BACKGROUND: Startle reflex modification has become valuable to the study of fear and anxiety, but few studies have explored startle reactivity in socially threatening situations. METHODS: Healthy participants ranging in trait social anxiety entered virtual reality (VR) that simulates standing center-stage in front of an audience to anticipate giving a speech and count backward. We measured startle and autonomic reactivity during anticipation of both tasks inside VR after a single baseline recording outside VR. RESULTS: Trait social anxiety, but not general trait anxiety, was positively correlated with startle before entering VR and most clearly during speech anticipation inside VR. Speech anticipation inside VR also elicited stronger physiologic responses relative to anticipation of counting. CONCLUSIONS: Under social-evaluative threat, startle reactivity showed robust relationships with fear of negative evaluation, a central aspect of social anxiety and clinical social phobia. Context-specific startle modification may be an endophenotype for subtypes of pathological anxiety.
BACKGROUND:Startle reflex modification has become valuable to the study of fear and anxiety, but few studies have explored startle reactivity in socially threatening situations. METHODS: Healthy participants ranging in trait social anxiety entered virtual reality (VR) that simulates standing center-stage in front of an audience to anticipate giving a speech and count backward. We measured startle and autonomic reactivity during anticipation of both tasks inside VR after a single baseline recording outside VR. RESULTS: Trait social anxiety, but not general trait anxiety, was positively correlated with startle before entering VR and most clearly during speech anticipation inside VR. Speech anticipation inside VR also elicited stronger physiologic responses relative to anticipation of counting. CONCLUSIONS: Under social-evaluative threat, startle reactivity showed robust relationships with fear of negative evaluation, a central aspect of social anxiety and clinical social phobia. Context-specific startle modification may be an endophenotype for subtypes of pathological anxiety.
Authors: Brian R Cornwell; Randi Heller; Arter Biggs; Daniel S Pine; Christian Grillon Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2010-10-05 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: M S Subbaraman; S J Goldman-Mellor; E S Anderson; K Z Lewinn; K B Saxton; M Shumway; R Catalano Journal: Hum Reprod Date: 2010-06-22 Impact factor: 6.918
Authors: Lisa M McTeague; Peter J Lang; Marie-Claude Laplante; Bruce N Cuthbert; Cyd C Strauss; Margaret M Bradley Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2008-11-08 Impact factor: 13.382