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Abstract
Previous research is equivocal regarding whether startle reflex eyeblink is specifically
sensitive to the emotion of fear, or is more generally influenced by the valence dimension
of emotion. Thirty-five undergraduate participants (17 male) viewed 60 pictures from
five affective categories (pleasant, neutral, fear, disgust-blood, and disgust-other).
Bilateral eyeblink EMG responses to acoustic startle probes were assessed during 2/3
of picture presentations, and 1/3 of intertrial intervals. Left corrugator and levator
EMG responses to no-startle pictures were also examined. Supporting an emotional valence
model of affective startle modulation, the startle potentiation effect was not specific
to fear materials. In fact, women, but not men, had larger startles during disgust
compared with fear pictures. Both corrugator and levator EMG responses were greater
to disgust than fear stimuli. These findings limit the generalizability of corrugator
as an index of all negative emotions and extend evidence for the specificity of levator
to disgust.