Startle Eyeblink Elicitation in Attention Deficit Disordered Children Using Low-Intensity Acoustic Stimuli

The acoustic startle eyeblink response was measured in 11 pediatric psychiatric inpatients, 7 diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 4 diagnosed with other conditions (non-ADHD). Startle stimuli were 85 or 95 dB SPL, 50-msec. noise pulses. Startle eyeblink responses were reliably measured for all children. Startle response latency was faster for ADHD children than for clinical control subjects in all stimulus conditions. These data show that the acoustic startle eyeblink response can be reliably elicited in ADHD children at lower intensities (85-95 dB) than those used in previous published research (104 dB). This may increase the use of the startle paradigm, since less intense stimuli may be less disturbing to the children, increasing compliance and allowing longer testing sessions.