title: The impact of sex and menstrual cycle on the acoustic startle response.
abstract: Sex differences in fear and anxiety have been widely reported although results are not entirely consistent depending on measures used. Also, a possible influence of the menstrual cycle is often not taken into account, and effect sizes are not always discussed. In a sample of healthy young adults (n=111 women without hormonal contraceptives and n=107 men) the acoustic startle response (ASR) and emotional ASR modulation were analysed. We found no significant effect of sex on ASR (p=.269) but a significant effect of menstrual cycle (p=.027, η(2)=0.105). Compared to men, women showed increased ASR during the late luteal phase probably reflecting elevated negative emotionality, and during ovulation which, however, might be due to increased auditory sensitivity and changes in general CNS arousal. Neither sex nor menstrual cycle affected startle modulation. Thus, at least in young adults, menstrual cycle but not sex per se appears to contribute significantly to ASR variance.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Personality and Individual Differences, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany. Electronic address: diana.armbruster@tu.dresden.de.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Armbruster
authors.affiliation: Institute of Personality and Individual Differences, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Strobel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biopsychology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
authors.affiliation: Institute of Personality and Individual Differences, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany.
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brocke
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D057566:Self Report; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acoustic startle response; Anxiety; Fear; Menstrual cycle; Sex differences; Sex hormones