TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Using Startle to Objectively Measure Anger and Other Emotional Responses After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study
JO  - Journal of head trauma rehabilitation
A1  - Neumann, Dawn Radice
A1  - Hammond, Flora
A1  - Norton, James
A1  - Blumenthal, Terry
SP  - 375
EP  - 383
VL  - 26
IS  - 5
N2  - OBJECTIVE:: To determine the effectiveness of a modulated acoustic startle reflex paradigm with emotional imagery in studying physiological changes associated with emotional responses in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING:: Outpatient rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS:: Six individuals with moderate to severe TBI. Mean age was 32 years and mean years post injury were 9.9. METHOD:: The modulated acoustic startle reflex procedure involved imagery of emotional scripts (joy, anger,fear, and neutral) followed by a startle noise, versus startle noise alone (no script). MEASURES:: Eyeblink and skin conductance response, subjective arousal and valence ratings of the scripts, and general anger questionnaire. RESULTS:: Startle blink responses following anger imagery were significantly smaller than those following fear (P = .006) and neutral (P = .023) imagery. Skin conductance response did not change significantly based on the content of the scripts (P = .070). CONCLUSIONS:: Large startle blink responses indicate avoidance of a stimulus. Our findings suggest that participants with TBI did not have an avoidant reaction to anger-inducing stimuli. Skin conductance response findings may imply arousal impairments. The modulated acoustic startle reflex was effective in measuring emotional responses; however, larger studies comparing persons with TBI with control groups are needed to further explore these findings.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0885-9701
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0b013e3181f8d52d
ID  - ref1
ER  -