Review, 2018
Can acoustic startle response help us understand how hormones affect PMDD?
Possibly. Two types of acoustic startle response tests may help scientists understand how hormones affect PMDD, but most studies have not yet properly tested this.
What they did
This is a review examining whether the acoustic startle response, a simple test measuring how someone reacts to a sudden loud noise, could be used to study how hormone-like substances in the brain affect psychiatric disorders like PMDD.
What they found
Anxiety-potentiated startle and prepulse inhibition are the most reliable acoustic startle tests for studying how hormones affect mood disorders. However, few studies have actually tested whether these tests show differences related to the menstrual cycle or sex.
What it means for you
Scientists believe acoustic startle response tests might help understand how hormones affect mood disorders like PMDD, but this method is not yet widely used in research. The review identifies which test types might work best and recommends future studies account for hormone levels.
About the study
- Original title
- Startling Differences: Using the Acoustic Startle Response to Study Sex Differences and Neurosteroids in Affective Disorders
- Authors
- Hantsoo L, Golden CEM, Kornfield S et al.
- Journal
- Current psychiatry reports
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- None. This proposes acoustic startle response as a research method, not a treatment.
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0906-y
Topics
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