HARM AVOIDANCE AND AFFECTIVE MODULATION OF THE STARTLE REFLEX - A REPLICATION

Affective modulation of the eyeblink startle reflex, by unpleasant sli des, was found to be limited to subjects high on Harm Avoidance (HA; C loninger, 1986); low HA subjects did not respond to unpleasant slides with potentiated startle reflexes. This result provides a replication of Corr, Wilson, Fotiadou, Kumari, Gray, Checkley and Gray (1995a), an d supports the hypothesis that individual differences in trait anxiety are important in affective modulation of the startle reflex. It is co ncluded that Cloninger's HA should be routinely included in future sta rtle modulation experiments. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.