Cited by 193Schizophrenia research and treatmentNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Darkness facilitates the acoustic startle reflex in humans

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Grillon, Christian, Pellowski, Mark, Merikangas, Kathleen R., Davis, Michael·1997·Biological Psychiatry

Abstract

The effects of darkness on startle reactivity and prepulse inhibition were investigated in two studies with 25 subjects participating in each study. Acoustic startle stimuli that were or were not preceded by an acoustic prepulse were delivered in alternating periods of complete darkness or light. In both studies, darkness significantly increased the magnitude of startle but did not affect prepulse inhibition (PPI). The PPI results suggest that darkness did not increase attention to the auditory modality, so that the startle facilitation in the dark probably did not result from an attentional process. The increased startle in the dark was significantly correlated with the intensity of subjects' fear of the dark as children based on retrospective rating scales. It is hypothesized that the startle facilitation in the dark results from a change in affect rather than from a change in attention.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0006-3223(96)00466-0

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64 of 64 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • In humans, darkness is sufficiently anxiogenic to potentiate startle, and dark-enhanced startle is replicable across laboratories and observed in adolescents and adults.

    “In contrast to rodents, humans are diurnal and feel more vulnerable in the dark (Schaller et al, 2003), and darkness is sufficiently anxiogenic in humans to potentiate startle (Grillon et al, 1997b). Dark-enhanced startle is replicable across laboratories (Grillon et al, 1999), and can be observed in both adolescents (Grillon et al, 1999) and adults (Coplan et al, 1998; Grillon and Ameli, 1998b;”

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Authors
Grillon, C., Pellowski, M., Merikangas, K. R., & Davis, M.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Grillon, Christian
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1997-09
Volume
42
Issue
6
Pages
453-460
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2090526529
Cited by
193
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 11
FWCI
4.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r29mh050720-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (1 R29 MH-50720)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
acoustic startle response, darkness, prepulse inhibition, fear of the dark, affect, attention, light and darkness
MeSH terms
Acoustic Stimulation, Adult, Anxiety, Attention, Blinking, Darkness, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reflex, Startle

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