To understand the expressive range of the human face, nothing beats watching a colleague scream his head off in slow motion. When my lab began to study protective reflexes in the early 2000s, the ...

The acoustic startle response is an unconditional reflex involving rapid facial and skeletal muscle movements triggered by sudden, startling stimuli like sound or light. Studying the acoustic startle ...

The acoustic startle response is an unconditional reflex manifested as a rapid contraction of facial and skeletal muscles in response to a sudden and intense startling stimulus. Translational research ...

We all jump at an unexpected noise or touch, but in some people, this startle response is exaggerated, and can cause falls and even death. Now, researchers in the United Kingdom have found new genes ...

The sounds emitted by cellphones carried by pregnant women may rattle the sleep-and-wake cycles of their fetuses, new research suggests. The finding is based on a small study that tracked fetal ...

A study of startle displays hints at why provoked creatures have such a wide range of reactions. By Cara Giaimo From a distance, the dead leaf praying mantis resembles its namesake: brown, crispy and ...

The jump scare doesn’t seem like it should work. Horror movie watchers know that someone is going to jump out — that’s why they watch horror movies. But still, neural circuitry is undeniable and the ...

A four-your-old Jacob Madgin from Wallsend, North Tyneside, UK has been diagnosed with a rare condition that can literally startle him just by everyday incidents like a passing dog on the street or ...

“Be careful out there. These kids will try to kill ya,” my instructor said to me after he signed me off for my multi-engine instructor (MEI) checkride. Having just completed my own series of ...