title: Affect modulated startle in schizophrenia: subjective experience matters.
abstract: Data suggests that emotion reactivity as measured by the affect-modulated startle paradigm in those with schizophrenia (SZ) may be similar to healthy controls (HC). However, normative classification of the stimuli may not accurately reflect emotional experience, especially for those with SZ. To examine this possibility, the present study measured the affect-modulated startle response with images classified according to both normative and subjective ratings. Seventeen HC and 17 SZ completed an image viewing task during which startle probes were presented, followed by subjective valence and arousal ratings. Both groups exhibited inhibited startle responses to positive images, intermediate startle amplitudes to neutral images, and potentiated startle amplitudes to negative images. SZ rated the positive images as less positive than HC. When images were reclassified based on subjective valence ratings, both groups' startle magnitudes increased in response to subjectively rated positive images and decreased to subjectively rated neutral images. The number of trials classified into each valence condition suggested a tendency for SZ to classify neutral images as negative more often than HC. Overall, these findings suggest that affective stimuli modulate the startle response in HC and SZ in similar ways, but subjective emotional experience may differ in those with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4. Electronic address: rachelle@psych.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Rachelle M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Dominelli
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, 10065 East Harvard Avenue Suite 300, Denver, CO 80231, USA. Electronic address: jennifer.m.boggs@kp.org.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Boggs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. Electronic address: arhoskin@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: Amanda R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bolbecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. Electronic address: bodonnel@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: Brian F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. Electronic address: whetrick@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Hetrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4. Electronic address: cbrenner@psych.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Colleen A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brenner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Emotion; Psychophysiology; Psychosis; Reactivity; Self-report; Startle reflex; Symptoms
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1996 May;105(2):249-57
references.pmid: 8723006
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 2008 Sep;34(5):819-34
references.pmid: 18579556
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2011 May;128(1-3):117-23
references.pmid: 21330110
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 2010 Feb;119(1):71-82
references.pmid: 20141244
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 2010 Jan;36(1):143-50
references.pmid: 18562345
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1988 Nov;97(4):487-91
references.pmid: 3204235
references.citation: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1995;245(6):309-18
references.pmid: 8527468
references.citation: Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2010 Aug;19(4):255-259
references.pmid: 22557707
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 1999 Jul;36(4):469-75
references.pmid: 10432796
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 2011 Feb;120(1):79-87
references.pmid: 21058754
references.citation: Int J Psychophysiol. 2003 Aug;49(2):123-37
references.pmid: 12919715
references.citation: Psychol Rev. 1990 Jul;97(3):377-95
references.pmid: 2200076
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1993 Feb;102(1):82-92
references.pmid: 8436703
references.citation: Emotion. 2001 Sep;1(3):300-19
references.pmid: 12934688
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1995 May;50(5):372-85
references.pmid: 7762889
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2003 Jan;160(1):13-23
references.pmid: 12505794
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2008 Jan;98(1-3):239-46
references.pmid: 17689054
references.citation: Prog Neurobiol. 2005 Dec;77(5):283-98
references.pmid: 16352388
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2005 Nov 1;79(1):59-68
references.pmid: 16005191
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-76
references.pmid: 3616518
references.citation: J Clin Neurophysiol. 1998 Sep;15(5):397-408
references.pmid: 9821067
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2012 Dec;142(1-3):65-70
references.pmid: 23040736
references.citation: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2010 Nov;13(10):1383-95
references.pmid: 20633319
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Aug 1;62(3):250-5
references.pmid: 17258691
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 1990 Sep;27(5):513-22
references.pmid: 2274614
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2007 May 30;151(1-2):21-8
references.pmid: 17382404