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Affective Modulation of the Startle Eyeblink and Postauricular Reflexes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Eyeblink and postauricular reflexes to standardized affective images were examined in individuals without (n = 37) and with (n = 20) autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Affective reflex modulation in control participants replicated previous findings. The ASD group, however, showed anomalous reflex modulation patterns, despite similar self-report ratings of pictures. Specifically, the ASD group demonstrated exaggerated eyeblink responses to pleasant images and exaggerated postauricular responses to unpleasant images. Although ASD is often conceptualized in terms of specific deficits in affective responding in the social domain, the present results suggest a domain-general pattern of deficits in affective processing and that such deficits may arise at an early phase in the stream of information processing.

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Notes

  1. The term “linear” in this context refers to the first-order polynomial trend test that is commonly used in the startle modulation literature to evaluate the effects of picture valence, which is typically divided into the categories of unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant, on reflex responses. Thus, a “linear” pattern of responses indicates either [unpleasant > neutral > pleasant] or [pleasant > neutral > unpleasant] patterns of responding.

  2. In-house experimental images depicted common circumscribed interests and images of faces with neutral expressions. The mood states induced by IAPS images are very brief: in nonclinical samples, affective startle modulation is not evident 1.5–2.5 s after image offset (Dichter et al. 2002). Thus, there are likely no effects of the inclusion of other images on startle responses, given the 10 s ITI employed.

  3. Other researchers have noted highly similar results obtained with both raw and standardized scores (e.g., Grillon and Ameli 2001; Dichter and Tomarken 2008).

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by R01 MH073402 (Bodfish) and R21 MH085254 (Dichter & Benning). G. Dichter was supported by NIH/NCRR K12 RR023248 and NIMH K23 MH081285. Assistance for this study was provided by the Subject Registry and Biostatistics Cores of the UNC Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center (P30 HD03110). We thank Jeffrey Sibrack for assistance with programming and data collection and Michele Poe, PhD for assistance with various aspects of this project.

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Author notes

  1. Tia N. Holtzclaw

    Present address: Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, 101 Manning Drive, CB# 3366, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7160, USA

    Gabriel S. Dichter, Tia N. Holtzclaw & James W. Bodfish

  2. Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA

    Stephen D. Benning

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, CB# 7160, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7160, USA

    Gabriel S. Dichter & James W. Bodfish

  4. Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Gabriel S. Dichter

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3026, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Gabriel S. Dichter

  6. Center for Development and Learning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB # 7255, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7255, USA

    James W. Bodfish

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Correspondence to Gabriel S. Dichter.

Appendix

Appendix

International Affective Picture System (Lang et al. 2008) Image Numbers:

Female Adults

Neutral: 1450, 5130, 5510, 5910, 7000, 7002, 7006, 7031, 7035, 7060, 7096, 7100, 7140, 7150, 7175, 7185, 7207, 7217, 7490; Pleasant: 1710, 4608, 4670, 5450, 5629, 7270, 7330, 8030, 8041, 8090, 8190, 8470, 8490, 8496; Unpleasant: 1300, 1301, 3500, 3530, 6230, 6250, 6260, 6313, 6350, 6360, 6540, 6560, 6821, 9630, 9810.

Female Children

Neutral 1450, 5030, 5130, 5510, 5731, 7000, 7004, 7006, 7009, 7010, 7020, 7040, 7050, 7080, 7090, 7175, 7185, 7187, 7500; Pleasant: 1463, 1610, 1710, 1999, 2030, 5460, 5470, 7250, 7270, 7325, 7390, 7400, 7410, 7470, 8496; Unpleasant: 1052, 1120, 1200, 1201, 1230, 1270, 1280, 1301, 1321, 1390, 6230, 6350, 6360, 6510, 6821.

Male Adults

Neutral: 1450, 2850, 2880, 5030, 7006, 7009, 7025, 7035, 7040, 7050, 7052, 7080, 7185, 7217, 7233, 7491, 7500; Pleasant: 1650, 4232, 5260, 5460, 5621, 5700, 5950, 8030, 8170, 8180, 8190, 8200, 8260, 8380, 8501; Unpleasant: 1300, 3500, 3530, 6230, 6250, 6260, 6350, 6510, 6540, 6550, 6560, 6570, 9630, 9800, 9810.

Male Children

Neutral: 1450, 5030, 5130, 5510, 5731, 7000, 7004, 7006, 7009, 7010, 7020, 7040, 7090, 7110, 7150, 7185, 7187, 7224, 7233; Pleasant: 1463, 1610, 1710, 2030, 5460, 5470, 7250, 7260, 7270, 7330, 7340, 7390, 7400, 8470, 8496; Unpleasant: 1052, 1120, 1200, 1201, 1230, 1270, 1280, 1300, 1301, 1321, 1390, 6350, 6360, 6510, 6821.

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Dichter, G.S., Benning, S.D., Holtzclaw, T.N. et al. Affective Modulation of the Startle Eyeblink and Postauricular Reflexes in Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 40, 858–869 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0925-y

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