bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CO2 and the Cephalic Direct Current System: Studies on Humans and a Biophysical Analysis
Authors: Cowen Murray A.
Published: February 2007

The TCDC/CO, hypothesis is that slowly changing potentials, source resistances and source currents, measured between electrodes placed over specific diploic/emissary vein distributions on the scalp, largely reflect regional differences in subelectrode CO2 concentrations which are in equilibrium with subjacent cortical differences in metabolism and CO2 production. Studies on humans show that TCDC parameters do show the expected relationships with the effects of regional differences in CO2 concentration.

An explicit quantitative formulation of the hypothesis is developed based on the best available measures of all essential parameters, and it in shown that this model permits the correct computation of all TCDC empirical norms under essentially all conditions of measurement. Although it now appears that MIX studies have a substantial theoretical foundation it must be emphasized that the analysis in this paper is based on normative—i.e. averaged—values and cannot yet be applied to isolated TCDC measurements on single subjects.
Delayed Habituation of the Electrodermal Orienting Response as a Function of Increased Level of Arousal
Authors: Bohlin Gunilla
Published: February 2007

Level of arousal was manipulated by having subjects perform arithmetic tasks during a habituation procedure, which consisted of 55 presentations or a 1000 Hz. 80 dB tone. For one group a threat of shock was added to the task performance in order to include aspects of stress in the arousal manipulation. These two groups were compared with a group who heard the same stimuli but were simply instructed to relax. The three groups differed in level of arousal according to KEG signs of drowsiness, skin conductance level, and frequency of spontaneous skin conductance responses, All three groups differed from each other in number of trials to habituation criterion for skin conductance responses to stimuli. Since the delay of habituation was seen tin‐ both the Task group and the Shock‐threat group, it was concluded that the effect was not bound to aspects of stress but was a general effect of increased arousal. For vasomotor responses an analysis in terms of habituation was difficult to apply because the two high arousal groups were very unresponsive from the beginning.
Automated System For Selecting Time‐Locked Signals From Analog Recorders
Authors: Sumter Dirk F.
Published: February 2007

In research centers where particular attention is paid to evoked potentials or event‐related slow potentials, e.g. contingent negative variation or motor potentials, the computer can facilitate the task of the researcher in distinguishing the numerous valid and non‐valid trials on a registration on‐line. A non‐valid trial is one that has been contaminated by artifacts such as eyeblinks, eye‐movements, etc. Many of them, however, still use magnetic tape for data storage for off‐line analysis. Simultaneous with the visual control of the EEG the valid trials are selected and then averaged by means of a special purpose computer (averager) I. These analyses are time‐consuming and quite fatiguing because in case of a heavily contaminated registration, one must stop and restart the averager continuously: for this reason tape speed is limited for off‐line analysis. This paper describes a system. Automatic Data Selector (A.D.S.), which can be programmed and then automatically selects the valid trials. See Fig. 1.
Average Evoked Potential Changes as a Function of Processing Complexity
Authors: Poon Leonard W. , Thompson Larry W. , Marsh Gail R.
Published: February 2007

Electrophysiologic potentials (average evoked potentials (AEP) and contingent negative variation (CNV)) recorded during simple recognition and discriminative responses to tachistoscopically presented letter‐pair stimuli showed a systematic shift toward greater overall positivity (i.e., smaller CNVs and larger late positive components) during increased processing load. In addition, more positive P2 components were found in the right as compared to the left hemisphere during simple recognition, and this asymmetry was enhanced during the more complex processing condition.
EEG Correlates of the Afterimage of Visual Stimulation
Authors: Barry Robert J. , Beh Helen C.
Published: February 2007

Occipital EEG alpha activity following visual stimuli of varying intensity was studied with particular reference to the visual afterimage. Subjects each received three stimuli of differing intensity under two conditions: with and without reporting of afterimage onset and offset required. A third condition controlled for possible reporting effects on the EEG. Findings indicate that visual afterimages are a significant determinant of the duration of EEG alpha desynchronization following visual stimulation and that where visual stimuli are employed the duration of EEG alpha blocking is unsuitable as an indicator of the OR to such stimulation.
Visual Evoked Potentials and Reaction Time in Normal and Dyslexic Children
Authors: Sobotka Karen R. , May James G.
Published: February 2007

This investigation compared the visual evoked responses (VERs) and reaction time (RT) performance of 24 dyslexic boys and 24 controls at four different age levels (7, 9, 11, and 13 yrs). Prescreening and matching techniques were used to eliminate differences due to social or educational deprivation, gross sensory‐motor handicaps, specific neurological deficiencies, or intellectual impairment. The VER was recorded from four scalp locations (O1, O2, P3, and P4) referenced to the vertex during a detection task in which subjects were required to respond to dim flashes occurring in a train of brighter flashes. An overall hemispheric asymmetry in VER amplitude (right > left) was observed in both experimental and control subjects. Dyslexics exhibited an increased amplitude to unattended stimuli and a slower RT to attended stimuli. Normals exhibited significant correlations between RT and VER latency, dyslexics did not. There were no significant VER‐IQ correlations. The results are discussed in terms of an attentional deficit hypothesis.
Cortical Evoked Response Recovery Functions: Physiological Manifestations of the Psychological Refractory Period?
Authors: Surwillo Walter W.
Published: February 2007

A group of 12 young adults were subjects in two separate experiments. In the first experiment subjects listened to 71 dB clicks presented in stimulus sequences consisting of a single click and a pair of clicks. Interspersed at random among these loud clicks were soft clicks—singles and pairs of clicks—which subjects were required to detect and respond to by pressing a button. Average evoked potentials (AEPs) to the second click of the pairs of loud clicks were investigated as a function of the interstimulus interval (ISI), which had values of 50, 100, 250, 500, 750, and 1,000 msec distributed at random. In the second experiment, similar sequences of clicks were used. Single clicks were soft clicks, pairs of clicks were loud clicks, and subjects were required to respond as quickly as possible to the second click of each pair. Reaction time (RT) was investigated as a function of the ISI, which varied as in the first experiment.

Both the latency of the P1 and P2 components of the AEP and the RT were found to increase with decreasing ISI. These results were statistically significant at the .01 level of confidence. Analysis of covariance suggested that the latency differences in P1 associated with ISI could account for nearly half of the RT variance due to ISI. Findings suggest that latency differences in the P1 component of the AEP may provide a physiological basis for the delays known as the psychological refractory period which occur in the processing of closely‐spaced stimuli.
Individual Differences in Fear and Autonomic Reactions to Affective Stimulation
Authors: Klorman Rafael , Weissberg Roger P. , Wiesenfeld Alan R.
Published: February 2007

Klorman et al. (1975) found that mutilation‐fearful persons reacted with heart rate speeding to mutilation slides and to neutral stimuli. The within‐subject design of that study suggested that these paradoxical reactions to neutral slides may have been due to subjects' anticipation of phobic materials. In the present work, 84 female subjects, categorized by a standardized questionnaire as high or low in fear of mutilation, viewed one of three types of slides: 1) mutilated bodies; 2) persons and objects in incongruous or humorous poses; or 3) standard photographs of persons, objects, and landscapes. Mutilation materials evoked cardiac acceleration and high subjective tension in fearful subjects vs bradycardia and moderate tension in low‐fear subjects. Neutral and incongruous slides prompted similar reactions from both fear groups: heart rate deceleration and low tension. Low‐fear subjects shown mutilation slides tended to exceed the groups receiving nonaversive stimulation in magnitude of cardiac deceleration. Extensive analyses of respiratory activity showed that these differential heart rate reactions were not attributable to breathing. Mutilation stimuli evoked greater skin conductance responses than nonaversive slides, but there were no electrodermal differences as a function of fear relevance. The lawful relationship uncovered in the present research between cardiac reactions and individual differences in fear supports our suggestion that anticipation may have played a role in our earlier work.
Interaction of Learned Relaxation and Aversion
Authors: Grings William W. , Schandler Steven L.
Published: February 2007

Stimulus controlled elicitation of aversive and relaxation responses was used in a compound stimulus transfer paradigm to examine counterconditioning of autonomic responses. During a single session, experimental and control groups of 18 subjects each received aversive conditioning and relaxation training to criteria. For experimental subjects, both learning experiences involved signal stimuli, whereas control subjects received no contingencies between training and cues. Test trials were presented prior to aversive conditioning and after training was completed. On each test trial subjects received presentations of the aversive cue alone, a compound of the aversive cue with an untrained cue, and a compound of the aversive cue with the relaxation cue. During the preconditioning test trials there were no differences among skin conductance and digital pulse volume responses to the test stimuli. On the test trials after training, responding was significantly reduced to the compound of aversive cue and relaxation cue, as compared to the aversive cue alone or the compound of aversive cue and untrained cue for the experimental group. Control group responses did not differ.
Myocardial Degeneration and Cardiac Arrest in Squirrel Monkey: Physiological and Psychological Correlates
Authors: Corley K. C. , Shiel F. O'M. , Mauck H. P. , Clark L. S. , Barber J. H.
Published: February 2007

Behavioral factors and cardiovascular changes associated with myocardial degeneration and cardiac arrest induced by shock avoidance stress were studied. Pairs of avoidance and yoked squirrel monkeys were exposed to a 24‐hr session. Myocardial degeneration and cardiac arrest were more readily induced in avoidance than yoked monkeys. The cardiac lesions were not related to body weight, aggressive behavior, or number of shocks received during stress, but an increased heart rate without hypertension during the first stress hour was more evident in avoidance than yoked monkeys. These cardiac changes were attributed to an autonomic disturbance associated with the response contingencies of the avoidance situation. An autonomic effect also appeared to be involved with stress‐induced death. These deaths were characterized by a sudden, severe bradycardia without initial hypotension and cardiac arrest which was attributed to either parasympathetic activation or sympathetic inhibition. While heart rate decreased in all monkeys, stress‐induced death followed only in monkeys which gave up and stopped contending with the stress. Thus, stress‐induced myocardial changes and death were related to autonomic disturbances precipitated by psychological stress.
Short‐Term Memory During Stage‐2 Sleep
Authors: Oltman Philip K. , Goodenough Donald R. , Koulack David , Maclin Edward , Schroeder H. Robert , Flannagan Michael J.
Published: February 2007

A recently‐proposed model of dream recall phenomena (Koulack & Goodenough, 1976) assumes a short‐term memory store which functions during sleep, and from which either dreams or externally‐delivered stimuli can be retrieved if the subject is awakened during the life of the short‐term trace. To test this assumption, two experiments were designed to examine short‐term memory for auditory stimuli over intervals of uninterrupted stage‐2 sleep. A random series of single‐digit numbers was presented at the rate of one every 30 sec throughout the night, at an intensity slightly above normal conversational levels. Subjects habituated to the sound and did not awaken spontaneously. Experimental awakenings took place either at 1 sec (Experiment 1) or at 1, 5, or 10 sec (Experiment 2) after selected target stimuli, and the subjects were asked to recall which number they had heard. Significant recall was obtained over intervals of up to 10 sec, and the likelihood of recall was inversely related to reaction times to the awakening stimulus. Repeating the target numbers at 30‐sec intervals increased EEG alpha activity and K‐complex amplitude, suggesting that some form of trace persists for at least 30 sec.
Orientation, Conditioning, and Learning
Authors: Grings William W.
Published: February 2007

Difficulties arising from failure to separate the concepts of orienting behavior, conditioning, and learning are discussed. The major reasons for ambiguity are lack of explicit definitions of terms and a tendency to overgeneralize from limited empirical demonstrations. Criteria are needed for differentiating learning, viewed generically, from conditioning, where learning is inferred from a specific stimulational arrangement. Because unlearned orienting behavior due to stimulus chaise may contribute to responses also involving learned behavior, the contribution of each needs to be assessed. At the same time, orienting behavior, as a class of behavior related to attention, may have learned as well as unlearned components. Confusion results from failure to specify assumed connotations in specific situations, as well as the experimental presuppositions involved in empirical definitions.

The two basic experimental paradigms for defining learning are discussed, the control groups arrangement and the control stimuli arrangement. Data are presented to reemphasize that different paradigms may lead to quite different laws. The research task is seen as the careful utilization of variations on the paradigms with special extensions and control considerations for increasing the explanatory power of tests of learning and orientation.
Short‐Interval Classical SCR Conditioning and the Stimulus‐Sequence‐Change‐Elicited OR: The Case of the Empirical Red Herring
Authors: Furedy John J. , Poulos Constantine X.
Published: February 2007

Classical conditioning experiments which employ CS‐US intervals shorter than the latency of the CR, and which therefore require interspersed CS‐alone test trials to assess conditioning, are open to the stimulus‐sequence‐change‐elicited (SSCE) OR argument. The form of the SSCE argument which denies associative status to SCRs elicited by the CS‐alone test trials is here termed an “empirical red herring” because: a) the argument cannot be dismissed on purely logical grounds, but requires the assessment of evidence for its examination; b) the argument enjoys empirical plausibility in the minds of the scientific community, as evidenced by published statements in both experimental articles and textbook chapters on autonomic conditioning; c) critical examination of the evidence which apparently supports the argument reveals that while the argument has provided a fascinating byway in the progress of our understanding of SCR conditioning, it is now time to bid farewell to the argument since it lacks any genuine empirical base. In the course of examining this particular argument, both the advantages and disadvantages of such arguments for scientific progress are discussed. Finally, it is emphasized that if one wants to study multiple‐response phenomena in SCR conditioning, then a longer CS‐US interval is clearly desirable. Our message only is that if the aim is to study SCR conditioning—defined as an increase in responding to a CS relative to some appropriate control condition(s) which is attributable to the contiguity of the CS with the UR to the US—in its most robust form, then the short‐interval CS‐US arrangement should not be avoided on the basis of the SSCE argument which, on examination, turns out to be an empirical red herring.
Physiological Response Patterns in Ulcer Patients: Phasic and Tonic Components of the Electrogastrogram
Authors: Walker Barbara B. , Sandman Curt A.
Published: February 2007

Physiological response patterns in duodenal ulcer patients, rheumatoid arthritics, and healthy subjects were investigated by recording electrogastrograms (EGGs) and several other physiological measures during presentations of mildly stressful stimuli. Ulcer patients were physiologically less reactive to the stimuli than the other groups; with the exception of increases in tonic galvanic skin potential (GSP) responses during arithmetic problems, ulcer patients were responsive only while viewing slides taken during autopsies when they evidenced increases in gastric activity and phasic GSP responses. The EGG proved to be a valuable measure for differentiating both the groups and the tasks. Both ulcer patients and healthy subjects demonstrated increases in phasic (frequency and amplitude) EGG activity during affective but not during cognitive stimuli, and ulcer patients and arthritics could be differentiated from healthy subjects on the basis of tonic (basal resting levels and displacement) EGG activity. These results were interpreted to surest the possibility that phasic and tonic components of the EGG may each be associated with different types of gastrointestinal activity.
Classical Skin Conductance Response Conditioning: Effects of Random Intermittent Reinforcement
Authors: Williams William C. , Prokasy William F.
Published: February 2007

To assess some implications of incremental‐decremental learning theories for classical conditioning, skin conductance response conditioning in humans was examined as a function of reinforcement schedule. First anticipatory responses (FARs: latency from 1.0 to 3.5 sec after signal onset) were not affected by reinforcement ratio, but, during the first half of training, the probability of second anticipatory responses (SARs: latency from 3.6 to 7.0 sec after signal onset) increased with increases in reinforcement ratio. FAR and SAR probabilities decreased across sequences of successively reinforced trials and increased across sequences of successively nonreinforced trials. These results are incompatible with the theoretical expectation that response likelihood should increase following reinforced trials and decrease following nonreinforced trials. Alternative accounts of the results are discussed.
Digital Cardiac Period Meter With DA Converter
Authors: Shimizu Hidemi
Published: February 2007

A new type of cardiac period meter, which allows the simultaneous collection of digital and analog records, was designed. The wave‐shaper and the pulse sequencer in a digital counter were modified for the purpose of measuring successive heartbeat intervals. The output terminals of the counter were connected directly to a digital‐to‐analog (DA) converter. The pen‐oscillograph record of the analog output produces a stair‐case waveform characterized by sharp edges and stable horizontal lines.
Habituation and the Orienting Response in the Auditory Cortical Evoked Potential
Authors: Rust John
Published: February 2007

Habituation of the auditory cortical evoked potential, the GSR, and heart rate was measured in 100 male subjects. Stimuli were 31 tones of 1 sec duration with an ISI of 33 sec. All stimuli were sinusoidal, at a frequency of 1000 Hz, and at an intensity of 95 dB (re 20 N/cm2). The EEG was measured from bipolar electrode placement to the Cz and T3 scalp locations. Evoked potentials were averaged over 3 successive blocks of 10 stimuli. The GSR habituation scores were the regression coefficients over trials of the response amplitude in square root conductance. Significant habituation of all evoked potential amplitude components was found. This was a rapid process occurring between the first and the second 10 stimuli. The habituation score for the most significant evoked potential variable (P200) was found to correlate significantly with the GSR and heart rate habituation scores. These results were interpreted as suggesting that the amplitude of the evoked potential was enhanced by the orienting reaction.
Correlation of Infants’Brain and Behavior Response to Temporal Changes in Visual Stimulation
Authors: Karmel Bernard Z. , Lester Michael L. , McCarvill Sharon L. , Brown Pamela , Hofmann Martin J.
Published: February 2007

This research was designed to test the hypothesis that a direct, parametric relationship exists between infant attention and the occipital visual evoked potential (VEP) induced by temporal frequency of visual pattern stimulation. Infants (13‐weeks‐old; N=32) were shown identical checkerboard patterns modulated at different rates of temporal change in a paired‐comparison design and durations of orienting responses were measured. Another group of infants (13‐weeks‐old; N=14) were shown a series of checkerboard patterns, each modulated at a different temporal rate, and the midline occipital brain response was recorded. The results showed that behavioral attention and the signal strength/sec of the VEP are both significantly related to temporal frequency of stimulation. Furthermore, when plotted to the log2 of temporal rate, both behavioral and neurophysiological response functions were best described by inverted U‐shaped curves with similar maxima (4.8 Hz vs 5.8 Hz). These data taken together indicate that infants’visual attention and occipital brain response to temporal frequency covary and that a common neurophysiological mechanism may be involved.
Effects of Binary and Proportional Feedback on Bidirectional Control of Heart Rate
Authors: Colgan Michael
Published: February 2007

Six male and 6 female volunteers formed three groups of 4 subjects in a study on the efficacy of different forms of visual feedback on control of heart rate (HR). One group received proportional feedback from a meter plus a binary success signal, one group received only proportional feedback, and one group received only the binary signal. Subjects received 6 acquisition sessions and 4 extinction sessions. For HR increase, groups receiving proportional feedback showed mean control over the last 2 acquisition sessions of +10 bpm, whereas the group receiving only binary feedback showed control of +4 bpm. For HR decrease, both groups receiving proportional feedback showed mean control over the last 2 acquisition sessions of ‐4 bpm, whereas the group receiving only binary feedback showed negligible control. During extinction there was no immediate reduction hi control of either HR increase or HR decrease but both declined over extinction sessions. Results indicate that proportional feedback is clearly superior to binary feedback, and that the addition of a binary signal to proportional feedback does not reliably enhance control. Results are consistent with an operant conditioning interpretation of feedback control.
Functional Cerebral Asymmetry and Performance III. Reaction Time as a Function of Task, Hand, Sex, and EEG Asymmetry
Authors: Rebert Charles S. , Mahoney Rebecca A.
Published: February 2007

To determine whether fluctuations of EEG asymmetry in the human cerebral hemispheres influenced overt performance, 14 male and 14 female subjects were tested in verbal and nonverbal target detection tasks and reaction time (RT) was recorded. RT was longest in both word and pattern tasks when the hand used for responding was contralateral to the hemisphere presumably most relevant to the task. The task variable did not affect EEG asymmetry, but females had lower R/L alpha ratios than males and EEG power increased and frequency decreased over the course of testing in association with decreased RT. RT also varied as a function of EEG asymmetry. In contrast to original expectations, RT was longest to verbal targets when R/L alpha power ratios were highest and longest to nonverbal targets when R/L ratios were lowest. The results were compatible with the notion of an inverted U function relating performance and arousal, and supported previous studies indicating that alpha asymmetry influences overt performance.
Relationships Between Behavioral Arousal and Some Components of Autonomic Arousal
Authors: Miezejeski Charles M.
Published: February 2007

The present experiment examined 11 male adolescents for relationships between the autonomic measures of heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) and three rates of finger tapping, a) subject resting, b) DRL.5 sec, and c) FR5, as a measure of behavioral arousal. At each level of behavioral arousal, minimum, mean, and maximum HR were analyzed. Mean and maximum HR increased only at high arousal, while minimum HR increased with each increase in behavioral arousal. SC was higher during tapping than resting, but was uninfluenced by rate of tapping. The potential value of the maximum and minimum HR and SC measures as tools for inferring the role of parasympathetic versus sympathetic mechanisms in autonomic arousal was discussed. This paradigm provides a simple, nonaversive method for examining autonomic and behavioral arousal.
Physical Fitness, Exercise, and Human Sleep
Authors: Griffin Susan J. , Trinder John
Published: February 2007

Restorative theories of SWS predict a positive relationship between SWS and daytime exercise. However the relevant data appear contradictory. It was hypothesized that the discrepancy in the literature was due to the varying physical fitness levels of subjects used in these studies. The hypothesis was tested, using human subjects, by varying amount of exercise and level of fitness in a 2x2 design. Two effects were observed, both supporting the hypothesis. First, fit subjects had higher levels of SWS than unfit subjects. Second, following exercise, the level of SWS increased in fit, but remained unchanged in unfit subjects.
Lateralization in the Electrodermal System as a Function of Cognitive/Hemispheric Manipulations
Authors: Lacroix J. Michael , Comper Paul
Published: February 2007

Three experiments examined patterns of bilateral differences in skin conductance as a function of cognitive tasks intended to produce specific manipulations in the relative activation of the two hemispheres. Experiments 1 and 2 employed right‐handed subjects, and examined the effects of Verbal (left‐hemispheric) and Spatial (right‐hemispheric) tasks. In both experiments response amplitudes were substantially smaller in the hand contralateral to the more activated hemisphere than in the ipsilateral hand. Experiment 2 also examined the effects of Music and Number tasks, intended to produce a similar level of activation in the two hemispheres: these tasks were not accompanied by reliable bilateral differences in electrodermal activity. Experiment 3 consisted of a replication of Experiment 2 with subjects (sinistrals) known, as a group, to exhibit little functional hemispheric specialization. In these subjects, bilateral electrodermal differences did not vary systematically as a function of tasks. These findings argue strongly for the presence of lateralized cortical influences on electrodermal activity, and their implications for psychological and neurophysiological models of electrodermal functioning are discussed.
Assessment, Learning, and Retention of Heart Beat Discrimination
Authors: Clemens William J.
Published: February 2007

In order to answer questions about the stability, trainability, and maintenance of heart beat discrimination, 32 subjects were given tests of heart beat discrimination on 2 days before and on 2 days after discrimination training, and 28 of those subjects were again tested at a mean of 34 days following the fifth consecutive session. Subjects were tested in a successive discrimination procedure in which they chose whether signal trains were contingent or noncontingent upon heart beats. On successive blocks of trials noncontingent signals were either of variable or invariant interpulse interval in order to determine if relative pulse train variability could provide a basis for correct choices.

During training half of the subjects reached a pre‐established criterion, and these subjects maintained higher levels of discrimination for the next 3 sessions. Relative pulse train variability was not a useful basis of judgment initially, although it may have aided subjects in the fifth session. Reliability of discrimination scores was low and discussion centers around this and other problems inherent in procedures reported to assess cardiac perception.
Utility of Voluntary Control of Respiration and Biofeedback for Increasing and Decreasing Heart Rate
Authors: Holmes David S. , Solomon Sheldon , Buchsbaum Helen K.
Published: February 2007

Ninety‐six subjects participated in an experiment conducted to determine the separate and combined effects of respiratory control and biofeedback on control of heart rate (HR). The results indicated, first, that controlling respiration enabled subjects to reliably (p < .001) increase HR but did not enable them to decrease HR, and second, that HR biofeedback did not enable subjects to change their HR more than they did when simply instructed to do so and not given biofeedback. These results are consistent with and add to previous findings concerning respiratory control, biofeedback and HR.
Short‐, Medium‐, and Long‐Term Relationships Among Meteorological and Electrodermal Variables
Authors: Waters William F. , Koresko Richard L. , Rossie George V. , Hackley Steven A.
Published: February 2007

The present study investigated the relationship between weather and electrodermal data. The latter were gathered during three habituation studies with a common initial procedure: male undergraduates (N = 336) were presented with a 1‐sec, 500 Hz, 55 dB tone until habituated. Initial skin conductance level (SCL), mean square root skin conductance response to the first 3 tones (√SCR), and number of trials to SCR habituation (TH) were each correlated with the meteorological conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure) during each of several pre‐experimental periods lasting from 1 hr to 1 month. The multiple correlation (R) between SCL and the meteorological variables was low but statistically significant for each time period, as was the case for √SCR. For TH the Rs were significant only for time periods of 1 day or more. Cross‐validations indicated that the Rs were stable and that electrodermal values could be reliably predicted from meteorological data. These results, together with correlations of each meteorological variable with each electrodermal variable and examinations of each variable across academic semesters, indicated that meteorological variables bear significant and complex relationships to electrodermal activity which warrant consideration in the design of experiments with extended data collection periods.
Augmenting‐Reducing of the Visual Evoked Potential as a Function of Changes in Skin Conductance Level
Authors: Birchall P.M.A. , Claridge G. S.
Published: February 2007

In the first of two experiments four visual evoked potential (VEP) measures of augmenting‐reducing were made consecutively within a single test session on each of 10 student volunteers, on whom palmar skin conductance, taken as an index of arousal, was also monitored continuously. Regression slopes relating VEP amplitude to stimulus intensity for any given individual were found to vary considerably over the session, some subjects changing from augmenting to reducing (or vice versa) during testing. Further analysis of the within‐subject data indicated that shifts in augmenting‐reducing were related to changes in skin conductance level (SCL) and to the range of SCL over which individuals were operating in relation to the group. Thus, subjects in the high SCL range shifted toward relative reducing as their conductance level increased and those in the low SCL range toward relative augmenting. These effects were exactly replicated in a second experiment using a further 10 subjects and a virtually identical procedure. It was concluded that augmenting‐reducing is partly state‐dependent, though in a manner which is systematic enough to warrant its further investigation in studies focusing on the dynamic aspects of stimulus modulation.
Effects of Stimulus Intensity on Electrodermal Activity
Authors: Turpin Graham , Siddle David A. T.
Published: February 2007

The present experiment employed a between‐subjects design (N=75) to investigate the effects of auditory stimulus intensity on a number of aspects of the skin conductance response (SCR) and the skin potential response (SPR). The primary predictions were that the electrodermal orienting response (OR) would be characterized by SCRs with relatively fast recovery times and positive SPRs, while the defense response (DR) would consist of SCRs with relatively slow recovery times and negative SPRs; SCR habituation differences as a function of stimulus intensity were also expected. Subjects received 12 presentations of a 1000 Hz tone of 45, 60, 75, 90 or 105 dB. Stimulus rise time was 30 msec and the duration 2 sec. The results provided no evidence for the differentiation of electrodermal ORs and DRs, and the effects of stimulus intensity were confined largely to differences in SCR magnitude; all groups displayed SCR habituation. The data from the first trial were examined using several multivariate procedures, and these results are discussed in terms of Sokolov's (1963) distinctions between ORs and DRs and in terms of Edelberg's (1973) model of electrodermal activity.
The Orienting Response as Novelty and Significance Detector: Reply to O'Gorman
Authors: Bernstein Alvin S.
Published: February 2007

O'Goiman's (1979) criticisms of the orienting response (OR) significance hypothesis are not well‐founded. The hypothesis is not based solely on electrodermal data—studies reporting significance effects for heart rate and pupillary OR are cited. The hypothesis does not discard novelty but suggests that an interaction between uncertainty and significance triggers OR. Differential reactivity across OR components reflects stimulus‐ and individual‐response factors, and does not require separate “significance registers.” Since the hypothesis specifically maintains that appraisals of stimulus significance affect the OR, not the mere fact of cognitive appraisal per se, no general “cognitive appraisal effect” was ever expected. O'Gorman confuses the difficulty of estimating the subject's spontaneous judgments of significance with the relative ease of manipulating significance in the laboratory. He considers classic OR theory more “objective” only because he fails to look closely enough at the complex judgmental processes involved in stimulus intake, model building, and matching functions. O'Gorman's contentions of different initial‐ and test‐ORs, and of a simple additive relationship between significance and OR, lack supportive data and are challenged by available evidence.

Literature is cited suggesting that: a) scanning is continuously biased toward the detection of significant stimuli; b) detection of a sgnificant stimulus feature triggers increased information scanning, increasing the possibility that previously unrecognized uncertainty will be detected, and c) lowers the criterion level of the OR “threshold,” increasing the likelihood of OR if uncertainty is detected. Evidence is cited suggesting that the significance‐OR, and perhaps attention in general, is mediated by neocortical‐limbic interaction, the limbic' “motivational” evaluator of stimulus input steering and switching neocortical “intellectual” analyzers of stimulus pattern.
Skin Conductance Recovery Time and Personality in a Group of Criminals
Authors: Levander Sten E. , Schalling Daisy S. , Lidberg Lars , Bartfai Aniko , Lidberg Yvonne
Published: February 2007

The half‐time measure of the recovery rate (rec t/2) of skin conductance (SC) responses to 93dB tone stimuli was obtained in a group of 25 male criminals. Rec t/2 of the response to the first (unexpected and thus presumably more aversive) tone was longer than the rec t/2 of the following 20 tones. The difference between these two rec t/2 measures was used as a “reactivity” estimate. The rec t/2 measures were negatively related to SC level and spontaneous fluctuations but unrelated to SC response measures. The issue of central process vs peripheral (hydration) interpretation of recovery time, raised by Bundy, was discussed on the basis of calculations on the present data, which did not appear to support the Bundy position.

The rec t/2 was also studied in relation to self‐report personality variables related to socialization, impulsivity, empathy and neuroticism. Subjects with self‐report scores indicating lower socialization had a longer mean rec t/2 and lower rec t/2 “reactivity” than those higher in socialization. A similar trend was obtained for subjects with scores indicating high impulsivity.
Feedback and Instructions in the Control of Digital Skin Temperature
Authors: Surwit Richard S. , Fenton Cynthia H.
Published: February 2007

Fourteen female subjects suffering from idiopathic Raynaud's Disease were trained during 6 laboratory sessions to raise skin temperature. All subjects were given autogenic instructions and half the subjects were given skin temperature feedback from the middle digit of the dominant hand. Autogenic instructions were found to produce small but reliable increases in skin temperature regardless of whether or not feedback was provided. Following the autogenic instructions all subjects showed decreases in skin temperature. However, these decreases were greater for subjects not receiving feedback than for those receiving feedback. Theoretical implications of these data are discussed.
Orientation‐Specific and Luminance Effects: Interocular Suppression of Visual Evoked Potentials in Man
Authors: Harter M. Russell , Conder E. Sarah , Towle Vernon L.
Published: February 2007

The interocular transfer of orientation‐specific effects was investigated using visual evoked potentials (VEPs). Monocular VEPs were obtained to either diffuse light or grids of 0° or 45° orientations flashed to one eye. The other eye continuously viewed either darkness, diffuse light or grids of 0°, 15°, 30°, or 45° orientations. Changing the continuous stimulus from darkness to diffuse light interocularly reduced the amplitude of a late VEP component (P200). Changing the orientation of the continuous stimulus primarily affected an earlier VEP component (N110). This interocular effect was orientation specific: the more similar the orientation of the flashed and continuously presented grids, the smaller the amplitude of the VEP components. The 1/2 bandwidths at 1/2 amplitude of the orientation tuning functions were 45° and 32° for the vertical and oblique test flashes respectively. This orientation‐specific interocular suppression was discussed in terms of electrophysiological and psychophysical data indicating binocular orientation channels and the interactions among these channels.
Experimental and Procedural Influences on Differential Electrodermal Activity
Authors: Beijk J.
Published: February 2007

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of some experimental and procedural variables on differential electrodermal activity. A standard procedure was designed to evoke a maximum differentiation of skin conductance response (SCR) amplitude between signal and nonsignal stimuli. Signal value was produced by experimental manipulation for 1 out of 10 stimuli. This series then was presented 3 times in random order to the subjects who were not required to make a response of any kind. In a sample of 228 subjects the critical stimulus was identified in 182 cases (80%) by means of SCR amplitude. Experimental or procedural variations such as an attempt to increase motivation not to be detected, auditory instead of visual presentation of stimuli, or the use of a different scoring procedure did not influence detection rates, nor did the fact that women showed slightly higher responses to critical stimuli than men. Manipulation of the number of series presented to the subjects, however, greatly influenced hit rates. The percentage of hits in a subsample of 142 subjects at presentations of 1, 2, and 3 series increased from 58% to 69% and 78%, respectively.

These results were related to “dichotomization theory” (Ben‐Shakar, 1977), which states that in addition to the influence of signal value properties of the critical stimulus, critical and neutral stimuli create two distinct categories which habituate independently. Manipulating the number of stimuli in each category will, by consequence, strongly influence detection rates.
The Effects of Conflict on Tonic Levels of Blood Pressure in the Genetically Borderline Hypertensive Rat
Authors: Lawler James E. , Barker Gregory F. , Hubbard John W. , Allen Michael T.
Published: February 2007

Studies of aversive conditioning in animals have seldom elicited tonic elevations in blood pressure (BP) equivalent to those which produce pathological changes in humans. While it is possible that psychological factors are not that important in the etiology of hypertension, it is also possible that the failure to elicit large tonic elevations in BP in animals may be due either to stressors which are insufficiently potent and/or to an inadequate physiological model. The present study sought to maximize the probability of producing large tonic changes in BPs by using a conflict paradignt in a genetic strain of rats which develops systolic BPs in the borderline hypertensive area (c. 150 mmHg). Forty‐eight male F1 generation offspring of spontaneously hypertensive rats mated with normotensive controls were randomly split into three groups: experimental (subjected to 3 weeks of avoidance training and 12 weeks of conflict in conditioning cages), mild restraint control (placed in conditioning cages daily but not shocked), and maturation control (neither shocked nor restrained) groups. Animals subjected to conflict gradually developed tonic levels of systolic BP well into the hypertensive range (c. 185 mmHg). Restraint control animals also showed some elevation (c. 165 mmHg), but maturational controls showed no change (c. 150 mmHg). The saliency of this animal model for the study of stress‐induced hypertension is discussed.
Effects of Feedback and Stimulus Control on Pulse Transit Time Discrimination
Authors: Martin John E. , Epstein Leonard H. , Cinciripini Paul M.
Published: February 2007

The present study was designed to determine the effects of feedback on discrimination of pulse transit time (TT). Eighteen normotensive subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (I) Random Feedback Control, (II) Contingent Feedback, and (III) Feedback plus Exteroceptive Cues. For each subject an ABBA within‐session design was used in which subjects compared TT to a predetermined mean approximately every 20 sec across four phases: a 10‐min baseline, followed by two 10‐min experimental phases, and a final 10‐min baseline phase. Results for discrimination accuracy indicated superior discrimination for subjects presented exteroceptive cues and/or feedback (Groups II and III). A decrement in performance was found for both Groups II and III during the final baseline phase, with slightly better maintenance for the feedback plus exteroceptive cues subjects. Measures of EMG, respiration, HR and vasomotor activity were obtained during training and were correlated with discrimination accuracy. Results showed that none of the physiological responses were reliably correlated with discriminative performance, and probably did not function as discriminative stimuli for TT discrimination.
The Interaction of Instruction Components with Cybernetic Feedback Effects in the Voluntary Control of Human Heart Rate
Authors: London Miriam D. , Schwartz Gary E.
Published: February 2007

Two groups of 20 subjects were presented with either contingent or yoked feedback for heart rate increase and decrease. Subjects were instructed to either attend to their heart (attention instructions) or to increase or decrease their physiological activity (direction instructions). Half of each contingent group made the signal go on for HR increase (tone‐on feedback) and off for decrease. The other half made the signal go off for increase (tone‐off feedback) and on for decrease. It was found that direction instructions led to significantly better HR control than attention instructions for yoked but not for true feedback. For true feedback, tone‐on led to HR increase, while tone‐off interfered, leading to overall HR decrease. This did not occur for yoked feedback, suggesting the importance of contingent feedback in this effect. An additional finding of this study was that subjects' self‐ratings of control were identical for true and yoked subjects, and did not correspond to their actual degree of control, suggesting that the feedback effects were mediated unconsciously. It was concluded that the direction component of HR instructions may obscure true cybernetic feedback effects which emerge through the manipulation of contingency and positive/negative feedback loops.
Repeated Measures F tests and Psychophysiological Research: Controlling the Number of False Positives
Authors: Keselman H. J. , Rogan Joanne C.
Published: February 2007

Wilson (1967, 1974) indicated that when successive measurements are obtained in psychophysiological investigations, analysis of the data with repeated measures F tests will very likely result in positively biased tests of the repeated factor null hypothesis. The present paper demonstrates how the Greenhouse and Geisser (1959) three‐step approach to significance testing, a procedure intended to control the probability of a false positive, can be applied to experimental designs containing any number of repeated measures variables. In addition, the paper contains a short computer program for obtaining a numerical solution.
Left‐Right Differences in Cerebral Blood Flow and Cognition
Authors: Dabbs James M.
Published: February 2007

This study presumed that when a person drinks ice water, circulation of the blood will carry cooling to the head, causing a slight temperature drop on each side proportional to the blood flow on that side. Data from right and left handed subjects showed greater temperature drop on the nonverbal side of the head, consistent with radiological findings that the nonverbal side receives more blood. Exploratory data from English and architecture students suggest more blood may go to the side embodying the subject's major talent.