Abstract

PINTO, Jorge A.  and  BECERRA, Sebastián A.. Discrimination in Fear-Potentiated Startle Conditioning in Humans. Rev Arg Cs Comp. [online]. 2021, vol.13, n.2, pp.14-23.  Epub Aug 06, 2020. ISSN 1852-4206.

In a fear-potentiated startle experiment, participants were trained in a discrimination task where image A was paired with an electrical pulse, while another image, B, presented itself (i.e., A+ B-). In a test, the startle response, measured as an eyeblink, was evaluated by presenting an air-puff or white noise in the presence or absence of images A and B. The results show a greater eyeblink to the air-puff in the presence of A than in the presence of B, and in the absence of any stimulus, only in those participants who perceived the electrical pulse as highly painful. In conclusion, these findings suggest that conditioned fear is linearly related to the intensity of the electrical pulse.

Keywords : fear conditioning; discrimination; startle; intensity of unconditioned stimulus.

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