bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Habituation and the Structure of the Electrodermal System
Authors: Martin Irene , Rust John
Published: February 2007

The intercorrelatons among fifteen common SRR variables were investigated on two samples of male subjects in a standard habituation paradigm. The first group (N = 212) was made up of 149 prisoners and 63 controls (mean age = 28yrs) while the second group (N =84) were all twins (mean age=25 yrs). All subject received 21 auditory stimuli at an ISI of 33 sec. Each stimulus was sinusoidal, at 1000 Hz. of 1 see duration and at 95 (IB ire 20 N/cm2). The fifteen SRR measures taken from each subject included mean and change scores for basal conductance, response amplitude, spontaneous fluctuation frequency, number of responses, and onset, peak and half‐recovery latencies. The variables were Intel‐correlated and factor analyzed. The.05 rejection region was adopted in all statistical tests. A fun h simple structure for the variables was demonstrated. Hit' results emphasized the importance of a large general reactivity component in must of these variables. Within‐subject correlations were calculated and found to be different from across‐subject correlations. It is suggested that under constant stimulus conditions subjects display different but individually topical SCR shapes which reduce in size during habituation.
The Effects of Temporal and Event Uncertainty in Determining the Waveforms of the Auditory Event Related Potential (ERP)
Authors: McCarthy Gregory , Donchin Emanuel
Published: February 2007

In each of two experimental conditions, subjects were presented with a series of tones; one of two tones (1500 Hz or 1000 Hz) was presented on each trial with a probability respectively of .10 or .90. The subjects counted the rare (p=.10) tones; such counted rare tones are normally associated with a large P300 component.

The two conditions differed in that in one the tunes were triggered by the subject's button press; in the other the tones were triggered by computer. Schafer and Marcus (1973) reported that all the components of event‐related potentials (ERPs) elicited by self‐triggered tones were substantially smaller than those elicited by machine‐triggered stimuli. Our paradigm allowed a detailed assessment of the effects of self‐stimulation on specific ERP components as well as the interaction of temporal with event uncertainty.

Data were analyzed using a Principal Components technique. Both temporal and event uncertainty appeared to augment a negative component of the ERP with approximately 140 msec latency. Such effects, however, were confounded by the presence of slow negative potentials preceding the button press in the self‐stimulation conditions. As expected, the P300 component was largest for the ERPs elicited by the rare tones. Temporal uncertainty diminished the amplitude of P300 at central electrode sites. A large slow wave was present following P300; its anterior‐posterior distribution was altered by mode of stimulus presentation. It appears that temporal and event uncertainty have distinct effects upon the morphology and distribution of KRP components.
Effects of Stimulus Probability and Task‐Relevance on Event‐Related Potentials
Authors: Roth Walton T. , Ford Judith M. , Lewis Stephen J. , Kopell Bert S.
Published: February 2007

Stimuli were delivered to 12 subjects in a sequence that included regularly occurring standard tone pips, random warning tone pips, and random while noise bursts. Half the noise bursts were preceded by warning tones (high probability), and half were not (low probability). There were four runs, each having one of two noise burst intensities, and each having the warning tone and noise bursts either both task‐relevant to a reaction time task or both task irrelevant. Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were obtained by signal averaging in F2, C2, P2 and eye leads.

The P3 to the warning tone was largest in P, and was not affected by task relevance. CNVs preceded all the high probability noise bursts. These CNVs had an amplitude of 5μV even when the bursts were task irrelevant. Low probability noise bursts elicited larger P3s in all leads for the task‐irrelevant condition, but only in Pz for the task‐relevant conditions. In Cz, the amplitudes of NI. P2, and P3 to the high probability. task‐relevant noise bursts correlated with the amplitude of the preceding CNV.
The Role of Awareness in Human Differential Autonomic Classical Conditioning: The Necessary‐Gate Hypothesis
Authors: Dawson Michael E. , Furedy John J.
Published: February 2007

A “necessary‐gate” hypothesis is proposed regarding the relationship between awareness of the CS‐UCS relationship and autonomic classical conditioning. The hypothesis is that awareness is a necessary but not sufficient condition, and a gate but not analog condition, for human differential autonomic classical conditioning. Evidence in support of the hypothesis is reviewed and directions for future research and theory development are suggested.
Authoritarianism, Introspection, and Alpha Wave Biofeedback Training
Authors: Ancoli Sonia , Green Kenneth F.
Published: February 2007

Fifty volunteers were given personality tests measuring the traits of introspection and authoritarianism. Seven subjects from each extreme of the resulting scale were then chosen to participate in 6 alpha wave biofeedback training sessions, conducted in a darkened room with eyes closed. Trust, empathy, and introversion scales were also completed and subjective state evaluations were collected.

The results showed that those scoring high in introspection and low in authoritarianism (High Group) could produce a larger difference between their alpha‐on and alpha‐off periods (thus indicating control), than those scoring low in introspection and high in authoritarianism (Low Group). In addition, the two groups differed in the trait of trust with the High Group scoring significantly higher on that trait. There were no differences in the traits of introversion or empathy.
Performance and Mood During and After Gradual Sleep Reduction
Authors: Friedmann J. , Globus G. , Huntley A. , Mullaney D. , Naitoh P. , Johnson L.
Published: February 2007

Long‐term gradual sleep reduction effects were investigated on 4 young adult collegiate couples. The battery of assessment tools included a sleep log, Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Profile of Mood States, Feeling Tone Checklist, a measure of circadian oral temperature, Williams Word Memory test, Digit Span test, Wilkinson Auditory Vigilance task, Wilkinson Addition task, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Rapid Alternation task, psychiatric and medical examinations, and a subjective effects questionnnaire. It was concluded that 6–8 months of gradual sleep restriction, down to 4.5–5.5 hrs per night, does not result in behavioral effects measurable by the instruments used. Subjective fatigue appears to be the limiting factor in determining tolerability of gradual sleep restriction. At the end of an additional 12‐month follow‐up period, total sleep time was still 1–2.5 hrs below baseline, but measures of well‐being had returned to baseline levels.
Temporal Distribution and Ontogenetic Development of EEG Activity During Sleep
Authors: Keane Barry , Smith Jack , Webb Wilse
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate nightly patterns of temporal organization of EEG alpha, beta, delta, and sigma spindle activities and to measure changes in these patterns with age. A total of 50 nights of EEG recordings were obtained from normal subjects from various age groups, ranging from 3 to 79 yrs. A Sleep Analyzing Hybrid Computer (SAHC) measured min by min amounts of each EEG waveform. The amount of beta activity occurring in the first half of the night increased with age, whereas the amount occurring later in the night decreased. An opposing trend was observed in the occurrence of delta activity. Alpha activity increased significantly for subjects in their 50's and increased tremendously after age 65. In the oldest group the alpha had developed a very definite ultradian pattern and appeared coincident with REM. This alpha‐REM pattern was suppressed in the younger age groups.
Effects of Light Intensity and Edge Density on Visually Evoked Potentials in Rhesus Monkeys
Authors: Short Robert A. , Lieb Jeffrey P. , Wilson William A.
Published: February 2007

Visually evoked potentials were recorded from bipolar electrodes implanted in the foveal and parafoveal striate, prestriate and inferotemporal cortices of mature rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). The stimuli used were a blank field and three checkerboard patterns containing checks whose sizes were 2° 24′, 36′, and 9′ of visual arc. In addition to the size of the checks within the patterns, the intensity at which the stimuli were presented was also varied. In all four regions studied, check size had a significant effect on the amplitude of the average evoked potential, but intensity showed an effect only in the two striate regions. Certain regions of the visual cortex can apparently process two dimensions of a stimulus concurrently, and the same mass of neuronal tissue can participate in the processing of different dimensions of a stimulus at different times. The results are discussed in the context of existing literature concerning the evoked potential as an indicator of sensory information processing.
Autonomic Correlates of Depression and Clinical Improvement Following Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy
Authors: Dawson Michael E. , Schell Anne M. , Catania Jeffrey J.
Published: February 2007

Electrodermal responses (EDRs) and heart rate (HR) were recorded during a variety of tasks from 20 hospitalized depressed patients before and after a series of electroconvulsive shock treatments (ECTs). The depressed patients, compared to nondepressed controls during the pre‐ECT test, exhibited lower skin conductance levels, smaller phasic skin conductance responses with longer latencies, higher tonic HR, and smaller HR changes to stimuli. This response pattern suggests a complex state of “environmental rejection” coupled with “low arousal” in the depressed patients. Certain EDR measures were related to the severity of depressive symptomatology while tonic HR was related to the agitation/retardation symptoms. Patients who subsequently responded well following ECT were more like the controls on certain pre‐treatment measures than those who failed to respond favorably. There were little EDR or HR changes following ECT and what changes did occur were unrelated to differences in clinical improvement. It was suggested that, despite temporary clinical improvement following ECT, depressed patients have a chronic affective disorder which is reflected in the EDR and HR measures.
A Double‐Blind Methodology for Biofeedback Research
Authors: Cohen Harvey D. , Graham Charles , Fotopoulos Sophia S. , Cook Mary R.
Published: February 2007

A number of investigators have suggested that the beneficial effects attributed to biofeedback (BF) might be due, in part, to placebo factors. The double‐blind design is well‐suited to test this hypothesis; however, the major difficulty has been to devise a system to present undetectable placebo BF and simultaneously keep the experimenter “blind” while he conducts BF training in his normal fashion. The system described accomplished this objective when tested on 29 opiate addicts who received 14 sessions of contingent or noncontingent EEG/EMG BF training for symptom reduction during detoxification. The 4 experimenters could not determine subject status at better than chance levels, and the 29 addicts were equally unsuccessful in determining their own status. Although contingent subjects demonstrated more control over EMG activity, no difference in therapeutic outcome was observed between the groups under double‐blind conditions. These findings demonstrate that the procedures used to implement the double‐blind biofeedback system were highly effective, and that the integrity of the system was maintained under clinical treatment conditions.
EEG Alpha‐Hypnotizability Correlations: A Review
Authors: Dumas Roland A.
Published: February 2007

Experimental investigations of the relationships between EEG alpha indices and hypnotic susceptibility are reviewed. The literature is characterized as indicating that the simple alpha‐hypnotizability correlation does not exist in the general population. When such correlations are found, they are usually due to complex patterns which result in non‐representative subject pools when subjects are non‐naive volunteers. When subjects are invited to participate in experiments, significant correlations are not found.

The implications of these conclusions are threefold: 1) The research on the relationship between EEG alpha and hypnotizability can now center on describing the mechanisms by which volunteer samples yield such correlations. 2) Researchers should be aware that subject selection methods can be the primary determinants of significant results. 3) Experiments based on the assumption that there is no alpha‐hypnotizability correlation in the population can yield information on the differences in cognitive ability between high and low hypnotizables.
First Interval Skin Conductance Responses: Conditioned or Orienting Responses?
Authors: Prokasy William F.
Published: February 2007

This paper was concerned primarily with whether or not the first interval response in classical skin conductance conditioning can be interpreted as a response which occurs at least in part as a consequence of the pairing of, or contingency between, a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. Based on a context in which classical conditioning is seen strictly as a method of inquiry, not as a process, the problems of various control procedures were discussed. It was concluded that with a simple conditioning paradigm the data available to date are sufficiently confounded with differential habituation rates in control‐experimental group comparisons that it is difficult to conclude with assurance that the first‐interval response does reflect the contingency between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus. In spite of possible confounding factors, the data obtained in differential conditioning experiments permit the conclusion that the first interval response does reflect stimulus pairing.
Sleepiness and Sleep State on a 90‐Min Schedule
Authors: Carskadon Mary A. , Dement William C.
Published: February 2007

The effects of REM and slow wave sleep (SWS) on subjective sleepiness were studied in 10 subjects placed on a 90‐min sleep‐wakefulness schedule for either 51/3 or 6 (24‐hr) days. Subjects were permitted to sleep for 30‐min periods separated by 60 min of enforced wakefulness. Sleep recordings showed that sleep onset REM periods occurred frequently; REM and SWS appeared during the same sleep period only 27 times; and REM sleep tended to occur on sleep periods that alternated with SWS periods. Sleepiness was measured using the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) given 15 min before (pre‐sleep) and 15 min after (post‐sleep) each sleep period. Average SSS ratings showed a 24‐hr fluctuation in sleepiness. In addition, negative and positive SSS changes tended to alternate with each 90‐min period. Significant correlations were found with post‐sleep SSS ratings and SWS and with pre‐sleep SSS ratings and REM sleep. Differences between pre‐ and post‐sleep SSS scores were also correlated with the sleep states: increased sleepiness was correlated with SWS and decreased sleepiness with REM sleep.
Scientific Assessment of the Accuracy of Detection of Deception: A Reply to Lykken
Authors: Raskin David C.
Published: February 2007

Criticisms by Lykken (1978) of the research reported by Raskin and Hare (1978) and other research and findings on the accuracy of detection of deception are examined. In light of the available data and evidence, Lykken's arguments are found to be deficient in terms of accuracy, consistency, and validity.
Digital and Cephalic Vasomotor Orienting Responses to Indifferent, Signal, and Verbal Stimuli
Authors: Hiroshige Yoshiharu , Iwahara Shinkuro
Published: February 2007

Both digital and cephalic components of the vasomotor orienting response (VOR) were studied with the use of a habituation procedure. A habituation criterion of 8 nonresponses on 10 successive trials was used with respect to the digital vasomotor responses. All 12 subjects received the three stimulus conditions: a) a tone of moderate intensity (60 dB, 500 Hz, 10‐sec duration) as an indifferent stimulus (IS), b) the same tone as a signal stimulus (SS) for clenching the hand, and c) a verbal stimulus (VS) for clenching the hand but no tone. The SS condition followed the IS condition, and the VS condition was administered either preceding the IS or following the SS condition.

The tone produced a decrease in the digital blood volume and an increase in the cephalic blood volume which habituated more slowly under the SS condition. However, the VOR was weakened significantly faster in the digital than in the cephalic component.

Different measures of habituation rate, including the max‐rate score, were used and the outcomes were compared.
Cerebral Evoked Potentials to Noxious Dental Stimulation: Relationship to Subjective Pain Report
Authors: Harkins Stephen W. , Richard Chapman C.
Published: February 2007

The relationship between subjective pain report and dental evoked potentials (DEP) was evaluated in 11 subjects. Brief electrical shocks were delivered to healthy, unfilled teeth and evoked potentials were recorded at three levels of pain intensity. Amplitude of major components increased with increasing pain report. Latency of major components did not change with pain report. Since intradental nerve endings consist mainly of high‐threshold fibers generally associated with nociception, these results suggest that the DEP may be a useful physiological index of the acute pain experience in man.
The Effects of Operant Heart Rate Conditioning on Cognitive Elaboration and Attitude Change
Authors: Cacioppo John T. , Sandman Curt A. , Walker Barbara B.
Published: February 2007

A psychophysiological investigation was conducted to assess the relationships among heart rate, affect‐laden thought processes, and attitudes. Twenty subjects were trained for five days to raise and lower heart rate by means of a discriminative operant conditioning procedure. On the fifth day, communications that advocated positions with which undergraduates disagreed were presented during a raised, lowered, and basal (unaltered) heart rate trial. Results revealed that the heart rate conditioning procedure produced specific changes in heart rate, and affected the counterarguing (critical processing) to and acceptance of the persuasive communications; counterarguing and resistance to persuasion were greater during raised heart rate trials than during lowered heart rate trials. These findings are consistent with and suggest an extension of the Laceys' hypothesis concerning cardiac activity and cognitive elaboration, and provide evidence of the influence of affect‐laden thought processes on evaluative reactions.
Effectiveness of Techniques and Physiological Measures in the Detection of Deception
Authors: Podlesny John A. , Raskin David C.
Published: February 2007

Control‐question (CQ) and guilty‐knowledge (GK) techniques for the detection of deception were studied in a mock theft context. Subjects from the local community received $5 for participation, and both guilty and innocent subjects were motivated with a $10 bonus for a truthful outcome on the polygraph examination. They were instructed to deny the theft when they were examined by experimenters who were blind with respect to their guilt or innocence. Eight physiological channels were recorded. Blind numerical field evaluations with an inconclusive zone produced 94% and 83% correct decisions for two different types of CQ tests and 89% correct decisions for GK tests. Control questions were more effective than guilt‐complex questions, and exclusive control questions were more effective than nonexclusive control questions. Behavioral observations were relatively ineffective in differentiating guilty and innocent subjects. Quantitative analyses of the CQ and GK data revealed significant discrimination between guilty and innocent subjects with a variety of electrodermal and cardiovascular measures. The results support the conclusion that certain techniques and physiological measures can be very useful for the detection of deception in a laboratory mock‐crime context.
Stimulus Intensity Expectation and Visual Evoked Brain Potentials
Authors: Shucard David Wm. , Shucard Janet L.
Published: February 2007

In a sample of 32 adult subjects, we examined the relationship between amplitude measures of the visual evoked potential (VEP) and a subject's expectation that a stimulus would be either brighter or dimmer than the others in a series. It was found that when subjects expected a bright light flash, the VEP waveform changed in the direction associated with a stimulus intensity increase even though no actual intensity change occurred. Conversely, when subjects expected a dim light flash, the VEP waveform changed in the direction associated with a stimulus intensity decrease even though no actual intensity change occurred. The amplitude changes to the expected stimulus intensities occurred in specific VEP peaks and were related to the position of the stimulus in the sequence.
A Multi‐Response Analysis of Learned Heart Rate Control
Authors: Lott Gary G. , Gatchel Robert J.
Published: February 2007

Thirty college students were classified on the basis of cold‐pressor blood pressure responses and then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. One group merely tracked a visual analog display of their heart rate (tracking group). A second group attempted to increase and decrease its heart rate without the visual display (no‐feedback group). A third group attempted to increase and decrease their heart rates with the aid of the visual heart rate display (feedback group). Results indicated that the heart rate changes produced by both the feedback and no‐feedback groups were significantly greater than those observed in the tracking group. There was no significant difference between the former two groups. Results also demonstrated that high cold‐pressor reactors were able to produce significantly larger heart rate changes than the low reactor subjects. A correlational analysis of physiological responses accompanying heart rate change suggested that the response topographies of the high and low cold‐pressor reactors differed as well. Finally, results indicated no relationship between coronary‐prone personality characteristics, as measured by the Jenkins Activity Scale, and either cold‐pressor reactivity or heart rate control performance.
Tension in the Two Frontales: Electrode Placement and Artifact in the Recording of Forehead EMG
Authors: Davis Christopher M. , Brickett Paul , Stern Robert M. , Kimball William H.
Published: February 2007

The conventional placement of electrodes for recording forehead, or “frontalis” EMG attenuates forehead potentials by placing one electrode over each frontalis muscle. The placement also precludes exploration of differences in the activity of the two muscles, and is influenced by potentials arising in nearby muscles. An alternative unilateral bipolar lead placement is suggested and demonstrated.
The Effects of Peripheral Chemosympathectomy and Adrenalectomy Upon Blood Pressure Responses of the Rat to Footshock Under Varying Conditions: Evidence for Behavioral Effects on Patterning of Sympathetic Nervous System Responses
Authors: Williams Redford B. , Eichelman Burr S. , Ng L. K. Y.
Published: February 2007

A significant decrease in blood pressure is observed after shock‐induced fighting in intact rats. In rats treated with intravenous 6‐hydroxydopamine, a drug that selectively destroys peripheral sympathetic nerve endings when given by this route, this blood pressure response is reversed to a significant increase. In contrast, adrenalectomy converts a slight increase in blood pressure after intact rats are shocked alone in the cage into a significant decrease. These alterations in blood pressure response suggest that the sympathetic response to a stressful stimulus is not an all or none response, but, rather, consists of a patterned activation depending upon the behavioral response available. The current physiological findings are consistent with neuroendocrine research in which coping behavior is found associated with a predominant norepinephrine release by the sympathetic nervous system, and stress without available coping responses is associated with release also of epinephrine.
Sensitivity to Heart Rate: A Psychophysical Study
Authors: Ashton Roderick , White Kenneth D. , Hodgson Gregory
Published: February 2007

Accuracy in the perception of heart rate was assessed using a modified two‐alternative‐forced‐choice design adapted from sensory psychophysics. With a group of 12 undergraduate students it was shown that perceptual accuracy is determined by sensitivity rather than bias, and that level of sensitivity can be significantly increased by providing knowledge of results.
Consistency of Task‐Related EEG Asymmetries
Authors: Ehrlichman Howard , Wiener Marjorie S.
Published: February 2007

Temporoparietal EEG was recorded bilaterally while 11 subjects performed 4 verbal and 4 spatial tasks on two occasions. Significant differences in integrated EEG asymmetry (8‐12 Hz) were found between verbal and spatial tasks in both sessions. Subjects’ verbal‐minus‐spatial differences in the ratio of left to right integrated amplitude were reliable both between‐ (r =.88) and within‐(mean r =.75) subjects. A percent time measure did not show significant task effects and had poor reliability. For integrated amplitude, the means of the left/right ratios of the 8 tasks were also very consistent between sessions.
Age Differences in the Effect of Epidermal Hydration on Electrodermal Activity
Authors: Garwood Marcia K. , Engel Bernard T. , Quilter Reginald E.
Published: February 2007

The effect of epidermal hydration on skin potential and conductance measurements was investigated in young and old men. The condition of least hydration used a 0.5% KCl glycol electrolyte. Two conditions used a 0.5% aqueous KCl electrolyte differing in that the most hydrated site received a 15‐min pretreatment of soaking in distilled water whereas the intermediate hydration site received no pretreatment. These hydration conditions were used in recording three channels of skin potential and three channels of skin conductance during three tasks: 1) tone presentations after rest, 2) simple reaction time, and 3) choice reaction time. There were no significant age differences in the effect of electrolyte on skin conductance level and response. There were age differences in the effect of electrolyte on skin potential level (SPL) and response (SPR). Young adult SPR was monotonically related to hydration with the largest response magnitude occurring with the least hydration. Electrolyte did not significantly affect SPR magnitude of the aged. For the young subjects, SPL was monotonically related to hydration with the most negative SPL occurring with the least hydration. For the aged subjects, the least negative SPL occurred in the condition of least hydration. We postulate that this reversal in the hydration/SPL relationship in old age reflects a reversal in the relative magnitudes of sweat gland and epidermal potentials: in old subjects the epidermal potential is greater than the sweat gland potential.
Autonomic Activity During Anticipation of An Aversive Tone in Noninstitutionalized Sociopaths
Authors: Tharp Van K. , Maltzman Irving , Syndulko Karl , Ziskind Eugene
Published: February 2007

Fifteen noninstitutionalized, compulsive‐gambler sociopaths and 15 controls were run in a modification of Hare's (1965b) gradient of fear paradigm. Both heart rate and bilateral skin conductance were averaged during 8 3‐sec intervals prior to the presentation of a 95dB tone. The controls showed both earlier and larger electrodermal anticipation of the tone than the sociopaths. For both groups of subjects, electrodermal anticipation of the tone began sooner and was larger in amplitude in the right hand than in the left hand. There were no significant heart rate differences between the two groups of subjects.
Emotional Imagery: Conceptual Structure and Pattern of Somato‐Visceral Response
Authors: Lang Peter J. , Kozak Michael J. , Miller Gregory A. , Levin Daniel N. , McLean Alvin
Published: February 2007

This research examined deductions from a new theory of emotional imagery (Lang, 1979). Two experiments were performed, testing the hypothesis that the conceptual content processed during imagery determines the amplitude and pattern of coincident efferent activity. The image was manipulated by varying the content of the prompting instructions (either stimulus detail or active responding was emphasized in the image script) and by prior imagery training (in which subjects' post‐image verbal reports were shaped to emphasize either stimulus or response material). Three thematic contents were examined: neutral, action, and fear scenes. In Experiment I, a group which received response‐oriented imagery training and response scripts was compared to a stimulus‐oriented group. The results strongly supported the hypothesis: response subjects showed greater physiological activity during imagery, and their efferent pattern generally followed the script content. In Experiment II, one group again received response training and the other, stimulus training. However, half of each group was later tested on response‐structured scripts and the other half on stimulus scripts. Results again supported the hypothesis. As in Experiment I, response‐trained subjects tested on response scripts showed substantial physiological activity. None of the other groups, which received stimulus training and/or stimulus scripts, showed significant physiological responses during imagery. Response‐trained subjects generally rated their imagery as more vivid. Subjects administered response‐oriented scripts reported more emotional arousal than did subjects administered stimulus scripts.
EEG Asymmetry During Covert Mental Activity
Authors: Ehrlichman Howard , Wiener Marjorie S.
Published: February 2007

Twenty subjects selected for (overt) task‐induced EEG asymmetry performed 17 different covert mental tasks while EEG was recorded from right and left temporoparietal leads. After each task, subjects rated their experiences on four scales: (covert) verbalization, visual imagery, affect, and concentration. Zero‐order and semipartial correlations between integrated EEG measures and subjective ratings showed that verbalization and concentration were systematically related to EEG asymmetry. The results suggest that verbal processes may be a more important influence on temporoparietal EEG asymmetry than are visual imagery processes, at least during purely covert tasks. The results also demonstrate that EEG asymmetry reflects lateralized cognitive processes occurring in the absence of external stimuli or overt responses.
The Effects of Beta‐Adrenergic Stimulation and Beta‐Adrenergic Blockade on Emotional Reactions
Authors: Erdmann Gisela , van Lindern Beatrix
Published: February 2007

In order to examine the effects of beta‐adrenergic arousal on emotional reactions, 84 male students received either 40 mg of the beta‐adrenergic blocking agent oxprenolol, placebo, or 20 mg of the beta‐stimulating agent orciprenaline. They were placed in one of two situations designed to induce either angerlike or no emotional reactions (neutral control).

Dependent variables were heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, and self reports of bodily and emotional state. The drugs as well as the “anger situation” influenced bodily changes. Reports of anger were increased only under the placebo condition. Under oxprenolol the “anger situation” had no effects on reported emotions, whereas under orciprenaline the “anger situation” led to an increase in reports of anxiety. Characteristics of the “anger situation” and of the sympathetic response pattern induced by orciprenaline are discussed as possible explanations for the latter result.
A Psychophysiological Investigation of Short‐Term Memory
Authors: Yuille John C. , Hare Robert D.
Published: February 2007

Palmar skin conductance (SC), heart rate (HR), blink rate (BR), and peripheral pulse amplitude (PA) were monitored during a short‐term memory (STM) task. Twenty male subjects were given 9 trials in which they were required to recall noun triads after 15 sec of interference (counting backwards). For half of the subjects (Nonshift group) all nouns in the experiment were from the same conceptual class, while the remaining subjects (Shift group) experienced two shifts in the taxonomic categories of the nouns, one on Trial 5 and another on Trial 9. There was a general decrease in recall performance over trials, the exceptions being an improvement in performance exhibited by the Shift group on Trials 5 and 9. The improved performance of the Shift group on Trial 5 was associated with marked HR deceleration during presentation of the nouns. Withinsubject comparisons revealed that during the 15‐sec interference period recall performance was associated with physiological responsivity, with larger increases in SC, HR, BR, and peripheral vasoconstriction occurring on the “best” recall trials than on the “worst” trials. The results were interpreted in terms of the role of attention and effort in mediating STM.
Perception of Gastric Contractions and Self‐Control of Gastric Motility
Authors: Whitehead William E. , Drescher Vincent M.
Published: February 2007

The hypothesis was that self‐control of a visceral response is dependent on ability to perceive occurrence of the response. Subjects were asked to judge whether or not a signal light coincided with a stomach contraction on each of approximately 200 trials. In a different session heart beat perception was tested by asking subjects to judge whether or not signal light flashes coincided with heart beats. Subjects then were tested for ability to increase and to decrease gastric motility prior to biofeedback training, after which half received 4 hrs of visual feedback while the others practiced without feedback. Control of motility without feedback was subsequently retested. Initially, subjects were unable to control gastric motility, but with feedback they could increase motility on command. Ability to perceive gastric contractions was unrelated to control of gastric motility before, during, or following biofeedback training, indicating that self‐control of a visceral response is not dependent on perceptual sensitivity. Perception of stomach contractions correlated significantly (r= .51) with perception of heart beats, suggesting that there may be a generalized tendency to be aware of or to attend to visceral events.
Effects of a Warning Stimulus on Reflex Elicitation and Reflex Inhibition
Authors: Ison James R. , Ashkenazi Billie
Published: February 2007

Human subjects (n = 14) were given a discriminated reaction time task in which the imperative stimulus (IS), a puff of air to the face, was both a signal for a voluntary response and an elicitor of a reflex eyeblink. On one‐half of the trials IS was preceded with a lead time of 100 msec by a stimulus (DS) which both inhibited the reflex blink and served as a signal to refrain from the voluntary response. On one‐half of the trials within each DS‐IS and IS‐alone condition a warning stimulus (WS) led IS by 3000 msec. WS produced a decrease in HR and a faster RT, and WS‐IS trials gave greater reflex amplitudes than IS‐alone trials. Eyeblinks were inhibited by DS and reflex inhibition was more pronounced following the warning stimulus. These data suggest that warning stimuli initiate an attentional process oriented to significant stimuli, thus enhancing both the eliciting and inhibiting functions of these stimuli.
Electromyograph Biofeedback: Generalization and the Relative Effects of Feedback, Instructions, and Adaptation
Authors: Davis Penelope J.
Published: February 2007

The present research describes two experiments. The first experiment examined training conditions designed to enhance generalization during electromyograph (EMG) biofeedback. Twelve female and 12 male subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: frontalis EMG biofeedback; frontalis, forearm extensor and masseter biofeedback; frontalis, forearm extensor and semispinalis/splenius biofeedback; and a no‐feedback (instructions only) condition. EMG and heart rate were monitored during 3 training sessions. Although reliable decreases in EMG and heart rate were obtained, no differential effect of single‐ versus multiple‐muscle biofeedback was observed; nor, indeed, were differences between biofeedback and no‐feedback apparent. A second experiment was conducted to determine whether EMG and heart rate reductions reflected a general relaxation response or were simply due to the effects of adaptation. Twenty‐four female subjects were randomly assigned to either a frontalis EMG biofeedback, a no‐feedback or an adaptation control condition. Results indicated that decreases in frontalis EMG levels were due to the instructions to relax whereas heart rate decreases were attributable to adaptation. Equivalence between biofeedback and no‐feedback conditions was again apparent. It was concluded that this finding raises serious questions about the presumed critical role of the feedback signal in EMG biofeedback.
The Influence of Methylphenidate on Spontaneous Autonomic Activity and Behavior in Children Diagnosed as Hyperactive
Authors: Porges Stephen W. , Bohrer Robert E. , Keren Gideon , Cheung Michael N. , Franks George J. , Drasgow Fritz
Published: February 2007

Methylphenidate influenced the spontaneous autonomic activity of children diagnosed as hyperactive. There was dose response related reduction in disruptive classroom behavior monitored by the teacher ratings and a parallel decrease in a component of heart period variability, V, derived via spectral analysis of heart period activity. A low dose of methylphenidate, which has been reported to enhance cognitive performance, selectively increased a measure of respiratory‐cardiac coupling, Cw, derived via cross‐spectral analysis of respiration and heart period activity. It is hypothesized that Cw may be a quantitative manifestation of brainstem integration and V may be a quantitative estimate of effective vagal tone on the heart.
Pulse Transit Time Feedback and Bidirectional Blood Pressure Change
Authors: Cinciripini Paul M. , Epstein Leonard H.
Published: February 2007

The current study examined the effects of pulse transit time feedback on systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Three subjects were given feedback designed to increase or decrease transit times. Eleven‐twelve one‐hour training sessions were provided over a two‐week period. The results showed that during increase training, significant increases in systolic pressure and heart rate were observed, while pulse transit time showed a significant decrease. Diastolic blood pressure increases were moderate and only inconsistently observed. During decrease training, diastolic pressure and heart rate declined significantly below baseline. Pulse transit time increases were consistent but lower in magnitude than observed for the opposite training condition. Moderate systolic blood pressure decreases were inconsistently observed.
Heart Rate and Blink Rate Responses During Mental Arithmetic With and Without Continuous Verbalization of Results
Authors: Schuri Uwe , von Cramon Detlev
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of speech motor activity during the performance of mental arithmetic tasks on the cardiac‐eyelid motor relationship. In 29 subjects, heart rate and blink rate responses were analyzed during the performance of tasks with and without continuous verbalization of results. Heart rate and blink rate were differentially affected by the experimental conditions. Significant heart rate increases were observed under both test conditions with responses being largest during verbalization. Significant blink rate increases, in contrast, occurred only when verbalization of results was required. The interactions between verbalization vs no‐verbalization and both the order of tasks and task type were significant only for heart rate. Furthermore, neither between‐subject nor within‐subject correlations provided evidence for a close positive relationship between heart rate and blink rate under either the verbalization or the no‐verbalization condition. The present results support the suggestion that heart rate and concomitant somatic activity may be “uncoupled” under certain stimulus conditions.
Computer Measures of Sleep EEG Reliably Sort Visual Stage 2 Epochs by NREM Period of Origin
Authors: Fein G. , Floyd T.C. , Feinberg I.
Published: February 2007

Computer measures of sleep EEG were employed to test the hypothesis that waveforms in visually scored epochs of stage 2 differ systematically according to their NREM Period (NREMP) of origin. The subjects were two groups of young adult males. Three waveform measures for each of five frequency bands were applied to 20‐sec epochs of visually scored stage 2. The raw data were converted to standard scores, eliminating differences in means and variances, thus highlighting the trends across NREMPs. Discriminant analysis revealed systematic differences in waveform pattern according to whether the visually scored stage 2 epochs originated from NREMPs 1–4. The discriminant functions were validated by successful prediction of NREMP of origin in the second sample. This result provides further evidence that change rather than constancy characterizes the EEG of human sleep. These data also illustrate the limitations of visual sleep stage scoring, which lumps together epochs of EEG which are reliably different. We suggest that the methods employed here will prove fruitful in the investigation of sleep as a function of age and in different clinical conditions.
Effect of Feedback Sensitivity Upon Learned Heart Rate Acceleration
Authors: Williamson Donald A. , Monguillot John E. , Hutchinson Peter , Jarrell Mark P. , Blouin David
Published: February 2007

Twelve undergraduate volunteers received 12 sessions of heart rate biofeedback training involving one of two experimental conditions. One‐half of the subjects received 4 sessions of high sensitivity analogue heart rate biofeedback, followed by 4 sessions of low sensitivity feedback, and then, 4 final sessions of high sensitivity feedback. The other half of the subjects received the exact opposite order of feedback conditions. All subjects were instructed to accelerate heart rate during 8 trials in each session. The results were contrary to the hypothesis derived from a motor skills model of visceral learning, i.e., the low feedback sensitivity condition consistently produced larger magnitude heart rate acceleration in comparison to the high sensitivity condition. These findings were discussed in terms of methodological suggestions for future research and in terms of the motor skills model of visceral learning.
The Covariation of Blood Pressure and Pulse Transit Time in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Allen Robert a. , Schneider John A. , Davidson Dennis M. , Winchester Mark A. , Taylor C. Barr
Published: February 2007

To examine the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and pulse transit time (PTT) as measured by the time between the ECG R‐wave and an associated peripheral pulse, BP was recorded via a radial artery catheter in 3 hvpertensive subjects who underwent a variety of conditions to alter BP. Overall. 70% of the data was usable. Absolute levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP) but not diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were found to correlate appreciably with PTT. There were significant associations between PTT and both SBP and mean BP but not DBP for direction of BP change. With large SBP changes (> 4 mmHg) an increase in the strength of association occurred in 14 of the 21 conditions across subjects. Overall, PTT did not accurately predict actual BP. PTT and SBP covaried more appreciably in these hypertensives than has been reported for normotensives.
Research With Twins: The Concept of Emergenesis
Authors: Lykken David T.
Published: February 2007

Preliminary findings from an on‐going study of monozygotic twins reared apart (MZA) and data from a larger sample of twins reared together (MZT and DZT), indicate a surprisingly strong influence of genetic variation on aptitudes, psychophysiological characteristics, personality traits and even dimensions of attitude and interest. For some of these variables, MZT and MZA twins show high intra‐class correlations while DZT twins are no more similar than pairs of unrelated persons. It is suggested that such traits are “emergenic,” i.e., that they are determined by the interaction—rather than the sum—of genetic influences. Emergenic traits, although perhaps strongly genetic, will not tend to run in families and for this reason have been neglected by students of behavior genetics. For this and several other listed reasons, wider use of twins in psychological research is strongly recommended.
Autonomic Nervous System Function and Aging: Response Specificity
Authors: Garwood M. , Engel B. T. , Capriotti R.
Published: February 2007

Age differences in autonomic nervous system response patterns were investigated to determine if there was an age‐related increase in the tendency to respond to multiple stimuli with a consistent response hierarchy (individual consistency). Five stimuli were administered in a Latin Square design—mental arithmetic, cold pressor, isometric exercise, comic slide, and time estimation. A warning tone was presented before each stimulus. Physiological measures included heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, skin potential, breathing rate, and digital blood flow. To compare responses in different systems, responses were standardized according to the formula, Z = [50 + 10 (X − M)]/σ, where Z is the standardized score, X is the difference between stimulation and warning levels, M is the average response for that system, and σ is the square root of the mean square for error from the analysis of variance computed for each response system. A matrix was generated for each subject which included his Z scores from the six response systems for the five stimuli. Intraclass correlations were then computed. Individual consistency significantly increased with increasing age (r= .33, p<.005).
Arousing and De‐Arousing Effects of Cigarette Smoking Under Conditions of Stress and Mild Sensory Isolation
Authors: Golding J. , Mangan G. L.
Published: February 2007

The arousing and de‐arousing effects of smoking a 1.3 mg nicotine delivery cigarette, measured by changes in electrodermal, heart rate and EEG alpha responding, were examined under conditions of stress, induced by aversive white noise, and mild sensory isolation. Compared with sham smokers and a situation control group, smokers showed significant arousal elevations in all response systems under sensory isolation conditions, but mixed stimulant (heart rate response) and depressant (EEG, skin conductance response) effects under stress conditions. Possible reasons for these differential effects are suggested.