bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Acquisition of Autonomic Control Through Biofeedback: Some Tests of Discrimination Theory
Authors: Lacroix J. Michael , Gowen Anne H.
Published: February 2007

Thirty‐two subjects participated in 6 biofeedback training sessions to produce increases and decreases in skin conductance (SC) or heart rate (HR). Performance on control trials was examined with respect to SC and HR, as well as respiratory and somatomotor variables. The subjects also participated in 3 test sessions (on days 2, 5, and 9), which evaluated their ability to discriminate the target autonomic response, and sought to identify the bases for SC and HR discriminations. This design permitted examination of three major predictions from Brener's theory about the process which underlies the acquisition of autonomic control through biofeedback. The first prediction, that positive correlations should be obtained between control and discrimination performance throughout training, was not supported by the data. The other predictions, that control and discrimination performance both should become more specific to the target response as a function of training, were likewise not supported. On the whole, neither for SC nor for HR control was the pattern of results favorable to Brener's views.
Comparison of Frontal EMG Biofeedback and Several Types of Relaxation Instructions in Reducing Multiple Indices of Arousal
Authors: Burish Thomas G. , Hendrix E. Mitchell , Frost Randy O.
Published: February 2007

During the training phase, 96 subjects were given one of four types of relaxation instructions (single instructions, repeated instructions, relaxation training, no instructions) and in addition either did or did not receive frontal EMG biofeedback training. Results indicated that each of the instructions and biofeedback procedures were equally effective in reducing frontal EMG, but that none of these procedures had any effect on subjective anxiety or autonomic indices of arousal (pulse rate, skin temperature, and finger pulse volume). During the generalization/stress phase, subjects were threatened with electric shock and were told to apply the relaxation techniques they learned during the training phase even though no additional instructions and/ or biofeedback training would be provided. To assess the effectiveness of the shock manipulation, a no‐threat control group was included. Results indicated that: a) the shock manipulation was effective in increasing arousal, b) previous instructions and/or biofeedback were equally effective in reducing frontal EMG levels, but that c) only relaxation training was consistently effective in reducing subjective and autonomic indices of arousal. These findings: a) suggest that in stressful situations, relaxation training may be more effective than either EMG biofeedback or simple relaxation instructions in producing a general relaxation effect as opposed to a specific EMG effect; and b) indicate the importance of assessing the effectiveness of relaxation procedures during stressful situations during which subjects’ levels of arousal are elevated above resting baseline levels.
Sensation Seeking and Psychophysiological Responses to Auditory Stimulation
Authors: Ridgeway Doreen , Hare Robert D.
Published: February 2007

This study tested the hypothesis that the orienting response (OR) is one of the biological correlates of sensation seeking. Skin conductance (SC), heart rate (HR), and peripheral vasomotor (VM) activity were recorded while ten 60dB, 1000 Hz, slow‐rise‐time tones were presented to male subjects with high (N = 16) and low (N = 15) total scores on Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS).

There were no significant differences between groups in the SC or VM responses to the first (novel) tone or in the rate at which these responses habituated. The HR response to the first tone was deceleration (an OR) for the high SS group (as well as for a high Disinhibition subgroup), while the response of the low SS group (and a low Disinhibition subgroup) included what appeared to be startle components—a short‐latency accelerative response that habituated rapidly on subsequent trials. It is suggested that individuals with low sensation seeking tendencies may be unusually prone to startle, and that subsequent research on the biological correlates of sensation seeking should take into account individual differences in the tendency to give orienting, defensive, and startle responses.
AERs and Detection in Tasks Yielding U‐Shaped Backward Masking Functions
Authors: Schwartz Marvin , Pritchard Walter S.
Published: February 2007

In backward masking, psychophysical performance varies as a function of the interval between target and mask (stimulus onset asynchrony—SOA). Early studies of averaged evoked responses (AERs) and backward masking suggested a close, monotonic relationship, i.e., increasing psychophysical performance accompanied by increasingly larger AERs as a function of SOA. We asked what would happen to AERs if the perceptual task were designed to produce a U‐shaped performance function, i.e., one in which performance initially decreased and then increased as a function of SOA? In two experiments U‐shaped psychophysical performance was accompanied by monotonic AER functions. In a third experiment, comparing backward and forward masking at comparable SOAs, disparate psychophysical performances were obtained from the same subjects accompanied by similar AERs. Target AERs do not necessarily correlate with a subject's behavioral performance.
Relationships Between Sex‐Related Psychological Characteristics During Adolescence and Catecholamine Excretion During Achievement Stress
Authors: Wright Maijaliisa Rauste‐von , Wright Johan von , Frankenhaeuser Marianne
Published: February 2007

The study is concerned with stress and coping patterns in 18‐yr‐old male and female students who participated in a longitudinal developmental study. Measures of the urinary excretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline obtained during a 6‐hr matriculation examination (stress condition) and 2–3 hrs of routine school work (control condition) were related to relatively enduring psychological characteristics of the subjects assessed at the age of 18 and, for some of the variables, also at age 15. In the control condition, correlations between adrenaline excretion and psychological variables were low and sex differences slight. In the stress condition, the pattern of correlations between catecholamine excretion and psychological variables was much higher and markedly different for the two sexes. In males, adrenaline excretion was positively related to achievement‐orientation and negatively related to anxiety. In females, adrenaline excretion was negatively related to self‐esteem and sense of fulfilling social expectations. An interpretation emphasizing sex differences in strategies for coping with achievement demands is discussed.
Information Processing and Cardiovascular Control
Authors: Mulder G. , Mulder L. J. M.
Published: February 2007

It has previously been reported that an increase in mental task load is accompanied by a decrease in heart rate variability (HRV). In most of the experiments relating mental task load to HRV, the number of signals in paced choice reaction time tasks served as the main loading factor. However, this determinant of task load confounds muscular and mental load.

In the present article we scored HRV by computing the power spectrum of the cardiac interval signal. The spectrum contains power related to respiratory activity (usually between 0.20 and 0.40 Hz) and power related to non‐linear processes involved in the control of body temperature and blood pressure (between 0.02 and 0.20 Hz). During performance on cognitive tasks the total power is attenuated, but the spectral power between 0.02 and 0.20 Hz (comprising about 80% of the total spectral energy, i.e. HRV) is particularly affected. Within this latter region we especially investigated the power between 0.06 and 0.14 Hz. The power in this region is believed to originate from processes involved in the dynamic control of mean arterial pressure. In Experiment 1 it was shown that this blood pressure‐related spectral component was rather insensitive to considerable changes in respiratory rate and depth. In Experiments 2 and 3 we kept signal rate constant but varied the cognitive demands of a sentence comprehension task and a working memory task. These experiments indicated that the power of the 0.10 Hz vasomotor oscillations was significantly affected by the processing demands of these tasks. The evidence suggested a decreased baroreflex sensitivity (i.e. a decrease in gain) during mental loading. A method was proposed to non‐invasively determine baroreflex sensitivity.
Simultaneous EMGs From Six Sites During Muscular Relaxation: A Comparison Between Forehead and Forearm Feedback
Authors: Sagberg Fridulv , Kveim Kolbjörn berg
Published: February 2007

In light of the continuing popularity of frontalis EMG feedback for general relaxation purposes, a pertinent question is whether this procedure is superior to feedback from other muscles. This question was addressed by comparing a frontalis feedback group (n = 12) with a forearm feedback group (n = 10) in a one‐session experiment. The experimental session included a 10‐min rest period preceded by verbal relaxation instructions and demonstration of the respective feedback contingencies, and followed by a 30‐min feedback period. EMG records were obtained from forehead, forearm, neck, masseter, sternomastoid, and lower leg. In the two target muscles, significant group differences developed during rest, but no additional significant effects were produced during feedback. Regarding the four untrained sites, EMG tended to decrease in the forehead group, but not significantly below the levels of the forearm group. Simultaneous EMG cross‐correlations within 5‐min intervals based on successive 1‐sec averages showed significant covariation between muscles in the head and neck area; the source of this covariation was uncertain, however—electrical “crosstalk” and generalized muscular responding were two possibilities discussed.
Cardiac Orienting to Pulsed and Continuous Auditory Stimulation: A Developmental Study
Authors: Bohlin Gunilla , Lindhagen Karin , Hagekull Berit
Published: February 2007

Pulsed presentations of auditory stimulation have been shown to be particularly effective in eliciting cardiac deceleration (orienting) during earliest infancy. In the present study the processing of pulsed as compared to continuous stimulation was studied developmentally for two infant age groups (13–18 and 26–35 weeks) and one adult group. Ten habituation trials of either a pulsed or a continuous 10‐sec tone were followed by 2 dishabituation trials, in which the temporal pattern (continuous vs pulsed) was shifted. The dishabituation data showed that the two kinds of stimulation were discriminated, but the only finding of differential processing relating to the relevance of pulsed stimulation for younger infants was a tendency for infant subjects, unlike adults, to show prolonged orienting to initial presentations of the pulsed tone. For rate of habituation there were no differential effects. Only in the adult group was the response during dishabituation influenced by the direction of change of temporal pattern. Orienting to stimulus offset was observed on initial presentations of the continuous stimulus for the older infant group.
Concept Identification as a Function of Preceding Negative or Positive Spontaneous Shifts in Slow Brain Potentials
Authors: Bauer Herbert , Nirnberger Günther
Published: February 2007

The stimuli of a concept identification experiment (N = 20) were presented such that each stimulus was preceded by either a negative or a positive spontaneous slow potential shift in the EEG (C3 to mastoid). The stimuli were presented visually for 4 sec. The subject's task was to learn a concept consisting of one vertical and one slanted line. He or she responded by pressing a key within 2 sec after stimulus offset to indicate whether the stimulus belonged to the concept or not, with immediate feedback. Slow potential shifts were automatically detected by a computer and were used to trigger the stimuli. The results indicated that the concept was learned significantly faster when the stimulus was preceded by a negative shift (minimum of ‐ 25 μ V) than when it was preceded by a positive shift (minimum of + 25 μ V).
Operant Conditioning of Visual Evoked Potentials in Man
Authors: Roger M. , Galand G.
Published: February 2007

The operant conditioning technique was used to produce visual evoked response modifications in man. Our results show that: 1) 50% of our subjects are able to modify a definite component of their evoked potential. 2) These modifications still occur with irregular evoked potential intervals. 3) The criterion segment is the only part of the response which is modified; other components are not affected. 4) All components ranging from 90 to 385 msec can be modified; however, the second part of the response (after 200 msec) seems to be more easily modified.
Heart Beat Perception and Emotional Experience
Authors: Schandry Rainer
Published: February 2007

The main assumption of the present study is that emotional experience is coupled to perception of bodily processes. From this it is deduced that individuals who show good perception of heart activity tend to exhibit higher levels of a momentarily experienced emotion (in this case anxiety) and to score higher on the personality trait “Emotional Lability.” The aspect of cardiac awareness considered here is perception of heart beats. Subjects were instructed to count heart beats (only by concentrating on their body but not by taking their pulse) during a signalled time interval and the reported number of beats was then compared to the actual number of beats as extracted from the EKG. Additionally, skin conductance and respiration were recorded. During the experimental task (i.e., counting heart beats) increases in heart rate, respiration rate and number of spontaneous fluctuations in skin conductance were recorded. Groups of good and poor perceivers were formed on the basis of accuracy on the perception task. The two groups did not differ in heart rate; however, in State Anxiety and Emotional Lability, the group of good perceivers had significantly higher scores. The importance of visceroception for emotional experience is pointed out and the relevance for clinical psychology is discussed.
The Intentional Paradigm and Cognitive Psychophysiology
Authors: O'Connor Kieron P.
Published: February 2007

Applications of cognitive and non‐cognitive mediational models in psychophysiology are reviewed, and a case is presented for considering pre‐attentive intentionality of the subject as a determining factor in response formation.

A paradigm shift away from the S‐R causal contingency approach, which structures stimulus and response as discrete and separable events, is proposed. An alternative acausal RS approach which integrates production of stimulus and response as a manifestation of subjects’ intentional behavior is suggested.

According to this model,‘psychic’ and ‘somatic’ activities are linked in common expression of episodic intentional skills developed by the subject.

Psychophysiological measures recorded within one such RS paradigm are illustrated, and some methodological and conceptual implications of adopting a cognitive psychophysiological paradigm are discussed.
The Variation of Amplitude in a Money‐Winning Paradigm in Children
Authors: Hömberg Volker , Grünewald Gerhard , Grünewald‐Zuberbier Erika
Published: February 2007

In the present study the influence on amplitude of monetary payoff values linked to stimuli was investigated. Eight school boys (aged 11–13 yrs) were presented with random series of four equally frequent visual numeric stimuli (0, 2, 10, and 50). In the payoff condition (PC) subjects were told that each number would indicate the number of German pennies as a winning. In the no‐payoff condition (NPC) subjects only had to attend to the stimuli. The amplitude of a late positive component (P440–540) of the visual evoked potential (identified as a representation of the in this age group) was significantly larger in PC than in NPC. The amplitude was also influenced by the amount of monetary payoff, being significantly largest after presentation of the ‘50’stimulus. Results are discussed in terms of the relevance of information provided by the stimulus, internal categorization, and subjective probabilities of the stimuli.
Perceived Changes in the Intensity oi Arterial Pulsations as a Function oi Applied Cufi Pressure
Authors: Papillo James F. , Tursky Bernard , Friedman Richard
Published: February 2007

A psychophysical scaling procedure was employed to investigate subjects' ability to discriminate pulsatile arterial sensations produced by applying an occluding cuff about the upper arm. Subjects (n = 8) were exposed to 5 presentations of 7 occluding cuff pressure levels ranging from above systolic to below diastolic arterial pressure. During each cuff inflation, subjects were instructed to attend to the pulsating sensations in the arm. When the cuff deflated, subjects adjusted the volume ofa tone to a level that matched their subjective estimate of pulsation intensity. Consistent with previous reports, subjects perceived maximum intensity pulsations when cuff pressure approximated calculated mean arterial pressure (MAP), 1/3 (systolic ‐diastolic) + diastolic. The perceived intensity ofthe sensations decreased monotonically as cuff pressure was varied in either the systolic or diastolic direction producing a highly symmetrical function on both sides of MAP.

The gradient of arterial pulsations produced by the occluding cuff pressure, the accuracy of the judgments ofthe intensity of perceived pulsations, and the possibility that these pulsations may he more physiologically related to the hemodynamics of blood flow, suggest that these sensations may be employed as a more effective discriminative stimulus in a blood pressure biofeedback procedure.
A Survey of Laboratory Computers in Psyehophysiology
Authors: Jones Gary E . , Buckley Marion F.
Published: February 2007

Since the mid 196O's there has hcen a growing interest in and use of computers in psychophysiology laboratories. There are even a growing number of accepted physiological measures which are fully dependent on computer technology for their derivation. Although minicomputers have been in use for over a decade, recent developments in microcomputer and microprocessor technology have led to rapid acceptance of microcomputers for laboratory work. These rapid advances have produced a need to survey the current state of laboratory computer applications and development. A comprehensive survey was mailed to 301 psychophysiology laboratory groups during the spring and summer of 1979 and completed surveys were received from 61% of the mailing. Sun'ey results are reported on computer hardware and configuration, dependent measures and user satisfaction, and use and cost of engineering and programming support. Developments in computer hardware and user services are also discussed.
Detection of and Recovery from Errors in Cardiac Interbeat Intervals
Authors: Cheung Michael N.
Published: February 2007

An algorithm is presented for the detection and correction of errors in cardiac interbeat interval data. Detection of errors is based on the assumption that the beat‐to‐beat variation in R‐R intervals cannot exceed certain critical percentages of the preceding interval. Detected errors are corrected by merging the questionable internal with the preceding or the succeeding interval, or by subdividing it, in such manner that the resultant beat‐to‐beat variability, is minimized. The algorithm is shown mathematically to be capable of detecting errors in data with extreme beat‐to‐beat variability. Empirical experience with the algorithm suggests that it corrects errors satisfactorily under vigorous conditions.
Amplitude and Latency Changes in the Visual Evoked Potential to Different Stimulus Intensities
Authors: Connolly J. F. , Gruzelier J. H.
Published: February 2007

Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded from five sites (T3, T4, Cz, O1, O2) to six intensities of light flashes. Peak‐to‐trough amplitudes were measured for the P100‐N120 and N120‐P200 waveforms as well as baseline (prestimulus)‐to‐peak amplitudes for each component (i.e. P100, N120, and P200). Different methods of defining augmenting/reducing were compared. These included subtracting the VEP epoch mean level from mean levels within a timeband corresponding to P100 and calculating slopes both for these values and for the P100‐N120 amplitudes across intensities. The technique of using slopes to describe amplitude‐intensity functions was found to be unjustified and misleading. The Augmenting/Reducing groups defined by the slopes of peak‐to‐trough amplitudes or slopes of the timeband “amplitudes” proved to be almost mutually exclusive. Results also showed that the frequency with which actual VEP peaks occur within the appropriate timeband is very low and differs topographically. Augmenting/Reducing was then defined by monotonic increases in the P100‐N120 peak‐to‐trough amplitudes. Augmenters and Reducers differed from each other not only for amplitude‐intensity patterns but on a number of latency measures. Hemisphere differences were also found between groups. An inverse relationship was found between occipital and vertex amplitude‐intensity patterns such that vertex augmenting was accompanied by occipital reducing and vice versa. Temporal and vertex amplitude‐intensity patterns were similar.
Facial Reactions to Facial Expressions
Authors: Dimberg Ulf
Published: February 2007

Previous research has demonstrated that different patterns of facial muscle activity are correlated with different emotional states. In the present study subjects were exposed to pictures of happy and angry facial expressions, in response to which their facial electromyographic (EMG) activities, heart rate (HR), and palmar skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. It was found that happy and angry faces evoked different facial EMG response patterns, with increased zygomatic region activity to happy stimuli and increased corrugator region activity to angry stimuli. Furthermore, both happy and angry faces evoked HR decelerations and similar SCR magnitudes. The results are interpreted as suggesting that facial EMG recordings provide a method for distinguishing between response patterns to “positive” and “negative” emotional visual stimuli.
The Cardiac Cycle Time Effect: Influence of Respiration Phase and Information Processing Requirements
Authors: Coles Michael G. H. , Pellegrini Ana M. , Wilson George V.
Published: February 2007

The duration of a cardiac cycle can be changed by a stimulus occurring within it. The degree of change depends on the cycle time of the stimulus (Lacey & Lacey, 1977). In three experiments, a warned, two‐choice, reaction time task was used to evaluate this cycle time effect. Information delivered by warning and respond stimuli was manipulated by varying the degree to which the former stimulus predicted the latter. Stimuli were presented at delays of between 0 and 600 msec from the‘R’wave, and changes in interbeat interval and respiration phase were assessed for each stimulus. Subjects with slow heart rates showed a cycle time effect (increase in deceleration with delay) for both warning and respond stimuli presented during expiration. For inspiration, no trend was found for respond stimuli; but, for warning stimuli, a paradoxical increase in acceleration with delay was observed. Fast heart rate subjects showed a cycle time effect (decrease in deceleration with delay) for respond stimuli only, but for both respiration phases. Information about response choice, when given either by warning or respond stimuli, led to larger decelerations but this result was only significant when data for conditions associated with maximal deceleration were considered. Results are discussed in terms of the role of vagal activity in mediating the cycle time effect.
In Search of the General Tension Factor: Tensional Patterning During Auditory Stimulation
Authors: Fridlund Alan J. , Cottam Glenda L. , Fowler Stephen C.
Published: February 2007

A partial replication of research by Balshan (1962) was undertaken in order to investigate the existence of a general tension factor operating during rest and during auditory stimulation. Thirty female subjects were each exposed to one 20‐min session consisting of 15 min of quiet rest followed by 5 min of binaural white noise stimulation. A computer‐controlled scanning electromyograph sampled integrated surface EMG activity from a total of eight muscle sites on the head, neck and limbs. Tensional profiles for all eight EMG sites were assembled every 1.84 sec, resulting in an 8×650 data array for each subject. Statistical analyses revealed overall EMG increments at stimulus onset. R‐factor analyses on principal components for group data, as in Balshan (1962), revealed group general factors for both prestimulus and stimulus periods. However, P‐factoring on principal components of the within‐subject data arrays demonstrated that few subjects met minimal loading criteria for a general factor operating in individuals. Such within‐subject EMG‐site covariations as were observed were reduced considerably when startle responses at stimulus onset were excluded from the principal‐component analyses. It is concluded that the group factors obtained in the present experiment and by Balshan (1962) were artifacts of two influences: the erroneous assumption of across‐subject equivalence of EMG‐site levels, and the summation of uncorrelated EMG activity which biased the group component solutions toward artifactual generality.
Phasic Not Tonic Pupillary Responses Vary With Auditory Vigilance Performance
Authors: Beatty Jackson
Published: February 2007

Pupillary movements were monitored as 11 university students listened to a series of 1K Hz 50‐msec tone bursts presented at 3.2‐sec intervals for a period of 48 min. Their task was to report target tones (‐3dB), which were presented randomly with a probability of 0.12. Under these conditions, monitoring performance deteriorated as a function of time on the task. This vigilance decrement was attributed to both a decrease in listener sensitivity and a conservative shift in decision criterion, as determined by a signal detection analysis. The amplitude of the phasic task‐evoked pupillary response reflected these changes in performance, decreasing significantly over time on the task. Tonic or baseline pupillary diameter exhibited no such relationship with performance. These results are interpreted in the context of an activation theory of attention that suggests that a common neurophysiological system mediates both intensive and sustained attentional processes.
Physical Symptoms Associated with Blood Pressure
Authors: Pennebaker James W. , Gonder‐Frederick Linda , Stewart Herb , Elfman Larry , Skelton J. A.
Published: February 2007

Two experiments employed within‐subject designs to assess the degree to which selected physical symptoms correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) fluctuations. In the first study, 30 normotensive undergraduates (15 male and 15 female) participated in a series of 20 tasks and 20 baseline sessions, each lasting 1–2 min. Following each task or baseline, readings of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, skin resistance, and finger pulse volume were taken. Immediately before the physiological measurements, subjects rated the degree to which they were experiencing each of 7 symptoms (e.g., sweaty hands, pounding heart). For each subject, simple correlations were computed between each of the symptoms and SBP across the 40 measurement periods. Forty‐four percent of the subjects had at least one symptom‐SBP correlation of + .70 or greater. Seventy‐seven percent had at least one statistically significant symptom‐SBP correlation. Between‐subject analyses yielded no symptom‐SBP relationships. The within‐subjects correlation patterns varied from subject to subject, were internally consistent, and were related to sex and SBP variability. A second naturalistic experiment corroborated the findings. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
Social Psychophysiology: A Classic Perspective and Contemporary Approach
Authors: Cacioppo John T.
Published: February 2007

Human reactions are viewed as developing from a physiological and social context. This perspective is traced to third century B.C. to Erasistratos’ diagnosis of lovesickness in Antiochus, the son of Alexander's most able general. Empirical research guided by this perspective emerged with the development of the polygraph, but has not provided a consistent contribution to the study of human reactions and problems. Social psychophysiological research is surveyed, and causes for the inconsistency are indicated. It is suggested that even fairly basic psychological processes such as emotion would appear to be elicited more often by social than nonsocial factors: to the extent that physiological processes elicited by social and nonsocial factors are not interchangeable, psychophysiological theories of human reactions may be incomplete; and to the extent that social factors influence the very nature of an individual's physiological responses to nonsocial stimuli, psychophysiological theories of human reactions may be inaccurate. Moreover, social psychology, perhaps more than psychophysiology, should benefit from a consideration of the reciprocal influence between social and physiological systems. A need is outlined for research in which the methods and theoretical constructs of social psychology and psychophysiology are not pitted against one another, but rather are joined to form a powerful, complemented tool for the comprehensive study of organismic‐environmental interactions. It is concluded that research in social psychophysiology may yet contribute in a consistent and significant fashion to our understanding of human reactions.
Age, Sleep Deprivation, and Performance
Authors: Webb Wilse B. , Levy C. Michael
Published: February 2007

Men 18–22 and 40–49 yrs old were repeatedly given a battery of monitoring, persistence, and cognitive tasks over an extended period of sleep deprivation. The older subjects, who generally exhibited superior performance, were also more affected by the acute deprivation of sleep.
Parental Hypertension and Cardiovascular Response to Cognitive and Isometric Challenge
Authors: Manuck Stephen B. , Proietti Joseph M.
Published: February 2007

The purposes of this investigation were to contrast the cardiovascular responses of sons of hypertensive and normotensive parents to tasks involving cognitive and isometric challenge, and lo examine the relationship of individual differences in heart rate (HR) reactivity to baseline blood pressure (BP) measurements. Thirty‐six male, undergraduate volunteers (18 with and 18 without a parental history of hypertension) were scheduled for two, 1‐hr experimental sessions (Days I and II). On Day 1, HR and BP measurements were obtained while subjects performed each of three laboratory tasks: a difficult test in concept formation, serial subtraction, and a sustained handgrip at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction. Each task lasted 3 min and was preceded by a 3‐min baseline interval. On Day II, subjects were instructed to relax quietly while baseline measures of HR and BP were recorded. Relative to sons of normotensive parents, offspring of hypertensives exhibited higher mean Systolic BPs during all task periods; no corresponding group differences were observed on either Day I or Day II baseline recordings. Unlike SBP, Diastolic BP measurements did not vary reliably by parental hypertensive/normotensive status. Although the mean HRs of sons of hypertensives were significantly higher than in offspring of normotensives, these differences obtained uniformly across both the baseline and task intervals. Among subjects identified as High HR reactors during the two cognitive tasks, sons of hypertensive parents exhibited Day II baseline SBPs about 9 mmHg higher than did subjects without a parental history of hypertension. Among subjects identified as Low HR reactors, baseline SBPs did not differ reliably between sons of hypertensive and normotensive parents.
Self Control of Stress‐Induced Cardiovascular Change Using Transit Time Feedback
Authors: Benthem James A. , Glaros Alan G.
Published: February 2007

Forty‐eight normotensive subjects underwent one of four training conditions: Transit time plus stress (TTPS), Transit time minus stress (TTMS). False feedback plus stress (KF), and a stress only Control (C). In the first session, all subjects received an arithmetic stressor but without training. In the second and third sessions, subjects received training appropriate to their conditions. The TTPS and FF groups received arithmetic stressors prior to the transit time training, whereas the TTMS group rested prior to training. Training in the TTPS and TTMS groups consisted of beat‐to‐beat pulse transit time feedback. During the training period the FF group received bogus feedback. In the fourth session, all subjects received the stress‐or followed by instructions to lower blood pressure (increase transit time). No feedback was available. Significant transit time decreases occurred in response to the stress in all groups during the first session. However, in the fourth session, the TTPS group showed virtually no transit time decrease during the stressor, while the remaining three groups continued to show significant transit time decreases to the stressor. It was concluded that self control over the subjects' reactivity to the arithmetic stressor had occurred in the transit time plus stress group. This effect did not appear to be due solely to either repeated exposure to the stressor or to learned control via feedback training. Rather, the effect seemed to result from the combination of exposure and training.
The Heart Beats to Reward: The Effect of Monetary Incentive on Heart Rate
Authors: Fowles Don C. , Fisher Anne E. , Tranel Dan T.
Published: February 2007

Two experiments are reported which test the hypothesis that heart rate increases will be seen in response to monetary incentives during performance on a continuous motor task. In the first study, heart rate was significantly higher when subjects were paid 2ø for each success feedback compared to subjects who received feedback only. In contrast, there was no effect of varying the probability of success (10% versus 90% success). Study 2 replicated the monetary incentive effect on heart rate, this time employing 100% success feedback. In neither study were subjects' response rates significantly affected by monetary incentive. In addition, control groups responding much faster on the task as a result of making it more predictable did not show increased heart rate. Consequently, these incentive effects are difficult to explain with a cardiac‐somatic coupling interpretation. It was concluded that cardiac acceleration does occur in response to monetary incentives, even in the absence of failure feedback, and it was proposed that this incentive effect reflects the activation of an appetitive motivational system. Possible applications of the assessment of appetitive responses are suggested.
Habituation of the Blink Reflex in Normals and Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Geyer Mark A. , Braff David L.
Published: February 2007

The present study demonstrates an impairment of habituation in schizophrenic patients on a measure of defensive responding to startling stimuli. The blink reflex component of human startle in response to 116dB(A) tones (40 msec, 1000 Hz) was monitored and distinguished from voluntary eyeblinks by a computer. With a background noise level of 70dB(A), 121 tones were given at varied intervals averaging 15 sec. All three groups tested, 25 presumed normals, 20 psychiatric patient controls and 22 schizophrenic patients, exhibited similar responses to the first several stimuli. However, while normals and patient controls exhibited roughly 70% decrements in response amplitudes across trials, schizophrenic patients habituated by less than 50%. An unexpected finding was that the latency‐to‐peak values for normals and controls were non‐monotonically related to both trial number and response amplitudes. That is, latencies first increased and then decreased as the same stimulus was repeated. As with amplitude habituation, this phenomenon was also delayed in the schizophrenic patients. The results indicate that schizophrenic patients have abnormal habituation of defensive responses to exteroceptive stimuli. Possible links between abnormal habituation and symptom formation in schizophrenia are discussed.
Psycho‐Social Factors and Blood Pressure During Pregnancy and Delivery
Authors: Rofé Yacov , Lewin Isaac
Published: February 2007

This research investigates the relationship between repression and blood pressure by using an objective and well‐known test for classifying subjects as repressors (Byrne's R‐S scale), and examines the relationships among socio‐economic level, ethnic origin, and blood pressure.

Subjects were 461 Israeli pregnant women who gave birth in urban hospitals. The physiological measures were the highest blood pressure a woman had during pregnancy, as well as blood pressure, heart rate and temperature measured immediately after her admission to the hospital. The women's anxiety level was ranked before and after delivery.

No confirmation was found for the psychoanalytically based hypothesis held by several investigators, that subjects with repressive personality type would have higher blood pressure. No significant relationship was found between socio‐economic level and any physiological measure. Israeli Jews of Oriental origin had lower blood pressure than those of European origin, even though the former were of lower socio‐economic level.
Changes in Spatial Patterns of Rabbit Olfactory EEG with Conditioning to Odors
Authors: Freeman Walter J. , Schneider Walter
Published: February 2007

Electrode arrays (8 × 8, 3.5 × 3.5 mm) were implanted epidurally on the olfactory bulbs of rabbits for EEG recording. The rabbits were trained to give a conditioned response to a warning odor paired with an electric shock. EEGs were recorded and edited, and representative ERG bursts with odor and preceding the odor were selected for measurement. Each burst was displayed in a contour map of amplitude. The contour maps revealed active EEG foci in the bulb with size, shape and location unique to each rabbit. Changes in shape and location took place only during familiarization and during training, when a warning odor was paired with the aversive stimulus. The EEG spatial patterns did not change when visual or auditory stimuli were used as CS. EEG spatial patterns did not reflect conformal mapping of odor stimulus to neural activity response, but were determined by state variables of the animal related to olfactory conditioning history. The implications for human EEG are briefly discussed.
Event‐Related Potentials and Auditory Signal Detection: Their Diurnal Variation for Morning‐Type and Evening‐Type Subjects
Authors: Kerkhof Gerard A.
Published: February 2007

The relationship between detection performance and various Event‐Related Potential (ERP) components was investigated in an auditory threshold detection task at 4 times of day (9 a.m., 1 p.m. 5 p.m., and 9 p.m.) for 7 morning‐type and 7 evening‐type subjects. Measurements were made of oral temperature, detection efficiency (P(A)), response bias(β), the N115 and the P190 components following a warning stimulus, and the P450and the Slow Wave (SW) associated with correct signal‐present decisions. For oral temperature and detection efficiency an upward diurnal trend was observed which tended to interact with subject type. For both the amplitude and the latency of the N115 and the P190 components intra‐session decrement was found. The P190 latency decreased monotonically over the day. While the diurnal trend of the amplitude and latency of the Nl15 resembled that of the SW amplitude, reaching a relative maximum in the afternoon. The P450 showed no diurnal variation. Furthermore, the P450 and SW also differed as a function of the level of decision confidence. The P450 amplitude increased and its latency decreased with an increasing confidence level, whereas the SW amplitude decreased. The diurnal variations of the N115 and the SW are discussed in terms of fluctuating amounts of processing involved in different aspects of the task.
A Low‐Cost Precision Electrode Impedance Meter
Authors: Dunseath W. J. Ross
Published: February 2007

A circuit is described which measures applied electrode impedances using a 7 P.A RMS, 10 Hz sine wave current, and displays the reading in ohms on a small analog meter. The design uses a minimum of parts and power, drawing only 2mA from a 9 volt battery, yet is accurate lo within 2% and can easily be modified to fit a wide range of frequencies.
Memory For Events Occurring During Arousal From Sleep
Authors: Bonnet Michael H.
Published: February 2007

Many instances exist of significant memory loss for events during brief awakenings from sleep. The present experiment sought to determine whether such memory loss was attributable to depth of pre‐awakening sleep or to length of awakening. Fourteen young adult subjects performed a standard memory task after being awakened from stage 2 or stage 4 sleep. Subjects either remained awake for 8 min or returned to sleep immediately after the learning task. Both short and long term memory were significantly worse when awakenings were made from stage 4 (deep) compared with stage 2 (light) sleep and when learning occurred immediately after being awakened. No significant effects were found when the length of the period awake after learning was lengthened. It was concluded that memory for events occurring during brief awakenings was affected by the prior stage of sleep. The effect was discussed as an example of state dependent learning.
Phasic Heart Rate Changes in Reaction Time, Shock Avoidance, and Unavoidable Shock Tasks: Are Hypothetical Generalizations About Different S1–S2 Tasks Justified?
Authors: Somsen R.J.M. , van der Molen M. W. , Orlebeke J. F.
Published: February 2007

Phasic heart rate (HR) responses and disjunctive reaction time (RT) performance were measured in 16 human subjects to investigate whether anticipatory cardiac responses differ in RT and unavoidable shock (US) tasks under propranolol and placebo conditions. Five different task conditions were randomly presented. A warning signal (S1) informed the subject about the nature of the task at the second stimulus (S2). The conditions included a control, a RT, a shock avoidance RT, an unavoidable shock, and a mixed (either a RT or US) task. Three cardiac responses occurred in the interstimulus interval: sustained acceleration (control), sustained deceleration (US), and acceleration followed by deceleration (normal‐RT and avoidance‐RT). The results showed that HR responses cannot be adequately interpreted without considering the type of task employed. It was concluded that both common and specific task parameters influence HR responding in RT and US tasks.
Psychophysiology and Genetics: A Key to Psychopathology Research
Authors: George Iacono William
Published: February 2007

By combining psychophysiologic and genetic research strategies in the investigation of psychiatric disorders; it is possible to identify psychophysiological measures that may serve as genetic markers of psychopathology. A set of research criteria that can be used to identify and validate a genetic marker is presented. Focusing on the author's research, these criteria were applied to evaluate deviant smooth‐pursuit eye tracking as a potential marker of schizophrenia. The results from studies of both normal subjects and psychiatric patients make a strong case that abnormalities in the eye‐tracking performance of schizophrenic patients have potential as a marker of this disorder. Other research findings pertinent to eye‐tracking performance are discussed along with some ethical concerns arising from this type of psychophysiologic‐genetic research.
Event‐Related Potentials During Controlled and Automatic Target Detection
Authors: Hoffman James E. , Simons Robert F. , Houck Michael R.
Published: February 2007

The present study investigated the role of attentional resources in the performance of controlled and automatic detection tasks. The amplitude of the P300 component of the event‐related potential has been shown to be a sensitive index of the attentional resources allocated to the perceptual processing of sensory stimuli. We found that P300s elicited in both automatic and controlled detection were large and of comparable amplitude, suggesting the involvement of a limited‐capacity mechanism in both tasks. This result is in agreement with previous behavioral studies showing equivalent dual‐task trade‐offs with both search tasks (Hoffman & Nelson, Note 1). In contrast, P300 latency was considerably reduced in the automatic task, suggesting that the main effect of practice in the detection task is to improve the discriminability of targets and distractors.
The Effects of Monetary Incentive and Frustrative Nonreward on Heart Rate and Electrodermal Activity
Authors: Tranel Dan T.
Published: February 2007

Further investigation of a recent theoretical model positing the existence of mutually antagonistic appetitive versus aversive motivational systems was conducted by providing monetary incentives for 3 trials and then either with or without warning terminating the incentives for the last 2 trials. Two dependent measures‐heart rate and electrodermal activity–were employed to test the predictions that incentives would activate the appetitive system and produce heart rate acceleration, while unsignalled termination of incentives (frustrative nonreward) would activate the aversive system and produce relative electrodermal activity increases. An additional goal was to investigate the effects on heart rate of different magnitudes of incentive per response unit and varying the amount of work per response unit–two ways of achieving different total amounts per trial. The data showed a clear and graded heart rate response to varying the amount of work per response unit. These results were interpreted as consistent with the conclusion that the heart rate response is a function of the amount of incentive per unit of effort. In contrast to the clear effect on heart rate, the incentive manipulations had no observable effect on electrodermal activity. Conversely, electrodermal activity showed a clear response to frustrative nonreward, while heart rate was not affected. These results were interpreted as consistent with the notion of separate motivational systems mediating different behavioral effects.
Skeletal Muscular Patterning: Topographical Analysis of the Integrated Electromyogram
Authors: Cacioppo John T. , Marshall‐Goodell Beverly , Dorfman Donald D.
Published: February 2007

The extraction of mean amplitude from integrated electromyographic (IEMG) responses provides a valid but limited measure of muscle action potentials (MAPs). More comprehensive topographical analyses of IEMG responses based on frequency analyses are unsatisfactory since IEMG responses are aperiodic, and autoregressive procedures may be unsatisfactory since autocorrelations constitute an irreversible transformation of the original waveform, represent a substantial loss of information in contrast to the original waveform, and harbor little apparent relationship to MAPs. In a Theoretical Investigation, a mathematical procedure is developed to quantify topographical features of both the amplitude and temporal dimensions of the IEMG response. Procedures for extracting these parameters and the relationship between each and the recruitment of MAPs are illustrated. In a Validation Study, surface electromyograms are recorded from the preferred forearm under various conditions of mild isometric forearm contraction. Results support the viability, reproducibility, and validity of the topographical analysis.