Directed Attention Influences the Modification of Startle Reflex Probability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13667128 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cecilia M Acocella (Hamilton College, corresponding author), Terry D Blumenthal (Wake Forest University) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 275-285 |
| Publication date | 1990-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2466/pr0.1990.66.1.275 |
| PMID | 2326417 |
| OpenAlex | W2005636616 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
The present study was designed to investigate the effect of directed attention on elicitation and modification of the startle reflex. 30 adult human subjects received 90 dB(A) broadband noise startle stimuli either alone or preceded by a 60 dB(A) prepulse (either 2000-Hz tone, 1000-Hz tone, or broadband noise). Subjects were instructed to attend to one of the three prepulses during half the trials and to ignore all stimuli during the rest of the trials. The probability of responding while attending to a prepulse was significantly lower than the probability of responding while ignoring the prepulses. Responding to the prepulses was also more probable while subjects were attending to the prepulses, and these effects were more pronounced for tone than for noise prepulses. These results suggest that directed attention can influence the probability of the startle reflex without influencing startle amplitude or latency
Audiology · Moro reflex · Prepulse inhibition · Psychiatry · Reflex · Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming · Tone (literature · Medicine · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neural dynamics and brain function · Neuroscience · Psychology · Visual perception and processing mechanisms
| Highly cited | No |
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