Auditory startle reflex inhibited by preceding self-action.
Psychophysiology
; 51(1): 97-102, 2014 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24117522
ABSTRACT
A startle reflex to a startle pulse is inhibited when preceded by a prestimulus. We introduced a key-press action (self-action) or an 85 dB noise burst as a prestimulus, followed by a 115 dB noise burst as a startle pulse. We manipulated temporal offsets between the prestimulus and the startle pulse from 30-1,500 ms to examine whether self-action modulates the startle reflex and the temporal properties of the modulatory effect. We assessed eyeblink reflexes by electromyography. Both prestimuli decreased reflexes compared to pulse-alone trials. Moreover, the temporal windows of inhibition were different between the types of prestimuli. A faster maximal inhibition and narrower temporal window in self-action trials suggest that preceding self-action inhibits the startle reflex and allows prediction of the coming pulse in different ways from auditory prestimuli.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Psychomotor Performance
/
Reflex, Startle
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Psychophysiology
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Japan