Abstract
The human airpuff-elicited reflexive eyeblink, like the startle reflex of rats and pigeons, occurs with either reduced amplitude or latency when a brief auditory stimulus precedes the reflex-eliciting event by an appropriate lead interval. In common with the overt startle reflex of lower animals, the degree of inhibition or latency reduction of an airpuff-elicited eyeblink in human adults proved to be independent of the intensity of the eyeblink-eliciting airpuff. This finding supports the principle that the amount of a given reflex modification effect (whether latency or amplitude reduction) is determined by the parameters and lead time of the modifying stimulus and not by those of the reflex-eliciting event.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
ANSI.American national standard specifications for audiometers. New York: American National Standards Institute, 1969.
Buckland, G., Buckland, J., Jamieson, E., &Ison, J. R. Inhibition of startle response to acoustic stimulation produced by visual prestimulation.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1969,67, 493–499.
Carhart, R., &Jerger, J. Preferred method for clinical determination of pure-tone thresholds.Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1959,24, 330–345.
Hilgard, E. Reinforcement and inhibition of eyelid reflexes.Journal of General Psychology, 1933,8, 85–111.
Hoffman, H. S., &Searle, J. L. Acoustic variables in the modification of the startle reaction in the rat.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1965,60, 53–58.
Hoffman, H. S., &Searle, J. L. Acoustic and temporal factors in the evocation of startle.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1968,43, 269–282.
Hoffman, H. S., &Wible, B. L. Role of weak signals in acoustic startle.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1970,47, 489–497.
Ison, J. R., &Hammond, G. R. Modification of the startle reflex in the rat by changes in the auditory and visual environments.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1971,75, 435–452.
Krauter, E. E., Leonard, D. W., &Ison, J. R. Inhibition of human eye blink by brief acoustic stimulus.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1973,84, 246–251.
Schwartz, G. M., Hoffman, H. S., Stitt, C. L., &Marsh, R. R. Modification of the rat’s acoustic startle response by antecedent visual stimulation.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1976,2, 28–37.
Stitt, C. L., Hoffman, H. S., &Marsh, R. R. Interaction versus independence of the startle-modification processes in the rat.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1976,2, 260–265. (a)
Stitt, C. L., Hoffman, H. S., Marsh, R. R., &Schwartz, G. M. Modification of the pigeon’s visual startle reaction by the sensory environment.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1976,90, 601–619. (b)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by Grant MH 24044 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoffman, H.S., Marsh, R.R. & Stitt, C.L. Tests of a principle of reflex modification: Modification of the human eyeblink-reflex is independent of the intensity of the reflex-eliciting stimulus. Animal Learning & Behavior 8, 81–84 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209733
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209733