Long-term habituation and sensitization of the acoustic startle response in the normal adult human

The development and independence of short-term and long-term habituation (and short-term sensitization) of the acoustic startle response to repetitive stimuli has been repeatedly demonstrated in the experimental animal. Although short-term habituation (and sensitization) of acoustic startle has been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychophysiology Vol. 26; no. 2; p. 166
Main Authors Ornitz, E M, Guthrie, D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.1989
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Arousal
Attention
Auditory Perception
Auditory Threshold
Blinking
Habituation, Psychophysiologic
Humans
Male
Reflex, Startle
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Summary:The development and independence of short-term and long-term habituation (and short-term sensitization) of the acoustic startle response to repetitive stimuli has been repeatedly demonstrated in the experimental animal. Although short-term habituation (and sensitization) of acoustic startle has been studied in humans, neither long-term habituation nor sensitization has been demonstrated. In this study, long-term habituation (response amplitude decrement) of the blink component of the acoustic startle response occurred in normal men across five consecutive daily sessions of repetitive acoustic stimulation. Long-term sensitization (onset latency shortening) developed after the third day. Both the long-term habituation and sensitization were independent of the day. Both the long-term habituation and sensitization were independent of the short-term habituation, which developed within each daily session.
ISSN:0048-5772
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1989.tb03149.x