Frances K.; Bohlin, Gunilla

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1981.tb03026.x

Cited by 68 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Six of the 540 trials with prestimulation (1.1%) had to be discarded (because lid or eye movements occurred during the 20 ms just after startle stimulus onset). This compares favorably with reports of 4-8% discarded trials in comparable experiments with only cooperative adults (Bohlin, Graham, Silverstein, & Hackley, 198 1;Graham et al, 1975;Silverstein, Graham, & Bohlin, 1981). It is similar to the 1.4% discarded trial rate reported by Ornitz et al (1986) using the same technique of computer-controlled trial presentation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Maturation of Prestimulation‐Induced Startle Modulation in Girls

Ornitz¹,

Guthrie

Sadeghpour³

et al. 1991

Psychophysiology

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This study of the maturation of prestimulation-induced modulation of startle in 4- to 8-year-old girls and young women demonstrated significant effects of age on both startle amplitude and onset latency modulation. Prestimulation with nonstartling tones resulted in strong inhibition of both amplitude and latency of the startle blink reflex in adults when 25-ms tones preceded the startling stimuli by 120 ms or 250 ms. Following sustained prestimulation for 2000 ms, the adults showed weak nonsignificant response facilitation. Eight-year-old girls showed mature inhibitory startle amplitude modulation, but significantly less inhibition of onset latency compared to adults. Preschool girls showed significantly less amplitude and latency inhibition and more facilitation than 8-year-olds and adult women. These findings in female subjects were very similar to those obtained by Ornitz, Guthrie, Kaplan, Lane, and Norman (1986) in male subjects. Gender differences were limited to the 8-year-old age group. The 8-year-old girls showed significantly less startle amplitude inhibition than 8-year-old boys following the 120-ms and 250-ms prestimulation intervals and less latency facilitation following 2000 ms of sustained prestimulation. In general, these findings suggest that brainstem mechanisms that mediate startle response modulation undergo development during early childhood and do not mature until about 8 years of age in both male and female subjects. The results are discussed in relation to studies of gender effects on development of other neurophysiological variables and to maturation of the nervous system.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Maturation of Prestimulation‐Induced Startle Modulation in Girls

Ornitz¹,

Guthrie

Sadeghpour³

et al. 1991

Psychophysiology

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“…In contrast to the PPI, the latency results do not differentiate between the two lead intervals. This dissociation between PPI and latency is in line with early studies suggesting independent mechanisms involved in their modulation [1,15]. In our study, the effect of attention on PPI was significant only at the 240-ms lead interval, while the same effect was not significant at the shorter 100-ms lead interval.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Attentional Modulation of Prepulse Inhibition: A New Startle Paradigm

et al. 2004

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There is increasing evidence for an influence of directed attention on prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex. However, the existing paradigms for the assessment of this effect have methodological problems and pitfalls. In particular, most previous studies used a paradigm which directed the attention of subjects to the prepulse only. In the present study, we used a modified paradigm which directed the attention of the subjects both to the prepulse and the pulse. Twenty healthy male subjects were instructed trial by trial either to relax or to attend to the startle stimulus and decide whether it was a ‘simple’ (prepulse alone or pulse alone) or a ‘composite’ trial (pulse plus a prepulse or postpulse). Directed attention enhanced PPI at the lead interval of 240 ms, but not at the lead interval of 100 ms. This finding is in line with the idea that attention contributes to PPI when there is enough time for the attentional mechanisms to exert an influence. This new paradigm offers a valuable tool for the study of attentional modulation of sensorimotor gating in humans.

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“…Specifically, it was predicted that the TBI group would exhibit an attenuated startle response to both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Finally, if the startle reflex response varies according to attentional processes (Filion et al, 1998;Hazlett et al, 1995;Schell et al, 1995;Silverstein et al, 1981;Simons & Zelson, 1985;Vrana et al, 1988), we would expect to find a positive relationship between attention and information-processing speed measures and startle responses in the TBI group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Research has shown the startle reflex response varies systematically with the attentional demands of the task, the affective valence of the stimulus, and the attentional set of the subject (Anthony, 1985;Jennings et al, 1996;Rissling et al, 2005;Silverstein, Graham, & Bohlin, 1981;Simons & Zelson, 1985;Vrana, Spence, & Lang, 1988). For example, research across a variety of populations has shown that directing attention towards a nonstartling stimulus (e.g., affective pictures) results in attenuated startle responses compared to baseline responding, or to when attention is directed elsewhere (Filion, Dawson, & Schell, 1998;Hazlett, Buchsbaum, Hazuedar, Gemmans, & Luu, 1995;Schell, Dawson, Hazlett, & Filion, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Affective modulation of the startle reflex following traumatic brain injury

Williams

Wood

2012

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology

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Diminished emotional recognition, expression, and responsivity are frequent legacies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that can have an adverse impact on relationships and psychosocial recovery. However, assessment of emotion responsivity is often difficult because many patients lack insight into their altered personality. To overcome this obstacle, we used a physiological measure of emotion responsivity, the startle reflex, to examine how this can vary according to the affective valence of stimuli by comparing a TBI group with a matched control group. The study also examined whether weaknesses of attention and speed of information processing could account for differences in startle modulation across groups. Sixty-four TBI patients and controls completed the startle reflex procedure. Participants were presented with pictures that differed in affective valence, and measures were taken of eyeblink startle responses to an acoustic probe. Subjective ratings of affect and arousal for each picture were obtained, and TBI patients completed measures of attention and information processing. Results revealed that the TBI group did not show the pattern of startle modulation observed in the control group. Whilst pleasant pictures produced the usual attenuation of the startle response, startle responses to unpleasant pictures were significantly lower in the TBI group than in controls. No significant correlations emerged between startle responses and performance on neuropsychological measures in the TBI group. The TBI group also rated unpleasant pictures as significantly less arousing than did controls. The results provide partial support for a growing body of evidence that has proposed impaired emotion responsivity following TBI.

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Selective Attention Effects on the Reflex Blink

Cited by 68 publications

References 19 publications

Maturation of Prestimulation‐Induced Startle Modulation in Girls

Maturation of Prestimulation‐Induced Startle Modulation in Girls

Attentional Modulation of Prepulse Inhibition: A New Startle Paradigm

Affective modulation of the startle reflex following traumatic brain injury

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