title: Auditory startle response during exposure to war stress.
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).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Shalev
authors.forename: O B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Bonne
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peri
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D011930:Reaction Time; D013216:Reflex, Startle; D014857:Warfare