engleski

Neural background of multimodal startle-type responses

Different startle type stimuli, like acoustic startle and air blast probes, as well as a variety of sudden and intense visual and auditory stimuli of different valence and arousal, based on IAPS images and/or IADS sounds may induce a variety of multimodal startle type responses which reflect complex brain-body interactions. The obtained experimental results illustrated in this presentation reveal characteristic physiological, facial and vocal reflexive and emotional responses on selected set of stimuli paradigms. Such computer generated startle type stimulus combined together into more complex startle type stimuli can be analyzed in a sense of their elicitation power, i.e. their potential to enhance activation of affective neural networks and systems, such as amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, anterior cingulate cortex etc., as well as accompanying neuromodulatory systems. Modulation of elicitation power by specific affective and semantic contents and its relation with characteristic limbic and associative neural pathways, underlying biomarkers and corresponding behavioral reactions deserves more attention. Activation of selected facial and skeletal muscles, as a reaction to the startle type stimuli, is fast acting within few milliseconds, due to the small number of neurons and synaptic connections included in their response (e.g. acoustic startle pathway). However, activation of the autonomic nervous system (i.e. changes of skin conductance, heart rate, breathing, etc, ) requires longer periods of time, producing characteristic delay in response, as well as a modulation of other systems (e.g. endocrine response). These pathways are highly sensitive to contextual and affective influences of elicited stimuli. While affective startle type modulation is related to limbic network, higher cognitive modulation increase complexity and sophistication of underlying neural mechanism and circuits as well as cellular and molecular mechanisms. According to the individual specific startle type response, like physiological, facial, and speech features, it is possible to differentiate healthy human reactions versus a variety of neural and motor dysfunctions or even some type of mental health disorders, like exaggerated startle response in posttraumatic stress disorder. Prediction of how people will behave in stressful situations and how they will perceive stressful events by their cognitive-emotional interactions may have real practical values.

Neural background; multimodal startle-type stimuli and responses; physiological; speech and facial features; affective and semantic modulation

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