AUDITORY STARTLE RESPONSE DURING EXPOSURE TO WAR STRESS

This report describes the immediate effect of war stress on physiologi cal measures of the auditory startle responses (ASRs). Ten healthy Isr aeli subjects were examined 4 months before the Gulf war, during a mis sile alert on the first day of the war, and 8 months after the war. Th e magnitude and rate of habituation of orbicularis oculi electromyogra m (EMG), heart rate (HR), and skin conductance (SC) responses to 15 co nsecutive presentations of 95-dB, 0-rise time. 1,000-Hz pure tones wer e recorded on each occasion, along with self-reports of anxiety. The g roup's anxiety scores were significantly higher during the war. ASRs, in contrast, remained stable across exposure conditions. However, a de crease in SC habituation was observed in few individuals during the wa r, and may illustrate a distinctive vulnerability to stress. The resul ts are discussed in light of recent findings of abnormal startle respo nse in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B . Saunders Company