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Influence of a monetary incentive upon attentional modification of short-lead prepulse inhibition and long-lead prepulse facilitation of acoustic startle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2002

LARRY W. HAWK
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
JOSHUA S. REDFORD
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
JOSEPH S. BASCHNAGEL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
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Abstract

Short-lead prepulse inhibition and long-lead prepulse facilitation of startle are greater during attended than ignored prestimuli. The present work examined whether this attentional modification is influenced by monetary incentive. Participants (43 college students) were randomly assigned to receive a small performance-based monetary incentive or were instructed to try their best. The task was to judge the duration of tones of one of two pitches during a series of 48 tones. Prepulse inhibition of startle eyeblink EMG was assessed at 60, 120, and 240 ms, and prepulse facilitation was assessed at 4,500 ms following tone onset. Short-lead percent prepulse inhibition was greater during attended than ignored prestimuli only at 120 ms among paid participants. Long-lead prepulse facilitation was greater for attended than ignored tones, but this effect did not vary with incentive condition. This study demonstrates that attentional modification of short-lead prepulse inhibition is sensitive to a monetary incentive and provides a basis for further examination of motivational effects on early attentional processing.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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