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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
Published on: September 12, 2014
Defensive startle response to emotional social cues in social anxiety
Matthew Garner1, Greg Clarke, Hannah Graystone
1School of Psychology, University of Southampton, UK; Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK. m.j.garner@soton.ac.uk
Abstract:
Potentiation of fear-related defense behaviours coordinated by the amygdala in response to environmental threat characterizes several anxiety disorders. We compared eye-blink startle responses to startle probes delivered during the presentation of emotional and neutral social cues in high and low generalized social anxiety. Socially anxious individuals exhibited larger startle responses to emotional (positive and negative) relative to neutral social cues, compared to non-anxious individuals.
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