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Related Experiment Videos

Fear imagery and the startle-probe reflex.

S R Vrana1, P J Lang

  • 1Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology
|May 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Recalling fearful memories increases physiological arousal, evidenced by larger blink reflexes and faster heart rate. This effect is amplified when actively imagining the memory compared to simply recalling it.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychophysiology

Background:

  • Affective memory recall influences physiological responses.
  • Imagery and active recall engage different cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate psychophysiological responses during affective memory imagery.
  • To compare blink reflexes and heart rate during different recall conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty-six undergraduates memorized neutral and fearful sentences.
  • Startle probes (acoustic) measured blink reflexes during relaxation and recall.
  • Heart rate and subjective reports were also monitored.

Main Results:

  • Fearful sentence recall elicited larger blink reflexes and faster heart rate than neutral recall or relaxation.
  • Imagery tasks showed a greater enhancement of probe reflexes compared to non-semantic recall.

Conclusions:

  • Affective memory recall, particularly through imagery, significantly impacts autonomic nervous system responses.
  • Imagery intensifies the psychophysiological correlates of emotional memory processing.

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