bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Task Difficulty, Heart Rate Reactivity, and Cardiovascular Responses to an Appetitive Reaction Time Task
Authors: Light Kathleen C. , Obrist Paul A.
Published: February 2007

Cardiovascular responses of 72 young men were assessed during an appetitive reaction time task where winning money incentives was either easy, difficult, or impossible. The impossible condition led to reduced responses (e.g., longer pre‐ejection period (PEP) and pulse transit time (PTT) and greater falls in systolic and diastolic pressures) as well as reports of trying less hard than the easy or the difficult condition. Regardless of task difficulty, subjects showing greater heart rate (HR) increases at task onset maintained higher HR levels than low HR reactors throughout the task. Overall, these high HR reactors also showed higher SBP and shorter PEP, PTT and left ventricular ejection time than low HR reactors, although these differences were less pronounced by the end of the task. Based on their responses to various standardized inventories, high and low HR reactors did not differ in behavioral traits such as Type A, suppressed hostility, or active coping as the preferred coping style. However, a subsample of subjects with extreme scores indicating suppressed hostility (N = 12) did show elevated HR and systolic pressure during both relaxation and the appetitive task.
Type A Behavior and Psychophysiological Responses in Adult Women
Authors: Lawler Kathleen A. , Rixse Andra , Allen Michael T.
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this study was to assess both coronary‐prone behavior and physiological responses to stress in adult women. Forty‐one women, aged 25–55, were tested; half were professional or executive‐level employed women, the remainder were housewives. Based on the Jenkins Activity Survey, the working women scored as strong Type A's; the housewife group contained both A's and B's. The heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductance responses were compared for these groups while they rested, performed math problems, and attempted to solve visual puzzles. Type A women showed higher heart rates and larger increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure; Type B women showed larger phasic heart rate decelerations. Employment was not a prerequisite for increased cardiovascular responsivity in Type A's; however, the unemployed Type A's indicated a desire to work. Given the similarities between employment status, Type A behavior and physiological responses in these working women as compared to men, their risk for coronary heart disease may also be similar.
Cardiac and Metabolic Responses to “Space Invaders”: An Instance of Metabolically‐Exaggerated Cardiac Adjustment?
Authors: Turner J. Rick , Carroll Douglas , Courtney Hazel
Published: February 2007

Heart rate, plus various ventilatory and metabolic indices, were monitored while 24 male subjects played a computer game of the “space invaders” type and during a control condition, in which analogous but ineffective actions were requested and the game proceeded automatically. Relative to baseline, subjects showed much larger increases in heart rate during “space invaders” than during the control condition. However, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory rate and volume also increased more. While the absolute magnitude of metabolic differences between conditions could be regarded as modest relative to heart rate differences, given the effective range of variations possible for each parameter, the existence of highly significant differences in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production militates against assertions of overall cardiac‐metabolic independence during “space invaders.” Nevertheless, analysis of individual differences in heart rate reactivity would seem to provide some evidence of metabolically‐unjustified heart rate changes during “space invaders.” High heart rate reactors during “space invaders” did not differ from low reactors in either oxygen consumption or carbon dioxide production. In addition, this relatively high heart rate reactivity was specific to the “space invaders” condition; high and low heart rate reactors displayed no differences in heart rate, or in any other physiological measure, during the control condition or during baseline.
Estimating Neonatal Oxygen Consumption from Heart Rate
Authors: Woodson Robert , Field Tiffany , Greenberg Reena
Published: February 2007

The relationship between heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V̇o2) has been investigated in a sample of 20 low‐risk, term neonates aged 14–48 hrs. Repeated, simultaneous measurements of HR and V̇o2 were performed on each neonate during each of three epochs ordered by increasing level of activity. A robust linear relationship was found between HR and V̇o2, with an average correlation of.90. Substantial variation was observed across individuals in the slope of the HR‐V̇o2 regression line. This variation was curvilinearly related to ponderal index (PI), with low PI neonates having the shallowest and steepest slopes. These findings suggest that HR may provide a flexible, non‐restrictive means of estimating neonatal V̇o2 but that the impact of prenatal growth history and postnatal growth performance on the estimation of V̇o2 from HR merits further investigation.
Effects of Water Temperature on Some Noninvasively Measured Components of the Human Dive Reflex: An Experimental Response‐Topography Analysis
Authors: Furedy John J. , Morrison James W. , Heslegrave Ronald J. , Arabian Jane M.
Published: February 2007

The human dive reflex (DR) essentially consists of HR deceleration (HRD) and peripheral vasoconstriction. The dominant view of the DR's mechanism is (adaptive) oxygen conservation such that the DR is often referred to as the oxygen‐conserving reflex. However, this and other issues have not been resolved because the literature has lacked precise measurement quantification and experimental control. The present study was designed to test the oxygen conservation hypothesis in a controlled laboratory setting and varied temperature between three groups of 16 subjects (10°, 20° and 40° C). The range was chosen to produce maximal variation in the rate of trigeminal cold‐fibre activity, and minimal pain‐fibre activity. The response‐topography results were consistent with an earlier study, and also yielded evidence that the DR varied inversely with temperature. This seems contrary to the oxygen‐conservation view, and indirectly implicates the role of the trigeminal nerves in the afferent mechanisms of the human DR. A physiological analysis of these results is offered.
Systolic Blood Pressure and a Simple Reaction Time Task
Authors: Paller Ken , Shapiro David
Published: February 2007

Cardiovascular changes during a reaction time task have been hypothetically related to the speed of response with implications for a close connection between the two, but little research has attempted to characterize the pressor response in this situation. In this study, continuous measures of heart rate, respiration, and systolic blood pressure (using a noninvasive tracking‐cuff system) were made in 12 subjects during a visually signalled reaction time task with a fixed foreperiod of 6 sec. Consistent and significant changes were shown over the course of the foreperiod–an increase in systolic pressure, a multiphasic pattern in heart rate, and a decrease in respiration amplitude. There was a nonsignificant increase in respiration rate. Correlations between response latency and various indices of physiological level and change during the foreperiod were low and nonsignificant. The changes in heart rate and systolic blood pressure during the foreperiod appeared independent of one another. Interrelationships between the physiological measures in their phasic and tonic changes, and the implications of the findings for cardiovascular‐behavioral interactions are discussed.
Stimulus Omission and Dishabituation of the Skin Conductance Response
Authors: Siddle David A.T. , Remington Bob , Kuiack Marg , Haines Erica
Published: February 2007

Three experiments investigated the effects on the skin conductance response of S2 omission following 15 S1‐S2 presentations. These effects were examined at omission and on the following S1‐S2 (re‐presentation) trial. In Experiment 1 (N = 36), S1 was a 5‐sec slide of a snake and S2 was 1 sec of either 65 or 105 dB white noise. The S1‐S2 interval was 4 sec. Both frequency and amplitude of omission responses were a positive function of S2 intensity, and responding to S2 re‐presentation was reliably higher than on the preomission trial. Experiment 2 (N = 36) used the same S1, an S2 of 105dB, and two additional groups which controlled for stimulus omission and spontaneous recovery. Omission of S2 again produced increased responding to its re‐presentation. In Experiment 3 (N = 72), S1 and S2 were moderately intense tones (80dB) and lights (1089 cd/cm2. The procedure for the experimental and two control groups was essentially the same as in Experiment 2, except that S1 modality was counterbalanced across subjects. The experimental group displayed significantly larger responses to S2 on the re‐presentation trial than the control groups regardless of its modality. The results are discussed in terms of theories of habituation with special emphasis on the concept of priming utilized by Wagner (1976) and Öhman (1979).
An Evaluation of Trait, State, and Reaction Aspects of Activation Processes
Authors: Fahrenberg Jochen , Walschburger Peter , Foerster Fritz , Myrtek Michael , Müller Wolfgang
Published: February 2007

Psychophysiology is traditionally concerned with certain “indicators” of activation (arousal, stress‐strain). The experimental investigation of general mechanisms of activation should, therefore, be supplemented by evaluating the assessment and predictability of individual differences in trait, state, or reaction aspects of activation. Male students (N = 125) were examined under five conditions (rest, mental arithmetic, interview, anticipation, and blood taking) on one psychological and seven physiological criterion measures of activation state and reaction. Five variables are assumed to be adequate predictors of substantial criterion variance: questionnaire scores for emotional lability, reported frequency of somatic complaints, physical capacity (O2 max during ergometer test), cardiorespiratory reactivity (during breathholding and cold pressor tests), and an explicit instructional set emphasizing or deemphasizing the importance of the experimental results. Statistical analysis by correlation and multiple regression procedures reveals that these dispositional variables fail to reliably predict individual differences in state and reaction parameters of activation processes.
Perceptual and Motor Space Representation: An Event‐Related Potential Study
Authors: Ragot Richard
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this experiment was to study the brain potentials generated during spatial tasks related to the “schema corporel” (a mental map of sensory‐motor relationships). Seven right‐handed subjects performed a choice reaction‐time task (Experiment 1), in which the spatial position of a visual stimulus (right or left of a fixation point) was varied independently of the spatial position of the response (right or left hand). The subjects also made self‐paced extensions and flexions of the right and left index fingers (Experiment 2). Experiments 1 and 2 were performed with the hands both crossed and uncrossed.

Spatio‐temporal maps showed that the P300 component elicited by the choice RT situation in Experiment 1 was largest ipsilateral to the hand involved in the response, whether or not the hands were crossed. The later part of the pre‐movement potentials during Experiment 2 and the motor potential were significantly larger contralateral to the moving hand under all conditions. Thus this pattern of lateralization can be attributed to the superimposition of a bilateral P300 wave on the asymmetrical motor potential. This suggests that distinct neuronal populations are involved in the generation of these two components.

P300 latency and RT reflected the spatial conflict: both were longer when the stimulus and response were on opposite sides than when they were on the same side, even when the hands were crossed. However, the average P300 latency was not increased when the hands were crossed, whereas the average RT was substantially increased. Since the additional time required for programming the movement in the crossed hand situation had no effect on P300 generation, we infer that the P300 does not index this motor programming. However, P300 does reflect the stimulus‐response spatial matching, since its latency was delayed by spatial conflict.
Factoring the Coherence Matrix: Patterning of the Frequency‐Specific Covariance in a Multichannel EEG
Authors: Tucker Don M. , Roth David L.
Published: February 2007

Current methods in research on the electrophysiology of human information processing include high speed quantification of EEG signals from multiple electrodes. The data from each electrode comprise a time series, from which the frequency information can be extracted through Fourier analysis. A problem in this research is appropriately handling the large amount of data in such a way that the topographic patterning of the electrical activity can be related to differential usage of brain regions during specific forms of cognition. We illustrate how factor analysis can be applied to describe the regional patterning of covariance in the spectral information of a multichannel EEG. Rotated factors delineate distinct patterns of electrophysiological activity across the head. Coherence factors show good replicability over repeated observations, and lateralized effects of cognitive activity are observed in the factor loadings. Further applications of this method are discussed, including some suggestions relevant to applying confirmatory, hypothesis testing factor analyses.
Effects of Stimulation Rate and Attribute Cuing on Event‐Related Potentials During Selective Auditory Attention
Authors: Hansen Jonathan C. , Hillyard Steven A.
Published: February 2007

Auditory event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from subjects who attended selectively to a sequence of tones of one frequency and ignored a comparable sequence of tones having a different frequency and spatial origin. In one condition the tones consisted of randomized sequences of brief tone pips while in a second condition the tones were brief increments in intensity (pedestals) of continuous tones at the two frequencies. The tone pips and pedestals were delivered at comparable interstimulus intervals (ISIs), which were short (250–550 ms) in some runs and long (1250–2750 ms) in others. For both classes of stimuli, the subject's task was to detect occasional “target” tones of a slightly shorter duration than the more frequent “standard” tones. Stimuli of the attended frequency elicited a broad negative ERP component (Nd) relative to the unattended tone ERPs. The Nd wave had a considerably shorter onset latency and was smaller in overall amplitude at the faster rate of stimulation. However, the Nd wave did not differ in latency or amplitude between the tone pip and pedestal conditions at corresponding ISIs, suggesting that a high rate of information delivery is a more important factor in accelerating Nd onset than is the continuous reinforcement of the sensory cues that define the two classes of input.
A Reexamination of Fear and Its Determinants on the Visual Cliff
Authors: Bertenthal Bennett I. , Campos Joseph J.
Published: February 2007

Richards and Rader (1983) argue in their recent Psychophysiology paper that crawling experience plays no significant role in the development of visual cliff performance, and also that “fear” is not related to the development of the avoidance of heights. It is our contention that these conclusions rest upon oversimplified assumptions about the nature of fear and its determinants on the visual cliff. A very different set of inferences emerge from an alternative conceptualization of the problem. In contrast to Richards and Rader, we argue that heart rate cannot be simply equated with fear but rather represents one of many loosely correlated indices. Evidence is presented to show that behavioral and cardiac responses converge to demonstrate fear of heights by locomotor infants. It is further argued that the role of crawling experience is not given an adequate test by Richards and Rader. The theoretically important test involves a comparison between locomotor and prelocomotor infants. Data from such comparisons are reviewed and found to support self‐produced locomotion as an important predictor of visual cliff performance.
The Effect of Modification of Baroreceptor Activity on Reaction Time
Authors: Toon Peter D. , Bergel Derek H. , Johnston Derek W.
Published: February 2007

The Laceys' hypothesis that baroreceptor stimulation has a direct effect on performance was tested by experimental manipulation of baroreceptor activity while subjects performed reaction time tests. Baroreceptor activity was altered by varying external cervical pressure and hence carotid sinus transmural pressure. The physiological effects of the baroreflex on heart rate and pulse transit time (a measure which generally correlates well with blood pressure) were seen both when baroreceptor stimulation was increased and when it was decreased. However, no difference in reaction time was found between the two conditions, therefore failing to support the Laceys' hypothesis.
Effects of Methylphenidate on Young Adults' Performance and Event‐Related Potentials in a Vigilance and a Paired‐Associates Learning Test
Authors: Strauss Jaine , Lewis Jeffrey L. , Klorman Rafael , Peloquin Lori‐Jeanne , Perlmutter Richard A. , Salzman Leonard F.
Published: February 2007

Twenty‐two normal young men received a counterbalanced and double blind administration of 20 mg methylphenidate and placebo. Two tasks were administered in counterbalanced order: an uninterrupted 45‐min vigilance test and a paired‐associates learning test. As previously reported, under placebo, accuracy and speed decreased monotonically over the course of the vigil. This degradation of performance was significantly reduced by the stimulant drug. Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were derived for correctly detected targets and nontargets. The most salient pharmacologic effects involved a late positive wave (P464) identified as P3b. Methylphenidate reversed or reduced the decrease in amplitude and increase in latency of P464 present over phases of the placebo session. The results suggest that the stimulant‐induced improvement in performance may be mediated by enhancement of evaluation processes.

In the paired‐associates test there were no pharmacologic effects. Instead there was an unexpected, pronounced improvement in learning in the second session, irrespective of the substance administered. However, the ERP evoked by the “stimulus” cue of each pair was systematically related to the achievement of learning criteria. A late positive was identified as P3b (P555) increased significantly in amplitude following the attainment of learning. There were no amplitude changes among ERPs evoked in the early post‐criterion, late post‐criterion, or overlearning “phases.” Nor were there amplitude changes between early and late pre‐criterion categories. Thus, ERP amplitude displayed a binary association with the achievement of learning.
Spectral Analysis of the Visual Evoked Potential (VEP): Effects of Stimulus Luminance
Authors: Jutai J.W. , Gruzelier J.H. , Connolly J.F.
Published: February 2007

Power spectral analysis was performed on the visual evoked potentials (VEPs) of subjects who had participated in an augmenting‐reducing study. Six flash luminances were used (0.31, 0.65, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 fL). EEG recordings were taken from Cz O1, O2, T3, and T4 scalp locations. Power in six frequency ranges was examined (0–2, 2–6, 6–10, 10–14, 14–18, and 18–22 Hz). Power in the lowest three frequency ranges increased linearly with stimulus luminance at all electrode sites. Power in the highest three ranges increased linearly with luminance at occipital sites only. Power was greater in the left hemisphere than in the right for 18–22 Hz activity recorded at occipital locations. The reverse asymmetry occurred for 6–14 Hz activity recorded at temporal locations. The results suggest that individual differences in stimulus control in EEG recordings taken from scalp locations overlying nonspecific cortex are due primarily to the contributions of higher frequency components of the VEP spectrum. A thalamo‐cortical model of stimulus control is described.
Acquisition of Skeletal Conditioned Responses in Pavlovian Conditioning
Authors: Prokasy William F.
Published: February 2007

There are four stages in the acquisition of skeletal responses when employing Pavlovian methodology: contingency detection, response selection, response acquisition, and response shaping. A two‐phase output model describes in detail the underlying response likelihood changes across the first three of the stages. Phase 1 of the model applies to the first two stages while Phase 2 applies to stage three. It was shown that Phases 1 and 2 are independent by virtue of the fact that shifts in the parameters of one are not necessarily correlated with changes in the parameters of the other and the fact that independent variable manipulations which affect one Phase do not necessarily influence the other. These results imply that there is no single, continuous underlying associative strength function across trials.
Discrimination of Sensorimotor EEG (12–15 Hz) Activity: A Comparison of Response, Production, and No‐Feedback Training Conditions
Authors: Cinciripini Paul M.
Published: February 2007

The current study was concerned with the discrimination of 12–15 Hz (15μV) surface cortical EEG, recorded over the dominant hemisphere. This EEG bandwidth is sometimes called the SMR (sensorimotor rhythm), and has been associated with seizure reduction. Thirty‐six normal subjects were divided into three groups and exposed to three methods of discrimination training: response feedback, production feedback, and no‐feedback control. In the initial assessment session, all subjects were asked to detect the presence of SMR by pressing a response button in the absence of feedback. Over the next 4 training sessions, the control group continued without feedback, while the response feedback group received feedback (tone) for correct discriminations, and the production group received feedback for producing the SMR signal. Discrimination performance was assessed during a 15‐min no‐feedback test period, following each feedback segment. The final session took place two weeks after training had been completed and was the same as session 1. The results showed that both experimental groups improved discrimination accuracy over baseline, and relative to the control group. Performance of the groups at baseline was not significantly different, ranging between 16% and 29% correct. Peak performance during training showed that both experimental groups improved over baseline and relative to the control group, averaging 17%, 43% and 78% correct for the control, response and production feedback groups, respectively. In the final assessment, all groups deteriorated in performance, but the production group remained significantly above baseline levels. No changes in average SMR time or frontal EMG were noted. However, time spent in the occipital alpha bandwidth 8–13 Hz (25μV) did increase in the best discriminators. This may indicate some discrimination of subjective sensations associated with SMR discrimination training.
Alcohol and the Psychophysiological Detection of Deception
Authors: Bradley M.T. , Ainsworth D.
Published: February 2007

Psychophysiological detection of deception examinations were conducted on 40 subjects. Of these, 32 were “guilty” of a mock crime and 8 were innocent. Sixteen guilty subjects committed the crime while intoxicated and the remaining 16 committed the crime sober. These two groups of guilty subjects were subdivided such that half of each group was examined with the polygraph while intoxicated and the other half was examined while sober. Two questioning techniques were used in the examination, a Control Question Test and the Guilty Knowledge Test. Measures of skin resistance, heart rate and respiration were recorded. The principal findings were that alcohol intoxication during the crime reduced detectability with detection scores derived from the measurement of skin resistance responses on the Control Question Test and on the Guilty Knowledge Test. The analyses of guilt/innocent classifications, based on the detection scores, showed these classifications to be affected by alcohol intoxication.
The Visual ERP Predicts Clinical Response to Methylphenidate in Hyperactive Children
Authors: Halliday Roy , Callaway Enoch , Rosenthal Joseph H.
Published: February 2007

Visual ERP measures have been used to discriminate retrospectively between those hyperactive children who responded well to treatment with methylphenidate (MP) and those who were nonresponders. This study was designed to validate these ERP measures in a prospective study. Visual ERP data were obtained in 20 hyperactive children following 0.33 mg/kg methylphenidate (Ritalin) or a matching placebo. Parent, teacher and physician ratings were then obtained on these same doses in a subsequent double‐blind clinical trial. At the conclusion of the trials, children were classified as MP responders or nonresponders based on the pediatrician's blind ratings. Using criteria established in a prior study, a conjoint measure of amplitude and variability statistically discriminated nonresponders from responders. The two clinical groups did not differ on placebo. It was suggested that these predictors are sensitive to nonspecific pharmacological factors.
Heart Rhythm Control During Sleep in Ischemic Heart Disease
Authors: ŽEmaitytė Danguolė , Varoneckas Giedrius , Sokolov Eugene
Published: February 2007

This paper deals with a computer‐aided study of heart rate (HR) control during different sleep stages in 20 healthy volunteers and 75 ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients. In healthy subjects, the parasympathetic HR control was increased and the sympathetic control decreased during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. REM sleep was characterized by a marked decrease in parasympathetic and a slight elevation in sympathetic contribution. Typical, “reduced” and “paradoxical” HP sleep patterns (HRSPs) were observed in IHD patients. The typical HRSP was similar to that observed in healthy subjects; the reduced HRSP was characterized by HR constancy, and the paradoxical HRSP by an HR increase in stages 3 and 4, and a decrease in REM sleep. The reduced HRSP was associated with the more frequent occurrence of cardiac abnormalities during REM sleep. HR oscillations during stage 2 depended on periodic apnoea episodes and were associated with cardiac abnormalities such as more frequent heart failure and cerebral blood flow disturbances, and overweight.
Comparison of Eye Motion in Wakefulness and REM Sleep
Authors: Aserinsky Eugene , Joan A. Lynch , Mack Michael E. , Tzankoff Stephen P. , Hurn Estil
Published: February 2007

Rapid eye movements (REMs) in sleep have been postulated to represent ocular activity directly related to the visual imagery of dreaming. In accord with this notion, there have been reports that the physiological characteristics of REMs are identical to those of waking saccades which occur in the absence of visual targets. Contradictory evidence is herein presented establishing that REMs are significantly slower than waking saccades of comparable amplitude, and that this slowdown is greater than can be attributed to either eye closure or to eye movements in total darkness. Furthermore, it is shown that in REM sleep, both small (5.5°) and large (11°) saccade‐like movements generate essentially the same maximal force and have the same velocity for the major portion of their trajectories. In sleep, therefore, there is probably a central inhibition of the saccade‐like REMs, especially of the large amplitude movements, thus leading to an uncoupling of the usual amplitude‐velocity relationship observed in the waking state.
Engaging Visual Stimuli and Reflex Blink Modification
Authors: Simons Robert F. , Zelson Michael F.
Published: February 2007

Twenty‐one college undergraduate subjects were provided discrete trials of visual foreground stimuli with varying interest value while an intense acoustic probe delivered during viewing was used to elicit the startle reflex. The foreground stimuli were 35 mm color slides containing photographs of nude male and female models (high interest) or a common household object (low interest). The results of this experiment, using adult subjects, replicate closely the findings of Anthony and Graham (1983) who studied four‐month old human infants in a similar paradigm. That is, when probe stimuli occurred on an auditory channel, reflex magnitude and onset latency were significantly inhibited while subjects were concurrently processing an attention‐engaging visual stimulus. The successful use of EOG techniques to record the eyeblink component of the startle reflex and capture its sensitivity to the attentional manipulation suggests that the probe startle paradigm may be readily put to use in a wide variety of psychophysiological laboratories.
A Further Analysis of Age and Sleep Deprivation Effects
Authors: Webb Wilse B.
Published: February 2007

Subjective, persistence/attention, precision, and cognitively demanding measures were obtained across two nights' sleep deprivation to compare the performance of 50–59 and 18–22 yr old men. The younger subjects had the larger subjective decrements while the older subjects had the larger decrements on the persistence tasks. The results were mixed on the precision and cognitively demanding tasks.
Changes in Heart Period, Heart‐Period Variability, and a Spectral Analysis Estimate of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Response to Pharmacological Manipulations of the Baroreceptor Reflex in Cats
Authors: McCabe Philip M. , Yongue Brandon G. , Ackles Patrick K. , Porges Stephen W.
Published: February 2007

The purpose of the present study was to assess changes in heart period, heart‐period variance (HPV), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during manipulations of the baroreceptor reflex in anesthetized cats. Hypertension, induced via phenylephrine infusion, reflexly increases parasym‐pathetic activity and decreases sympathetic activity. Hypotension, produced by infusion of nitroprusside, leads to increased sympathetic activity and an inhibition of vagal influences on the heart. Specific autonomic contributions were assessed following administration of practolol, a β‐adrenergic blocker, or atropine methyl nitrate.

Spectral analysis was used to quantify the component of HPV associated with respiration, i.e., RSA, which is proposed to be sensitive to vagal influences on the heart. The respiratory component of HPV is described by a statistic, V̂, which is the sum of the spectral densities of the heart period spectrum across the band of frequencies associated with normal respiration.

Hypertension produced an increase in V̂ which was blocked by atropine infusion, but unaltered by beta‐adrenergic blockade. Hypotension decreased V̂ to near‐zero values which persisted after atropine and practolol infusion. These data suggest that V̂ is determined primarily by vagal factors. Correlations between V̂ and a previously used criterion measure of vagal tone further support this hypothesis. In contrast, heart period was sensitive to vagal and sympathetic factors. Heart period increases during hypertension were abolished with atropine and heart period decreases due to hypotension were eliminated by beta‐adrenergic blockade. These responses are consistent with the notion that heart period is under the control of both sympathetic and vagal factors. Since in an anesthetized preparation RSA is the major source of heart‐period variability, HPV responded similarly to V̂.

The results suggest that the spectral estimate of RSA, V̂, is particularly sensitive to blood pressure induced reflexive changes in vagal efferent influences on the heart. It also appears that V̂ is less influenced by sympathetic factors than heart period, a commonly used estimate of vagal activity.
Pupillary Dilations in Movement Preparation and Execution
Authors: Richer Francois , Beatty Jackson
Published: February 2007

Movement‐related pupillary responses (MRPRs) were examined during self‐triggered finger flexions to determine the time course and extent of response‐related effects on this measure of general processing demands. MRPRs to self‐triggered finger movements began about 1.5 s before the response and peaked 0.5 s post‐response for simple movements. This dilation increased in amplitude and latency with the complexity of the movement as determined by the number of flexions executed. Peak pupillary amplitude was also sensitive to the force of the movement. The data establish the very large contribution of motoric processing demands to the pupillary response both before and after the onset of the movement.
Sleep Mentation in the Elderly
Authors: Fein George , Feinberg Irwin , Insel Thomas R. , Antrobus John S. , Price Leonard J. , Floyd Thomas C. , Nelson Mary A.
Published: February 2007

Mentation reports were elicited from NREM and REM sleep in 18 normal elderly females. Transcribed reports were analyzed for word count, visual and auditory imagery, intention, and affect. Comparison with similarly analyzed data from 23 young adult women revealed no differences between young and elderly in narrative length (either REM or NREM). Both groups showed longer narratives from REM awakenings. With narrative length controlled, NREM‐REM differences in visual or auditory imagery, intention, or affect were non‐existent in the young and very small in the elderly, findings that contradict earlier results but are consistent with more recent controlled studies in young adults. The elderly subjects showed strikingly less visual imagery than young subjects in both NREM and REM reports. Further studies are required to determine whether the decreased incidence of visual imagery in the elderly results from a response bias or from differences in the mechanisms of visual imagery production in sleep, waking, or both.
Detectability in the Card Test as a Function of the Subject's Verbal Response
Authors: Horneman Christopher J. , O'Gorman J.G.
Published: February 2007

The study compared, in a within‐subjects design, the effect on electrodermal responsiveness of the subject affirming, denying, or making no response to questions about the card selected in a laboratory test of deception. Contrary to previous findings, denying that a card had been selected led to greater responsiveness and an increased likelihood of correct detection.
Effects of Lateralized Presentations of Faces on Self‐Reports of Emotion and EEG Asymmetry in Depressed and Non‐Depressed Subjects
Authors: Davidson Richard J. , Schaffer Carrie Ellen , Saron Clifford
Published: February 2007

Recent data suggest that individuals with affective disorders show anomolies on various measures of cerebral lateralization and hemispheric activation. In this study, EEG was recorded from left and right frontal and parietal scalp regions during left and right visual field and foveal presentations of happy, sad and neutral faces in 10 depressed and 10 non‐depressed subjects. The sample was selected from a student population on the basis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. Faces were presented for 8 seconds and EOG was used to exclude trials associated with eye movements. Alpha activity from each of the leads during the middle 6 seconds of each trial was extracted for analysis. In addition, subjects were asked to rate each face on the degree to which it depicted various emotions, as well as the degree to which they experienced various emotions in response to each presentation. The results indicated that non‐depressed subjects report more happiness in response to RVF compared with LVF presentations of the identical faces while depressed subjects show the opposite pattern. Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry paralleled the subjective ratings of happiness for both groups and accounted for more than 50% of the variance in self‐reports of this emotion. Parietal asymmetry showed little relationship to subjective reports of emotion but did show systematic differences as a function of stimulus location, primarily due to changes in right parietal alpha. Finally, depressed subjects showed reciprocal relationships between frontal and parietal asymmetry while non‐depressed subjects showed a positive relationship between asymmetry in these regions. The implications of these data for cognitive dysfunction in depression are discussed.
Detection of the Heartbeat and Events in the Cardiac Cycle
Authors: Yates Aubrey J. , Jones Kathleen E. , Marie Gregory V. , Hogben John H.
Published: February 2007

In previous studies the heartbeat has been defined in terms of individual components of the cardiac cycle (e.g., the R‐wave or the ventricular contraction) as specified by the experimenter, and subjects have been classified as nondetectors if they failed the task set by the experimenter. In this experiment 20 subjects were asked to judge whether a light flash occurring at one of six points within a single heart cycle was coincident with a heartbeat. It was found that the heartbeat was judged as being coincident with light flashes occurring between 200 and 400 ms after the R‐wave more frequently than with flashes coincident with the R‐wave or occurring 500 ms after it. There were marked individual differences in the patterns of responding indicating that a single criterion for heartbeat detection is not a satisfactory means of assessing detection ability.
A Controlled Investigation into the Measurement Properties of Two Circumferential Penile Strain Gauges
Authors: Richards Jeffrey C. , Bridger Brian A. , Wood Michael M. , Kalucy Ross S. , Marshall Villis R.
Published: February 2007

A Barlow‐type electromechanical strain gauge and an indium/gallium‐in‐rubber strain gauge were compared for linearity of output, replicability, stability, and sensitivity to temperature changes. Distension of the strain gauges was achieved by placing them on standard size glass dilators, while temperature changes were produced and monitored in a controlled environment. Both gauges demonstrated comparable and very linear outputs and both had high test‐retest reliability. Variations in temperature affected the outputs for both gauges, although for neither did they affect the degree of linearity between pen deflection and circumference. The electromechanical strain gauge was marginally less sensitive to temperature changes than the indium/gallium gauge, although for neither was the degree of error introduced of great practical significance. Although the output from the electromechanical strain gauge was slightly less stable over time than that from the indium/gallium gauge, when all variables were considered, the former gauge was marginally preferred over the latter.
The Effects of Semantic Priming and Word Repetition on Event‐Related Potentials
Authors: Rugg Michael D.
Published: February 2007

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during the performance of a lexical decision task, in which a proportion of the words were either semantic associates or repetitions of the preceding word. Reaction times were faster to both the second member of associated pairs (targets) and repeated words, with the latter facilitatory effect being more than twice that of the former.

ERPs to the semantic primes were more negative‐going than those to targets. This difference peaked around 400–450 ms after stimulus onset. Comparison of unrepeated and repeated words revealed a larger and temporally more extended difference, with a similar scalp topography.

The prime‐target differences are interpreted as a further example of the sensitivity of the ‘N400’ component of the ERP to semantic relationships between words. The differences between the repetition and priming effects in ERPs are considered equivocal with respect to the view that the associated behavioural effects are caused by different cognitive mechanisms.
Nuisance Sources of Variance in Principal Components analysis of Event‐Related Potentials
Authors: Möcks Joachim , Verleger Rolf
Published: February 2007

This paper describes a method of disentangling different sources of variance contributing to component extraction in Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of event‐related potentials. Those sources not of interest for a given experiment may be easily discarded prior to component extraction. A real data example is presented for comparison of the different approaches, showing advantages for the new methods. They also exhibited more success in detecting experimental effects as shown in subsequent analysis of variance procedures on component scores. In the latter framework, various issues of validity of subsequent testing procedures for all principal component approaches are addressed theoretically as well as empirically by a split‐sample cross‐validation study. It is claimed that data‐adaptive computation of component scores does not constitute a crucial issue. Finally, a bootstrap simulation provides evidence that the methods proposed are superior to the usual PCA approach in capability and relibility in the assessment of experimental effects.
Electrophysiological Study of Intrahemispheric S‐R Compatibility Effects Elicited by Visual Directional Cues
Authors: Ragot Richard , Lesevre Nicole
Published: February 2007

The effects of stimulus‐response (S‐R) spatial compatibility on reaction time (RT) and P300 component latency were studied, in order to determine whether spatial conflict effects can occur within a single cerebral hemisphere, and whether there are differences between hemispheres regarding such effects. Two choice RT experimental conditions were employed: I) an extrafoveal condition, in which stimuli (small arrows pointing either to the right or to the left) appeared laterally in one visual hemifield, the responses being given with the hand situated on the same side; likewise with the opposite hemifield and hand (cond. I); and II) a foveal condition, in which the same type of stimuli appeared centrally on the fovea, the response being given successively with both hands (cond. II). In either case, the color of the stimuli (cue information) determined which finger (forefinger or ring finger) of the same hand would deliver the response. Thus, the cue was either compatible, or not, with the stimulus orientation (arrows). In each condition, the four possible stimulus combinations, according to direction and color of the arrows, were presented at random.

Results showed that: 1) in the extrafoveal condition, S‐R compatibility effects were observed in each single hemisphere, and were reflected both by RT and by P300 latency; 2) both hemispheres reacted in the same way to the spatial conflict; and 3) foveal vision increased the overall effect of the conflict on both P300 latency and RT.
Electroretinograms Reveal No Evidence for Centrifugal Modulation of Retinal Inputs During Selective Attention in Man
Authors: Mangun G.R. , Hansen J.C. , Hillyard S.A.
Published: February 2007

Eason, Oakley, and Flowers (1983, Physiological Psychology, 11, 18–28) have recently described changes in the B‐wave and after‐potential of the human electroretinogram (ERG) during spatial selective attention. These results suggested that centrifugal modulation of retinal input may play a role in visual attention. We investigated this effect in two experiments in which subjects attended to sequences of flashes in one visual half‐field while ignoring similar flashes in the opposite half‐field. Visual event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from electrodes placed at periorbital and scalp sites, while the ERG was simultaneously recorded using a gold‐foil electrode contacting the cornealscleral surface of the right eye. Selective visual attention was evident in an enhancement of the scalp‐recorded N150 component of the visual ERP to flashes in the attended half‐field. However, no effect of attention was observed on the B‐wave or after‐potential of the ERG. Long‐latency positive shifts related to attention were demonstrated in the corneal‐scleral recording and are discussed with respect to volume‐conducted brain activity.
Facial Electromyography: A Measure of Affective Processes During Sexual Arousal
Authors: Sullivan Michael J.L. , Brender William
Published: February 2007

Forty female volunteers participated in a study to investigate whether facial EMGs could be used as measures of affect during sexual arousal. Audiotaped narratives were used to induce the following affect‐sexual states: 1) pleasant affect + sexual arousal, 2) unpleasant affect + sexual arousal, 3) pleasant affect + no sexual arousal, and 4) unpleasant affect + no sexual arousal. EMG activity was recorded bilaterally from the corrugator and zygomatic muscle regions. Corrugator muscle activity was significantly greater in response to the unpleasant stimulus conditions. This relationship held for both the non‐sexual and sexual conditions, suggesting that corrugator muscle activity may provide a reliable index of negative affect during sexual arousal. Zygomatic activity was significantly greater during the sexual as compared to the non‐sexual stimuli, but did not increase as a function of pleasant affect. Greater left than right corrugator muscle activity was observed in response to the sexual stimuli. Left muscle superiority was also noted for zygomatic muscle activity, in response to the sexual unpleasant stimulus. Issues related to the interpretation of lateralized muscle activity are discussed.
Fear Imagery and Text Processing
Authors: Vrana Scott R. , Cuthbert Bruce N. , Lang Peter J.
Published: February 2007

This study examined the effect of three variables held to influence heart rate response during imagery‐related text processing: mode of processing, content of text, and inclusion of response information in the text. Sixty‐four undergraduates imagined and silently repeated fearful and neutral sentences in a paradigm designed to allow for self‐initiation of sentence processing. Fear sentences either included or did not include information about bodily responses in the image. Heart rate accelerated more during fear imagery than during neutral imagery or silent repetition of either type of sentence. Inclusion of response information in fear material did not increase heart rate response to imagery, but did affect self‐report in the predicted direction. Heart rate waveform prior to the sentence tasks indicated pre‐processing of fearful material. The results were discussed in relation to a bio‐informational theory of imagery, which asserts that emotional imagery accesses the same centrally‐mediated response program as is evoked in the target reality context, and thus occasions measurable activity in the appropriate effectors.