Auditory startle response during exposure to war stress

Author(s): Bonne, O. B., Peri, T.

Journal/Book: Compr Psychiat. 1996; 37: Independence Square West, Curtis Center, Ste 300, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3399. W B Saunders Co. 134-138.

Abstract: This report describes the immediate effect of war stress on physiological measures of the auditory startle responses (ASRs). Ten healthy Israeli subjects were examined 4 months before the Gulf war, during a missile alert on the first day of the war, and 8 months after the war. The magnitude and rate of habituation of orbicularis oculi electromyogram (EMG), heart rate (HR), and skin conductance (SC) responses to 15 consecutive presentations of 95-dB, 0-rise time. 1,000-Hz pure tones were recorded on each occasion, along with self-reports of anxiety. The group's anxiety scores were significantly higher during the war. ASRs, in contrast, remained stable across exposure conditions. However, a decrease in SC habituation was observed in few individuals during the war, and may illustrate a distinctive vulnerability to stress. The results are discussed in light of recent findings of abnormal startle response in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Note: Article AY Shalev, Hadassah Univ Hosp, Dept Psychiat, Ctr Traumat Stress, POB 12000, IL-91120 Jerusalem, Israel

Keyword(s): VIETNAM VETERANS; PHYSIOLOGICAL-RESPONSES; DISORDER; REFLEX; HABITUATION; EMOTION; PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY; SENSITIZATION; MAGNITUDE

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