Hyper Sensitive Startle Reflex

Linking to Anxiety Disorder

By Jessica Williams

Introduction
Startle Reflex: A defensive and
unconscious response to sudden and
threatening stimuli.
Both animals and humans experience
this response.
Acoustic Startle Response: A
response that is measured by
electrical signals in muscles that
involve movement.
Studies that include using electrodes
have controversial results.

Case Study # 1: Greater General Startle Reflex is

Associated with Greater Anxiety Levels
Participants

Method

Results

111 young women in an

introductory psychology
class at Padua University
in Italy.

Low level electrodes

were applied while burst
of white noise was
released through head
phones.

No correlation at first
but by the end there was
a significant level of
anxiety experienced
with each auditory
stimulus.

Roughly around 23 years

old.
Limits on diet
beforehand.

Survey was taken

afterwards.

The higher the blink

magnitude, the higher
the anxiety.

Case Study #2: Increased Whole-Body Auditory and

Autonomic Reactivity in Children with Anxiety Disorders
Participants
There were 34 patients
total between 8-17 years
old.
25 of them were
diagnosed with an
anxiety disorder.
Both groups varied
between ages and sex.

Method

Results

Electrodes were placed

underneath the eye,
towards the ear and on
the temple.

The ASR and blink

response was higher with
those who had anxiety
over those who did not.

They listened to loud

tones over headphones
in various intervals.

Anxiety can be linked to

having a hypersensitive
central nervous system.

Case Study #3: Fear-Potentiated Startle in Humans: Effects of

Anticipatory Anxiety on the Acoustic Blink Reflex

Participants
There were 9 participants
from Yale University,
students and staff
volunteers.
6 females and 3 males of
varying ages.

Methods
There were two sessions.
One that introduced an
auditory stimulus with no
shocks and one that
introduced the auditory
stimulus with shocks.
They measured the eye
blink factor in two periods;
during anticipatory period
and during a safe period.

Results
The eye blinks were
consistently faster and had
a shorter duration in the
anticipatory period then
during the safe period.
Anticipatory anxiety can be
measured in humans while
not actually requiring any
sort of shock.

Works Cited
Poli, E., & Angrilli, A. (2015, February 6). Greater general startle reflex is associated
with greater anxiety levels: A correlational study on 111 young women. Retrieved April
29, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4319476/
Bakker, M. J., Tijssen, M. A., Van Der Meer, J. N., Koelman, J. H., & Boer, F. (2009).
Increased Whole-Body Autditory Startle Reflex and Autonomic Reactivity in Children with
Anxiety Disorders. UvA-DARE- Institutional Repository of the University of Amsterdam.
Retrieved April 29, 2016.
Grillon, C. (1991, September). Fear-Potentiated Startle in Humans: Effects of
Anticipatory Anxiety on the Acoustic Blink Reflex. Retrieved April 29, 2016, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/21396724_FearPotentiated_Startle_in_Humans_Effects_of_Anticipatory_Anxiety_on_the_Acoustic_Blink
_Reflex