title: Developmental investigation of fear-potentiated startle across puberty.
abstract: The goal of this study was to examine the association between affective development, puberty, and gender using the startle reflex as a marker of defensive mechanisms. Thirty-one male and thirty-five female adolescents aged ten to thirteen participated in a prospective study with up to five assessments. Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant effect of sex, with girls showing stronger fear-potentiation at all pubertal stages. Post hoc tests revealed that fear-potentiation increased in girls but not boys over the course of puberty. Furthermore, baseline startle decreased over the course of puberty. Because age was included as a covariate in all analyses, the puberty effect cannot be accounted for by age. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence for a significant increase in fear-potentiated startle across the pubertal transition. Attribution of these changes to pubertal status rather than age has important implications for our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety and affect regulation.
authors: Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors: Anja
authors: A
authors: Schmitz
authors: Section on Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Grillon
authors: Division of Developmental Translational Research, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors: Shelli
authors: S
authors: Avenevoli
authors: Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors: Lihong
authors: L
authors: Cui
authors: Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: Kathleen.Merikangas@nih.gov.
authors: Kathleen R
authors: KR
authors: Merikangas
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003463:Cues; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D007830:Larynx / Q000502:physiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011627:Puberty / Q000523:psychology*; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012741:Sexual Maturation
keywords: Adolescence; Anxiety; Development; Fear-potentiated startle; Puberty; Sex differences