title: Does emotion modulate the blink reflex in human conditioning? Startle potentiation during pleasant and unpleasant cues in the picture-picture paradigm.
abstract: Emotional processes modulate the size of the eyeblink startle reflex in a picture-viewing paradigm, but it is unclear whether emotional processes are responsible for blink modulation in human conditioning. Experiment 1 involved an aversive differential conditioning phase followed by an extinction phase in which acoustic startle probes were presented during CS+, CS-, and intertrial intervals. Valence ratings and affective priming showed the CS+ was unpleasant postacquisition. Blink startle magnitude was larger during CS+ than during CS-. Experiment 2 used the same design in two groups trained with pleasant or unpleasant pictorial USs. Ratings and affective priming indicated that the CS+ had become pleasant or unpleasant in the respective group. Regardless of CS valence, blink startle was larger during CS+ than CS- in both groups. Thus, startle was not modulated by CS valence.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia. mallan@psy.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Kimberley M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Mallan
authors.forename: Ottmar V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Lipp
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D003215:Conditioning, Eyelid / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004576:Electromyography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*