LEAD-STIMULATION EFFECTS ON HUMAN STARTLE EYEBLINK RECORDED BY AN ELECTRODE HOOKUP

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of the electrode hookup technique in studying the startle eyeblink reflex and the lead-stimulation effects upon it. In Experiment I, 60 subjects were tested to identify the distributional properties of the reflex amplitude. The results showed that the amplitude was distributed normally when a log-transformation was performed. Positive correlations between the measures of reflex and spontaneous blink suggested that individual factors, e. g., the size of eye and responsivity, must be controlled in the design of the experiment. In Experiment II, nine subjects were tested to reduplicate the experiment of Graham, Putnam, and Leavitt (1975) using the electrode hookup recording technique. Both results were similar to each other in spite of the difference in measuring technique. The validity of the present technique was thus established.