bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heart Rate and Oxygen Consumption during Mental Arithmetic, a Video Game, and Graded Static Exercise
Authors: Carroll Douglas , Turner J. Rick , Rogers Stephen
Published: February 2007

Heart rate, oxygen consumption, and respiratory activity were recorded while 18 young male subjects performed a stressful mental arithmetic task and played a video game. Measurements were also taken while subjects undertook a graded static leg lifting exercise. Physiological activity increased as an orderly function of exercise workload. For each subject, heart rate was plotted against oxygen consumption over the various exercise loads. Knowing oxygen consumption during the psychological tasks, these regression equations allowed the prediction of heart rate, and thus the computation of “additional” heart rate as the difference between actual and predicted heart rate. Overall predicted heart rate values were significantly less than the values actually recorded during the psychological tasks. However, whereas mental arithmetic was associated with “additional” heart rates of the same order as those observed in earlier research using graded dynamic exercise, the video game elicited decidedly less “additional” heart rate in the present case. The explanation for this lay in the regression lines; static exercise was characterized by heart rate‐oxygen consumption regressions which were much steeper in terms of slope, as well as somewhat lower in terms of intercept, than those observed with graded dynamic exercise.
Baroreceptor Stimulation Alters Pain Sensation Depending on Tonic Blood Pressure
Authors: Elbert Thomas , Rockstroh Brigitte , Lutzenberger Werner , Kessler Manfred , Pietrowsky Reinhard , Birbaumer Niels
Published: February 2007

It has been hypothesized that activation of the baroreceptor reflex arc, by its central nervous inhibitory effects, is involved in an operant learning mechanism of blood pressure elevation. The present study investigated the effects of mechanical stimulation of the baroreceptors in the carotid sinus on pain threshold and electrical brain activity in two groups of humans with different tonic blood pressure levels. In normotensives, baroreceptor stimulation lowered pain threshold as compared to a control condition, while borderline hypertensives tolerated more intense electric stimulation when baroreceptors were activated. A marked reduction of the contingent negative variation in anticipation of the aversive stimulation accompanied baroreceptor stimulation, probably a consequence of baroreceptor afferent impulses exerted via brainstem centers to cerebral cortex. The distribution of the potential change across the scalp depended on the tonic blood pressure, indicating differences in brain functioning between normotensives and borderline hypertensives.

The present results suggest that the hypothesis of an operantly‐conditioned blood pressure elevation under stress may be valid only in subjects with a predisposition for essential hypertension.
The Effects of Task on the Modulation of Event‐Related Potentials by Word Repetition
Authors: Rugg Michael D. , Furda Jur , Lorist Monicque
Published: February 2007

Event‐related potentials were recorded while subjects viewed 3 series of visually presented words. In each series some of the words were repetitions of an immediately preceding word. The subjects' task was to respond to occasional items (‘targets’), the nature of which was varied across the 3 series. Targets were either lower‐case words, non‐words, or animal names. When the targets were non‐words or animal names, event‐related potentials to repeated items were characterised by a large, Cz‐maximum, positive‐going shift with an onset latency of around 300 ms. When the targets were lower‐case items, this repetition effect was greatly attenuated, due primarily to an increase in positivity in ERPs to unrepeated items.

It is concluded firstly that the modulation of event‐related potentials by word repetition is task‐dependent. Secondly, the repetition effect seems better interpreted as an attenuation of an endogenous negativity present in ERPs to unrepeated items, than as a positive‐going component elicited by repeats.
Facts and Artifacts in Cardiac Cycle Time Analysis: A Simple Model of Vagal Control
Authors: Somsen Riek J.M. , Jennings J. Richard , van der Molen Maurits W.
Published: February 2007

Cardiac cycle time effects occur when stimuli or responses presented at different times within the cardiac cycle induce differential changes in the same or following interbeat interval (IBI). Two related problems regarding cardiac cycle time effects are discussed. One problem concerns how to separate anticipatory from stimulus‐induced changes in interbeat intervals that occur around the time of presentation of an expected stimulus. The other problem is an anomalous finding in reaction time tasks: prestimulus interbeat intervals are longer when they precede stimuli presented early, rather than late, in the cardiac cycle.

These two problems can be understood if some simple assumptions are made about anticipatory and stimulus‐induced vagal excitation. If vagal excitation regularly increases prior to an expected event, the anomalous effect of stimulus delay in the cardiac cycle on preceding interbeat intervals can be explained. The presentation of events and IBI times on an ordinal IBI axis induces an inappropriate time shift. Furthermore, estimates of maximal anticipatory deceleration at stimulus onset in the interbeat interval of the stimulus and of subsequent stimulus‐induced vagal changes can be inferred. The relevance of this analysis to earlier experimental results is discussed.
Cardiac and Metabolic Activity in Mild Hypertensive and Normotensive Subjects
Authors: Sims Jane , Carroll Douglas , Turner J. Rick , Hewitt John K.
Published: February 2007

Heart rate, respiration, and metabolic activity were monitored at rest and during the mental challenge of a video game in 22 mild hypertensive and 53 normotensive young men. Subjects also completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Jenkins Activity Survey. The mild hypertensive subjects displayed higher resting heart rates than the normotensives and larger magnitude heart rate increases to the video game. Although groups did not differ in resting respiratory activity, the metabolic rates tended to be higher in the mild hypertensives and they showed reliably greater increases in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production during mental challenge. These data were subjected to a variety of interpretations. However, in the absence of psychophysiological assessment during physical exertion, and without direct measurement of cardiao output and arteriovenous oxygen differences, the present results did not permit a choice to be made between rival explanations, and they certainly cannot discount the hypothesis that some borderline hypertensives display excessive cardiac activity and tissue overperfusion during stress. The personality measures did not differentiate groups. However, correlational analyses within each group revealed that whereas systolic blood pressure was positively and significantly related to neuroticism in the mild hypertensive group, for the normotensive subjects the direction of correlation was reversed. In addition, scores on the Jenkins Activity Survey correlated positively with heart rate reactivity to the video game for the mild hypertensives, but not for the normotensives.
Event‐Related Potentials to Time‐Deviant and Pitch‐Deviant Tones
Authors: Nordby Helge , Roth Walton T. , Pfefferbaum Adolf
Published: February 2007

Twelve subjects were run in a paradigm designed to compare event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited by infrequent pitch‐deviant and time‐deviant tones under different attentional conditions. Tones with a pitch of 500 Hz or 1000 Hz were presented at regular interstimulus intervals of 800 ms. Changes in pitch or a shortening of interstimulus interval to 400 ms each occurred with 10% probability. Three different tasks (reading or reaction time to pitch or to timing deviances) were assigned on separate runs.

N150 to deviant tones was not influenced by task. Its amplitude, peak latency, and frontally maximum distribution did not differ between pitch and timing deviance, but to pitch deviance it had an earlier onset. P350 amplitude to both types of deviant tones was larger than to standard tones when subjects pressed to time‐deviant tones; only P350 to pitch‐deviant tones was larger than to standards when subjects pressed to pitch‐deviant tones. P350 latency was longer to timing deviance regardless of task.

Our results support the view that negativities generated by mismatches in expected timing and pitch are qualitatively the same. ERP differences between these two types of deviance were probably due to differences in stimulus salience or discriminability.
Effects of Methylphenidate on Stimulus Evaluation and Response Processes: Evidence from Performance and Event‐Related Potentials
Authors: Fitzpatrick Patricia , Klorman Rafael , Brumaghim Joan T. , Keefover Robert W.
Published: February 2007

This study investigated the effects of methylphenidate in a memory scanning task with two levels of high cognitive load (memory set sizes 2 and 4 presented in displays of size 4) and two response requirements (simple mapping or rotation). Twenty young adults were tested under placebo and methylphenidate (0.3 mg/Kg) in a double‐blind protocol. As expected, memory load increased misses, false alarms, confusions, and failures to respond by the deadline. In turn, the rotation requirement increased confusions and nonresponses. Reaction time (RT) was slowed by both factors. P3b latency also was increased by memory load and, to some extent, by the rotation requirement. These results are consistent with the proposition that P3b latency reflects largely evaluation, rather than response processes.

Misses and reaction time were decreased in response to targets presented in the center vs. the periphery of the display. Confusions, however, showed the opposite trend. The display position did not affect P3b latency. These results can be explained by assuming that the subject was focusing on the center of the display and that accuracy diminished when stimuli were presented toward the periphery of the display.

The stimulant challenge speeded up reaction times overall and specifically reduced the slowing effect of rotation. However, P3b latency was not affected by methylphenidate, so that the speeding of reaction time by the stimulant can be attributed to post‐evaluation processes.
The Effect of Body Composition and Gender on Cardiac Awareness
Authors: Rouse Connie H. , Jones Gary E. , Jones Kenneth R.
Published: February 2007

This experiment investigates the previously reported relationship between body composition and cardiac awareness. Four groups, containing 20 subjects each, were formed using estimates of percent body fat (%BF) obtained using skinfold measures. The four groups were lean males, non‐lean males, lean females, and non‐lean females. “Lean” was defined as 15%BF or below in young males, 17%BF or below in older males, 21%BF or below in young females, and 23%BF or below in older females. Subjects were tested while seated in a recliner chair using 50 Whitehead‐type discrimination trials. Subjects were asked to discriminate true from false feedback provided in 10‐s trials. True feedback was defined as a .1‐s light flash occurring 128 ms following each R‐spike, and false feedback was defined as a flash occurring 384 ms after the R‐spike. Heart period and respiration were recorded continuously. A 2(Genders) × 2(Body Composition Groups: Lean, Non‐lean) ANOVA of discrimination scores revealed a main effect for body composition (p<.0001), but no gender main or interaction effects. One‐group t‐tests revealed that the lean male and female groups both demonstrated discrimination at greater than chance level, but the non‐lean groups did not. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of the previously reported gender effect, and their possible contribution in understanding the mechanisms and mediation of cardiac awareness.
The Startle Response to Acoustic Stimuli Near Startle Threshold: Effects of Stimulus Rise and Fall Time, Duration, and Intensity
Authors: Blumenthal Terry D.
Published: February 2007

The present study assessed the interaction of several stimulus parameters in the elicitation of the startle response in humans. Broadband noise stimuli with intensities of 80 and 85 dB(A) and durations of 30 and 50 ms were presented to four groups of 15 college undergraduates. Within subjects, stimulus rise and fall times of 2.5, 10, and 25 ms were presented in a 3 × 3 factorial design. Amplitude, probability, and latency of integrated EMG activity from orbicularis oculi (eyeblink) were assessed. As stimulus rise time increased, response amplitude and probability decreased, and response latency increased, for both durations and both intensities tested. A main effect of stimulus duration on response probability was found, with higher probability for 50‐ms than for 30‐ms stimuli. In conjunction with previous research which found no effect of stimulus rise time on startle responding with more intense stimuli, these results suggest that startle response elicitation is determined by an interaction of stimulus parameters, with manipulation of some parameters being more effective at certain levels of other parameters.
Comparing Repeated Measures Means in Factorial Designs
Authors: Keselman H.J. , Keselman Joanne C.
Published: February 2007

The effects of violating multisample sphericity were investigated for multiple comparison procedures for pairwise contrasts in nonorthogonal split‐plot repeated measures designs. Results indicated that rates of Type I error of the multiple comparison procedures are affected not only by assumption violations but also by the type of nonorthogonal solution. Specifically, if one intends to test contrasts of unweighted means, as would be the case when the unequal group sizes are due to random loss, then all multiple comparison procedures investigated, including the previously recommended Bonferroni procedure, are prone to excessive rates of Type I errors. A satisfactory solution to this bias is to obtain additional data in order to achieve equal group sizes and hence an orthogonal design. For tests of contrasts of weighted repeated measures means, which would be of interest when the unequal group sizes are representative of population group sizes, the Bonferroni approach to Type I error control is satisfactory. In most instances, a Bonferroni critical value will provide a more powerful test than a multivariate critical value.
Modern Mind‐Brain Reading: Psychophysiology, Physiology, and Cognition
Authors: Coles Michael G. H.
Published: February 2007

This paper reviews the actual and potential benefits of a marriage between cognitive psychology and psychophysiology. Psychophysiological measures, particularly those of the event‐related brain potential, can be used as markers for psychological events and physiological events. Thus, they can serve as “windows’ on the mind and as “windows’ on the brain. These ideas are illustrated in the context of a series of studies utilizing the lateralized readiness potential, a measure of electrical brain activity that is related to preparation for movement. This measure has been used to illuminate presetting processes that prepare the motor system for action, to demonstrate the presence of the transmission of partial information in the cognitive system, and to identify processes responsible for the inhibition of responses. The lateralized readiness potential appears to reflect activity in motor areas of cortex. Thus, this measure, along with other psychophysiological measures, can be used to understand how the functions of the mind are implemented in the brain potential.
The Timing of Bedtime and Waketime Decisions in Free‐Running Subjects
Authors: Monk Timothy H. , Moline Margaret L.
Published: February 2007

Twelve “free‐running’ temporal isolation studies were performed using healthy human subjects aged 20–81 years (4 males, 8 females). Circadian rhythms were measured in subjective alertness (using a visual analogue scale technique) and rectal temperature. In all 12 subjects best fitting rhythm periods were found to be shorter for rectal temperature (mean = 24.3 hours) than for subjective alertness (mean = 24.8 hours). Both rhythms were predictive of bedtime and waketime decisions. Bedtime decisions tended to cluster on the falling arm of the temperature and alertness cycles (modal times = 120 degrees (temperature) and 140 degrees (alertness) after acrophase); waketime decisions on the rising arm (modal times = 240 degrees (temperature) and 300 degrees (alertness) after acrophase). When this pattern was violated, sleep episodes were significantly more variable in length and disturbed by intruding wakefulness.
Quantitative Measurements of Finger Blood Flow During Behavioral Treatments for Raynaud's Disease
Authors: Freedman Robert R.
Published: February 2007

Quantitative measurements of finger blood flow have not been performed during temperature biofeedback or other treatments for Raynaud's disease. In the present investigation, finger blood flow was determined with venous occlusion plethysmography, in addition to measurements of finger temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance level. After a maximum vasodilation test, subjects received 10 sessions of finger temperature biofeedback or autogenic training. There were no group differences during the maximum vasodilation test. During training, temperature feedback subjects showed significant elevations in finger blood flow, finger temperature, and skin conductance level, whereas those who received autogenic training did not. These findings could not be explained by group differences in other cardiovascular measures and are consistent with previous studies suggesting the involvement of an active vasodilating mechanism in temperature feedback.
Brain Potentials During Selective Attention, Memory Search, and Mental Rotation
Authors: Wijers Albertus A. , Otten Leun J. , Feenstra Steven , Mulder Gijsbertus , Mulder Lambertus J.M.
Published: February 2007

Event‐related potentials were measured in a task that combined the classic selective attention paradigm with memory search and mental rotation paradigms. Subjects were required to attend to stimulus letters in one color and to ignore stimuli in a different color. Within the attended category subjects searched for target letters from a prememorized set (the memory set) and indicated whether they were presented normally or in mirror‐image. Letters in all stimulus categories were presented randomly in either their upright position or rotated over 60°, 120°, or 180°.

The event‐related potentials showed that the earliest effect of attending to color was a positivity at the anterior electrodes and a negativity at Oz (onset about 150 ms), followed by the enhancement of a central N2 component (N2b, onset about 220 ms). The early effect is thought to reflect selective processing of elementary stimulus features, the later N2b the covert orienting of attention. A later, prolonged central negativity elicited by attended stimuli covaried with the duration of the memory search process. Target detection resulted in a parietal P3b component, and also in an earlier negativity (in the range approximately 200–300 ms) to both attended and unattended targets, suggesting an early preattentive target classification. There were two effects of the rotation of stimuli. First there was an early occipital effect (about 200–300 ms), irrespective of attention and stimulus categories. It was argued that this effect reflected the preattentive identification of the orientation of the stimulus letters. A later (onset about 350–400 ms) parietal effect consisted of an increase in negativity as a function of the angle over which letters were rotated. This prolonged negativity had a later onset latency than the search‐related negativity, and was restricted to the event‐related potentials to target letters in the attended input channel. It was suggested that this component is the manifestation of a mental rotation process. It was argued that rotation‐related negativity and memory search‐related activity reflect operations in distinct working memory subsystems.
Orienting in Schizophrenia: Habituation to Auditory Stimuli of Constant and Varying Intensity in Patients High and Low in Skin Conductance Responsivity
Authors: ÖHman Arne , Nordby Helge , D'Elia Giacomo
Published: February 2007

Groups of schizophrenics and normal controls were exposed to different series of tones of constant (80dB) and variable intensity (60, 80, and 100 dB). Measurements included bilateral skin conductance, finger pulse volume, and heart rate. Both groups were split on the common median in skin conductance response to constant intensity tones to form matched patient and control groups of low and high responsivity. The low and high responsive schizophrenic groups were more clearly separated than the two control groups in rate of spontaneous skin conductance fluctuations, skin conductance magnitudes, and skin conductance levels, primarily because of generalized hyperactivity in high responsive patients. This pattern was clearest for the most intense tone and left hand recordings. High responsive schizophrenics also showed larger response amplitudes, shorter rise and recovery times, and a smaller ratio of elicited to spontaneous responses, than high responsive controls. Finger pulse volume responses recorded from the left hand were smaller in the patient groups, whereas patients and controls did not differ in right hand recordings. High skin conductance responsive subjects showed more heart rate deceleration than low responsive subjects, and schizophrenics had more decelerative responses than controls.
Does the Heart Know What the Eye Sees? A Cardiac/Pupillometric Analysis of Motor Preparation and Response Execution
Authors: Van der Molen Maurits W. , Boomsma Dorret I. , Jennings J. Richard , Nieuwboer René T.
Published: February 2007

Autonomic response measures are well suited for the study of preparation because they allow the analysis of covert aspects of performance. This is illustrated by an experiment in which task‐evoked cardiac and pupillary responses were compared during a disjunctive (Go/No Go) reaction task. The motoric demands of the task were varied by manipulating foreperiod length (4 and 8 s) and probability of response (25%, 50%, and 75%). Reaction time increased with foreperiod length and decreased with probability of response. The depth of anticipatory heart rate deceleration was affected only by foreperiod length. Analysis of the beats during, and directly preceding and following the imperative stimulus revealed that interbeat intervals increased with probability of responding and foreperiod duration. The effect of stimulus timing relative to the R‐wave of the ECG was also analyzed. Early occurring stimuli prolonged the cycle of their occurrence more than late occurring stimuli. The cycle time effect was somewhat more pronounced for No Go stimuli than for Go stimuli. The subsequent cycle was shorter for early occurring stimuli compared to late stimuli. This effect was stronger for Go compared to No Go trials. Both Go and No Go reactions elicited significant pupil dilations. The No Go dilation peaked earlier than the Go dilation and its amplitude was smaller. Probability of responding affected the latency of the No Go dilation but not that of the Go dilation. The current results justify an interpretation of preparation in terms of a timing mechanism (indexed by heart rate deceleration during the foreperiod) and a mechanism allocating processing resources to stimulus encoding (indexed by cardiac slowing just prior to stimulus occurrence) and response preparation (indexed by continued cardiac deceleration and pupillary dilation).
The Relationship between the Type A Behavior Pattern and Physiological Responsivity: A Quantitative Review
Authors: Harbin Thomas J.
Published: February 2007

Researchers have attempted to specify the process linking Type A behavior to coronary artery disease. Increased cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity in Type A individuals has been proposed as the intervening mechanism. There have been several previous reviews of the research relating Type A behavior to physiological reactivity. The authors' conclusions have been equivocal; some assert that Type A persons are more reactive, whereas others find no evidence for such a conclusion. In this report, meta‐analysis, an alternative to the traditional narrative review, was employed to provide a quantitative evaluation of the relationship between Type A behavior and physiological reactivity. Results indicated that: 1) Type As respond to cognitive and psychomotor stimulus situations with greater heart rate and systolic blood pressure responses, 2) this relationship is not evident in females, 3) the relationship is more evident for some cognitive tasks than for others, and 4) the strength of the relationship depends upon the instrument used to assess Type A behavior.
Long‐Term Habituation and Sensitization of the Acoustic Startle Response in the Normal Adult Human
Authors: Ornitz Edward M. , Guthrie Donald
Published: February 2007

The development and independence of short‐term and long‐term habituation (and short‐term sensitization) of the acoustic startle response to repetitive stimuli has been repeatedly demonstrated in the experimental animal. Although short‐term habituation (and sensitization) of acoustic startle has been studied in humans, neither long‐term habituation nor sensitization has been demonstrated. In this study, long‐term habituation (response amplitude decrement) of the blink component of the acoustic startle response occurred in normal men across five consecutive daily sessions of repetitive acoustic stimulation. Long‐term sensitization (onset latency shortening) developed after the third day. Both the long‐term habituation and sensitization were independent of the short‐term habituation, which developed within each daily session.
Simulation Studies of Latency Measures of Components of the Event‐Related Brain Potential
Authors: Gratton Gabriele , Kramer Arthur F. , Coles Michael G.H. , Donchin Emanuel
Published: February 2007

We compared the accuracy of P300 latency estimates obtained with different procedures under several simulated signal and noise conditions. Both preparatory and signal detection techniques were used. Preparatory techniques included frequency filters and spatial filters (single electrode selection and Vector filter). Signal detection techniques included peak‐picking, cross‐correlation, and Woody filter. Accuracy in the latency estimation increased exponentially as a function of the signal‐to‐noise ratio. Both Woody filter and cross‐correlation provided better estimates than peak‐picking, although this advantage was reduced by frequency filtering. For all signal detection techniques, Vector filter provided better estimates than single electrode selection. Large component overlap impaired the accuracy of the estimates obtained with both single electrode selection and Vector filter, but with Vector filter impairment occurred only when the overlapping component had a scalp distribution that was similar to the scalp distribution of the signal component. The effects of varying noise characteristics, P300 duration and latency, and the parameters of Vector filter were also investigated.
Cognitive Event‐Related Potential Components During Continuous Recognition Memory for Pictures
Authors: Friedman David
Published: February 2007

Event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 28 young adult subjects during a continuous recognition memory paradigm, with pictures as stimuli. Subjects were required to determine on each trial if the picture was “new’ (never before presented) or “old’ (seen previously). To assess differences between primary and secondary memory. old items were presented after lags of 2, 8, and 32 intervening pictures (equiprobable) following their first presentation. The results suggested that a negativity (Cz maximum) at 300 ms was the most likely candidate for the brain event reflecting the retrieval of the item from memory. Old/new effects were modulated by two types of activity. both of which were larger in the ERPs elicited by new items. The earlier of these, possibly similar to the N400, had a duration from about 250‐600 ms, began with the N300 deflection, and lasted until “P300′’began to decrement. The other was positive, resembled “positive slow wave,’onset as P300 began to decrement, and lasted until the end of the recording epoch. There were no consistent effects of item lag on the behavioral data or on any of the ERP components. suggesting that for pictorial stimuli, the distinction between the two types of memory store, primary (i.e., immediate memory) and secondary (newly learned information), may not be relevant. In consonance with the lack of lag effects, it was suggested that the lack of a robust subsequent memory effect on the ERP waveform could have been due to the use of pictures, which may have required less elaborative processing in order to be encoded at input.
Rudimentary Physiological Effects of Mere Observation
Authors: Cacioppo John T. , Rourke Patricia A. , Marshall‐Goodell Beverly S. , Tassinary Louis G. , Baron Robert S.
Published: February 2007

Complex social factors can influence physiological activity, behavior, and health, but little is known about how essential components of these factors (e.g., human association, observation) affect human physiology. To begin to address this issue, an experiment was conducted to contrast predictions from social facilitation, distraction/conflict, and physiological reactivity formulations regarding the physiological effects of mere observation. Skin conductance and heart rate were measured surreptitiously from 27 women during a period in which they believed that the experimenter was simply calibrating auditory and physiological recording equipment. Approximately half of the subjects were led to believe that they could be observed by the experimenter during this period, and the remainder were led to believe that they could not be observed. Following baseline recordings, a series of 10 orienting tones were presented. Predictions from the physiological reactivity formulation were supported: (a) no differences in basal levels of somatovisceral activity were found as a function of mere observation; (b) mere observation enhanced the skin conductance response to the initial orienting tone; and (c) these physiological differences were punctate, quickly dissipating and quickly habituating. Hence, mere observation has subtler physiological effects than thought previously. Implications are discussed regarding the possible mechanism underlying the stress‐enhancing and stress‐buffering effects of human association, and regarding the effects social and contextual factors may have in psychophysiological research. Results from an international survey, based on the responses of 57 authors of articles that have appeared in Psychophysiology since 1983. are reported to inform the latter discussion. Results suggest that, even when social factors in psychophysiological research are minimized or held constant within studies, subtle differences in the social context across studies within and across laboratories may contribute to the appearance that psychophysiological relationships are unreliable.
Effects of Methylphenidate on Processing Negativities in Patients With Attention‐deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Klorman Rafael , Brumaghim Joan T. , Salzman Leonard F. , Strauss Jaine , Borgstedt Agneta D. , McBride Margaret C. , Loeb Stuart
Published: February 2007

This study compared the impact of methylphenidate on patients with Attention‐deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with and without aggressive/noncompliant features in an oddball test consisting of a randomly ordered series of loud (frequent) tones, soft (rare) tones, bright (frequent) lights, and dim (rare) lights. In alternate conditions, subjects were required to respond to either the rare tones or the rare lights. These tasks were administered in a drug‐free baseline session and after a counterbalanced treatment of 14 days each of methylphenidate (0.3 mg/Kg b.i.d.) and placebo (lactose b.i.d.). In comparison with placebo, methylphenidate resulted in greater accuracy and speed of reactions to targets of both modalities. The amplitude of N1 to auditory nontargets was larger when the target was a rare tone as opposed to a rare light, and this attention‐related effect was increased by methylphenidate. The same differential amplitude enhancement by stimulant treatment was found for an early area measure of difference ERPs. In contrast, for N1 to visual nontargets the effect of selective attention (larger amplitude when the target was a rare light vs. a rare tone) was not significant and was not affected by stimulant medication. All these findings were comparable for the three ADHD subgroups, a result attesting to the generality of stimulant effects on information processing.
For Distinguished Early Career Contribution to Psychophysiology: Award Address, 1988
Authors: Dimberg Ulf
Published: February 2007

The aim of this paper is to review data from my laboratory, which were collected in an attempt to determine whether the facial EMG response is a general component of the emotional reaction.

In a number of studies it was found that facial reactions: first, are spontaneously elicited and differ according to the kind of emotional stimuli to which sunjects are exposed; second, are sensitive to learning; third, are consistent with how the subject perceive the stimuli and their own specific emotions; fourth, are congruent with autonomic responses; fifth, are more pronoanced for females than for males; and finally, differ among subjects with specific fears.

These data converge to indicate that facial muscle activity is a general component of the emotional reaction and demonstrate that the facial EMG technique is a sensitve too for measuring emotional ractions.
Sleepiness and REM Sleep Recurrence: The Effects of Stage 2 and REM Sleep Awakenings
Authors: Glovinsky Paul B. , Spielman Arthur J. , Carroll Paul , Weinstein Lissa , Ellman Steven J.
Published: February 2007

Determinants of daytime sleepiness include sleep length, sleep continuity, and circadian factors. Sleep stage composition has not been seen as influencing subsequent daytime functioning; however, earlier studies did not focus explicitly on sleepiness. The present experiment studied the effects of selective sleep‐stage restriction on an objective measure of sleep tendency, and explored the relationship between sleepiness and subsequent REM recurrence during REM deprivation.

Daytime sleep latency was measured by a modified Multiple Sleep Latency Test prior to and following two nights of awakenings from either REM or Stage 2 sleep in 16 normal young adults. Sleep latency following these awakenings was also measured.

REM sleep and Stage 2 awakenings produced comparable levels of sleepiness, both during the Awakening Nights and subsequent daytime Multiple Sleep Latency Testing. Pooling the groups, daytime and nocturnal sleepiness measures were correlated within individuals. In the REM‐Awakening Group, Pre‐Awakening daytime sleepiness was associated with the tendency for REM sleep to recur following experimental awakenings.

Comparable levels of sleepiness may result from nonspecific processes such as sleep curtailment and fragmentation, or alternatively from separate REM and Stage 2 mechanisms. The relationship between REM sleep and sleepiness is discussed in the context of both state and trait models.
The Effect of Afternoon Body Heating on Body Temperature and Slow Wave Sleep
Authors: Jordan Jo , Montgomery Iain , Trinder John
Published: February 2007

Recent evidence suggests that body temperature at sleep onset affects the subsequent level of slow wave sleep. According to one hypothesis, the actual temperature is the critical factor determining the relationship. An alternative proposal is that it is the rate of fall of body temperature following sleep onset. These hypotheses were tested by measuring rectal temperature and sleep, following late afternoon passive heating in a warm bath and during a control condition. Passive heating increased rectal temperature, which then returned rapidly toward the control level. However, immediately before lights out rectal temperature was still higher in the passive heating condition, a difference that continued throughout the night. Following passive heating the amount of slow wave sleep was higher in the early part of the night. These results support the hypothesis that body temperature at sleep onset and the amount of slow wave sleep are positively related.
On the Shift from Anticipatory Heart Rate Deceleration to Acceleratory Recovery: Revisiting the Role of Response Factors
Authors: Jennings J. Richard , VAN DER Molen Maurits W. , Somsen Riek J.M. , Terezis Cynthia
Published: February 2007

The influence of inducing motor responses of low and high force at different times in the cardiac cycle was examined. A handgrip response was used which allowed the separation of response initiation from response completion. Based on earlier work, we expected initiation, rather than completion, to initiate poststimulus cardiac acceleration. We also thought that preparation for a high force response might alter preparatory changes of interbeat interval differently from preparation for a low force response. Fifteen college‐aged male subjects performed a warned reaction time task in which a visual stimulus signalled a handgrip requiring either a high or a low force to close. NoGo trials in which an inhibit signal was presented occurred on 12% of the trials. Stimuli occurred either on the R‐wave of the electrocardiogram or 300 ms later. Reaction speed was varied in different trial blocks by rewarding response times of 200 ms (±50 ms), 300 ms, or 400 ms. Results based on the timing of response initiation were essentially identical to those based on the timing of response completion. High force relative to low force was associated with both earlier response initiation and earlier cardiac acceleration. Force did not alter preparatory cardiac deceleration. Force and response speed did, however, alter the level of heart rate after response occurrence. Thus, response initiation (or an earlier response process) appears to induce a cardiac acceleration whose level is influenced by the speed and force of the motor response.
Event‐Related Potentials and Recognition Memory For Pictures and Words: The Effects of Intentional and Incidental Learning
Authors: Noldy Nancy E. , Stelmack Robert M. , Campbell Kenneth B.
Published: February 2007

Event‐related potentials were recorded under conditions of intentional or incidental learning of pictures and words, and during the subsequent recognition memory test for these stimuli. Intentionally learned pictures were remembered better than incidentally learned pictures and intentionally learned words, which, in turn, were remembered better than incidentally learned words. In comparison to pictures that were ignored, the pictures that were attended were characterized by greater positive amplitude frontally at 250 ms and centro‐parietally at 350 ms and by greater negativity at 450 ms at parietal and occipital sites. There were no effects of attention on the waveforms elicited by words. These results support the view that processing becomes automatic for words, whereas the processing of pictures involves additional effort or allocation of attentional resources. The N450 amplitude was greater for words than for pictures during both acquisition (intentional items) and recognition phases (hit and correct rejection categories for intentional items, hit category for incidental items). Because pictures are better remembered than words, the greater late positive wave (600 ms) elicited by the pictures than the words during the acquisition phase is also consistent with the association between P300 and better memory that has been reported.
Effects of Potentially Phobic Conditioned Stimuli on Retention, Reconditioning, and Extinction of the Conditioned Skin Conductance Response
Authors: Schell Anne M. , Dawson Michael E. , Marinkovic Ksenija
Published: February 2007

Discriminative classical conditioning of skin conductance responses (SCRs) was studied in 163 college students as a function of four variables: CS type (potentially phobic versus neutral conditioned stimuli), Sex of the subject, Interstimulus interval (ISI) during conditioning (.5 versus 8 s), and Retention interval between conditioning and retention assessment (1 versus 6 months). CS type did not affect acquisition, retention, or reconditioning of the differential conditioned responses. The effect of CS type was highly significant during extinction, with differential SCRs to CS+ and CS− being greater with potentially phobic conditioned stimuli. This was true for both sexes, both the .5‐s and the 8‐s ISI, and after a 1‐month or a 6‐month retention interval. Moreover, SCRs conditioned to phobic conditioned stimuli with the .5‐s ISI persisted even after subjects' cognitive expectancy of the UCS, which was measured on a trial‐by‐trial basis, had completely extinguished. The results indicate that the effect of potentially phobic conditioned stimuli on the conditioned skin conductance response is unique to resistance to extinction—they affect not learning but unlearning of the autonomic response.
The Relationship between Menstrual Phase and the P3 Component of ERPs
Authors: Johnston Victor S. , Wang Xiao‐Tian
Published: February 2007

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral ratings were collected from 30 female subjects who were exposed to picture slides. The slides belonged to five affective categories whose content was babies, dermatological cases, ordinary people, male models, and female models. Based on the day of testing relative to their menstrual cycle, the subjects were grouped according to their expected levels of androgens, estrogen, or progesterone. The data were examined to determine whether any ERP component or behavioral rating (non‐erotic/erotic, unpleasant/pleasant, simple/complex, and low arousal/high arousal) varied as a function of subjects' hormone defined menstrual phase. Only the P3 component was sensitive to menstrual phase. The P3 to babies and male models was largest when progesterone levels were high. High progesterone was also associated with a decrease in the complexity and eroticism of all slide categories. An increase in the pleasantness of all categories was evident when estrogen levels were high. The results are interpreted as support for an “adaptive context updating” theory of the P3 component of ERPs.
Task Versus Component Consistency in the Development of Automatic Processing: A Psychophysiological Assessment
Authors: Kramer Arthur F. , Strayer David L. , Buckley Jean
Published: February 2007

A study was conducted to examine the role of consistency in the development of automatic processing. Subjects performed a memory search task in which consistent and inconsistent attending and responding were factorially combined. The task was performed with memory set sizes of two and four items. Results indicated that automaticity developed with consistent attending regardless of whether responding was consistent or inconsistent. However, measures of reaction time, P300 latency, and P300 amplitude revealed costs for inconsistent responding that were attributed to both stimulus evaluation and response related processes. The results suggest that total task consistency is not necessary for the development of automatic processing. Instead, it appears that automaticity can develop for consistent task components even when stimulus‐response consistency is not maintained across the entire task.
Haemodynamic Adjustments to Mental Stress in Normotensives and Subjects with Mildly Elevated Blood Pressure
Authors: Carroll Douglas , Harris Michael G. , Cross Gwen
Published: February 2007

Cardiac output, heart rate, stroke volume, pre‐ejection period, total peripheral resistance, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and oxygen consumption were monitored or derived in young men with mildly elevated casual blood pressures and unambiguously normotensive control subjects before, during, and after exposure to a mental arithmetic stress. Measurements were also taken while subjects underwent graded dynamic exercise. This permitted cardiac output—oxygen consumption regression equations to be calculated and, as a consequence, cardiac output during mental stress to be represented as additional cardiac output. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher during all phases of the study in the mildly elevated blood pressure group. An overall groups effect during the mental stress phase of the experiment was observed for cardiac output and pre‐ejection period, and the effect for stroke volume was close to significance. Significant Groups X Periods interactions were found for cardiac output and additional cardiac output, and the heart rate effect was nearly significant. Post‐hoc comparisons here indicated that, in the main, group differences in these cardiac variables were more evident during the mental arithmetic stress than during the pre‐ and post‐task baseline periods. Total peripheral resistance did not differ reliably between groups and the cardiac effects were specific to the mental stress phase of the study.
Electrodermal Lability and Myocardial Reactivity to Stress
Authors: Kelsey Robert M.
Published: February 2007

The relationship between electrodermal lability and myocardial reactivity to stress was examined in male undergraduates, who were classified as electrodermally labile (n=19) or stabile (n=19) based on the frequency of nonspecific skin conductance responses at rest. Heart rate, pre‐ejection period, cardiac output, and skin conductance responses were recorded at rest, during task instructions, and during two mental arithmetic tasks that varied in level of difficulty. As predicted, labiles exhibited greater myocardial reactivity to the task instructions and the tasks than did stabiles, with more persistent group differences emerging for pre‐ejection period and cardiac output than for heart rate. The group differences did not vary as a function of task difficulty, but did decline over time. These results support a positive relationship between electrodermal lability and beta‐adrenergic myocardial reactivity to stress, particularly under conditions of task novelty or uncertainty, and suggest that electrodermal lability is related fundamentally to arousal and reactivity processes.
Selective Effects of Alcohol on Electrodermal Indices of Orienting Reflexes to Signal and Nonsignal Stimuli
Authors: Lyvers Michael , Maltzman Irving
Published: February 2007

Effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on the electrodermal orienting reflexes evoked by novel signal, novel nonsignal, and common nonsignal stimuli were assessed. Social drinkers were randomly assigned to the four cells of a balanced placebo design, with 10 males and 10 females per group. They drank a beverage consisting of either tonic water only, or tonic water plus enough vodka to raise blood alcohol levels to approximately .05%. Following drinking and absorption periods, spontaneous and evoked skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. Subjects pressed a footpedal whenever they heard an odd stimulus tone in a series. Alcohol increased the frequency of spontaneous SCRs, increased the number of incorrect pedal‐press responses, and selectively enhanced SCRs evoked by the signal tone, p<.05. Results are interpreted in terms of a hypothesized selective effect of alcohol on frontal cortical inhibitory functions.