bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Instructions on Electrodermal Habituation
Authors: Iacono William G. , Lykken David T.
Published: February 2007

The effects of instructions to ignore or attend to stimuli on electrodermal habituation were examined in 122 males who were divided between two groups (Ignore and Attend). One third of the subjects in each group were exposed to seventeen 70, 90, or 110 dB tones while they listened to a radio play. The Ignore subjects were exhorted to immerse themselves in the story and forget about the tones. The Attend group was instructed to count the tones and to be certain they all sounded the same. Another group (Neutral, N = 20, exposed to 110dB tones) was told only that they would hear some tones; no story was presented. The Ignore groups were less responsive and habituated faster than the Attend groups. When the Neutral subjects were compared to the others at 110dB, they were found to have response characteristics that were similar to those of the Attend group, indicating that the specific instructions to attend to the stimuli did not augment responding and that differences between the Attend and Ignore groups are more likely due to the effort of the latter to ignore the stimuli. These findings show that instructions can have important effects on electrodermal responsivity.
The Cardiac and Vascular Components of Pulse Transmission Time: A Computer Analysis of Systolic Time Intervals
Authors: Steptoe Andrew , Godaert Guido , Ross Alvin , Schreurs Paul
Published: February 2007

Systolic time interval methodology was used to explore the relative contributions of intracardiac and vascular delays to modifications in pulse transmission time elicited by a series of behavioural and physical challenges. The following variables were recorded on every cardiac cycle: interbeat interval (IBI), the interval between Q and R wave of the EKG, Q wave to pulse arrival (QPT) at the ear and wrist, left ventricular ejection time, and cardiac pre‐ejection period (PEP). The true arterial pulse transit time (PTT), inversely related to pulse wave velocity, was calculated by subtracting PEP from QPT.

Modifications of QPT were generally associated with PEP rather than PTT responses. But QPT to the ear and wrist were not equivalent; PEP showed closer correlations with QPT to the ear, while PTT was correlated more consistently with QPT to the wrist. Similar patterns were observed with monitoring from the Q and R waves of the EKG. Important differences also emerged between individuals in the degree to which QPT reactions were correlated with the cardiac or vascular components.

A supplementary analysis of correlations between blood pressure and the components of QPT was carried out through hand‐scoring of systolic time intervals. Both PEP and PTT contributed to the correlations of systolic pressure with QPT. The uses of pulse transmission times as indices of pulse wave velocity, or alternatively of PEP and ventricular contractility, are considered.
“…'t was ten to one; And yet we ventured…”1: P300 and Decision Making
Authors: Karis Demetrios , Chesney Gregory L. , Donchin Emanuel
Published: February 2007

In some situations subjects' predictions of future events do not accurately reflect the subjective probability associated with these events. We set up such a situation by manipulating the payoff structure in a prediction paradigm, and found that P300 provides an index of the processes responsible for subjective probability, or expectancy, not obtainable from overt predictions. Sixteen subjects were required to predict, on each trial, whether a 1, 2, or 3 would appear on a display. The numbers appeared randomly with probabilities .45, .10, and .45, respectively. In one condition subjects were given bonuses according to an all‐or‐none payoff function in which they received one cent if they predicted correctly, and nothing if they were incorrect. In a second condition bonuses were determined by a linear payoff function in which subjects were paid one cent if they predicted correctly, and one‐half cent if they were off by one (e.g., predict 1 and 2 appears). After each condition subjects estimated the actual number of stimuli presented. These estimates were the same for both conditions, although predictions differed radically, with 2 predicted much more frequently in the linear condition. P300 area was largest for the rare event (2), and the relationship between P300 and probability was unaffected by payoffs. Our design did introduce differences between conditions in the overall “riskiness’ of predictions, and the strategies adopted by most subjects also resulted in differences in the salience, or task relevance, of the feedback stimuli. These differences resulted in an overall increase in P300 in the all‐or‐none condition. A relationship also emerged between the subjects' strategies and their ERPs. Subjects who adopted more effective strategies responded differentially to feedback from high and low risk predictions, whereas the others did not.
Lateralization of ERP Components during Verbal Dichotic Information Processing
Authors: van de Vijver F.R. , Kok A. , Bakker D.J. , Bouma A.
Published: February 2007

Two experiments are described in which subjects were requested to recall dichotic digit pairs. The results of both experiments showed a significant right ear advantage for the digits. In the EEG a strongly lateralized sustained positive wave was present in the pre‐response period. The asymmetry of this component appeared to be both task dependent, and related to individual differences in ear asymmetry. It is suggested that the sustained wave is a manifestation of differential mobilization of resources of the two hemispheres that compete for limited capacity in a particular stage of the task.
Bioelectric and Potentiometric Measures of Eyeblink Amplitude in Reflex Modification Paradigms
Authors: Clarkson Marsha G. , Keith Berg W.
Published: February 2007

Recent investigations of reflex modification in humans have employed several measurement techniques to record reflexive eyeblink responses. To facilitate comparisons across measurement techniques, three experiments evaluated the congruence between eyelid displacement and bioelectric measures of blink amplitude under lead stimulus conditions designed to facilitate, inhibit, or not alter blink amplitude. A potentiometric measure of eyelid displacement was recorded from the right eye of 53 undergraduates, while electrodes centered above and below the left eye detected the bioelectric changes that accompany blinking. In each experiment, lead stimuli altered blink amplitude in a similar manner regardless of measurement technique (i.e., no significant measure by condition interaction emerged). Furthermore, the direction and magnitude of blink amplitude change for the two measurement techniques correlated highly and significantly. These results support the implicit assumptions of researchers that the bioelectric and potentiometric measures provide equivalent information about blink amplitude in reflex modification situations and that reflex‐modification findings can be generalized across measurement techniques.
Electrodermal Nonresponding, Antisocial Behavior, and Schizoid Tendencies in Adolescents
Authors: Raine Adrian , Venables Peter H.
Published: February 2007

Most studies which have tested the hypothesis of autonomic hyporeactivity in antisocial groups using skin conductance orienting response (SCOR) amplitudes have failed to confirm this prediction. However, frequency measures may represent more stable and complete indices of responsivity than amplitude measures and, therefore, provide a better test of an antisociality‐hyporeactive relationship. This possibility was tested by relating electrodermal responding‐nonresponding to a series of 65dB tones in 101 15‐yr‐old males to measures of antisocial behaviour and undersocialization. While SCOR amplitudes were unrelated to antisociality, frequency of response and incidence of nonre‐sponding were significantly related in the predicted direction. A second analysis demonstrated antisocial nonresponders to be characterised by schizoid tendencies, but not by sensation‐seeking. These data indicate that equating nonresponding with antisociality and interpreting such a relationship in motivational/arousal terms may be over‐simplistic, and that it may be specifically a schizoid subsection of antisocials who are characterised by nonresponding. It is hypothesised that the frequently cited link between antisociality and psychosis‐proneness may be underpinned by a disturbance of sustained attention as indexed by nonresponding.
Autonomic Nervous System Function and Essential Hypertension: Individual Response Specificity With and Without Beta‐Adrenergic Blockade
Authors: Fredrikson Mats , Danielssons Tomas , Engel Bernard T. , Frisk‐Holmberg Marianne , Ström Gunnar , Sundin ÖRjan
Published: February 2007

The aim of the present research was to study individual response specificity in 22 male patients having essential hypertension (HT) and to compare these patients with age‐matched male normotensive controls (NT). Four stimuli, letter identification, mental arithmetic, cold pressor and isometric exercise, were administered while recordings were made of: systolic and diastolic blood pressures, heart rate, respiration, forearm and hand blood flows, and skin conductance level and fluctuations. After each session urine samples were collected and epinephrine and norepinephrine levels were analyzed. Twelve subjects in the HT group were given beta‐adrenergic blocking agents and retested 1 to 21 months (X̄= 12 months) after the first session. Each response was standardized, using NT as the reference group. Intraclass correlations were computed to evaluate whether HT males reacted with a more consistent hierarchy of responses than did NT. Intraclass correlations were significantly higher among the patients than in the control group, regardless of whether the blood pressure response was included or excluded in the computation of the intraclass correlations. Thus, we conclude that male HT patients show more individual response specificity than NT controls. Beta‐adrenergic receptor antagonists reduced levels of cardiovascular activity and attenuated reactivity but did not affect amount of specificity. Thus, intraclass correlations provide unique and useful information, since they are not related to blood pressure reactivity or to urinary catecholamine levels, nor affected by beta‐adrenergic blockade.
Standardization Within Individuals: A Simple Method to Neutralize Individual Differences in Skin Conductance
Authors: Ben‐Shakhar Gershon
Published: February 2007

The present paper suggests a method to neutralize individual differences in skin conductance responsivity. The method suggested is a standardization of the responses within individuals. This method was compared to the range correction transformation suggested previously. The comparison was based on data from two experiments which evaluated differences between electrodermal responses to relevant and neutral stimuli in information detection tasks. In the first experiment the range correction transformation used the maximal skin conductance response evoked by the subject to one of the regular stimuli presented in the information detection task. The second experiment included responses to unpleasant tones and the range correction transformation was defined as the skin conductance response evoked by the subject to a given stimulus, divided by the response to the unpleasant stimulus. A bootstrap analysis was carried out on five data sets gathered from the two experiments, to statistically compare the transformations. In all cases standard scores better discriminated relevant and neutral stimuli, than range corrected scores. The advantage of standardization was much more salient in the second experiment, where only standard scores produced a statistically significant difference between strong and weak experimental conditions. The analysis demonstrated that the advantage of the method of standard scores is related mainly to its reliance upon the mean, which is a more stable and reliable statistic than the maximal response.
The Asymmetry of Facial Actions is Inconsistent with Models of Hemispheric Specialization
Authors: Hager Joseph C. , Ekman Paul
Published: February 2007

Several models of hemispheric specialization have been used to explain asymmetries in facial actions. This study measured the asymmetry of several different muscular actions individually, alone and in combination, and under different eliciting conditions. The findings did not fit any of the theoretical models. In the deliberate actions, some of the asymmetries were lateralized with greater intensity on the left side; others, on the right side. Spontaneous actions were more symmetrical than the deliberate, requested actions. We rejected specialization for emotion as a cause of the facial asymmetry observed, and discussed the weaknesses of other models.
P300 and Long‐Term Memory: Latency Predicts Recognition Performance
Authors: Johnson Ray , Pfefferbaum Adolf , Kopell Bert S.
Published: February 2007

The study‐test paradigm was used to investigate memory acquisition processes and the effects of repetition on long‐term recognition memory. In this procedure, subjects are presented with a list of words (“targets”) to be memorized (Study series). They are later tested for recognition on a word list comprised of the target words mixed randomly with an equal number of new, distractor words (Test series). Both reaction time and the P300 component of the event‐related brain potential were used as measures of processing time. During the Study series, large P300s were elicited despite a word category probability of 1.0. When the words from the Study series were divided on the basis of recognition performance, words that were subsequently recognized elicited P300s with shorter latencies than unrecognized words. P300 amplitude to words in the Study series increased with repetition while maintaining a constant latency. During the Test series, P300 latency and reaction time decreased with repetition for both target and distractor words. P300 amplitude to all words increased substantially over Test repetitions with target words eliciting larger P300s than distractor words. Words that were recognized more consistently during the Test series elicited larger and earlier P300s than words that were recognized less consistently. The P300 amplitude and latency results from both the Study and Test series are interpreted as reflecting the increased discriminability of the target words as the memory trace increases in strength.
Cardiovascular Reactivity in Borderline Hypertensives during Behavioural and Orthostatic Stress
Authors: Drummond Peter D.
Published: February 2007

Blood pressure and heart rate were measured in 16 borderline hypertensive and 10 normotensive subjects during mental arithmetic and reaction time tests, on standing, and during the pre‐test period and instructions preceding these tests. The reliability of responses was assessed on 3 consecutive days. Increases in systolic blood pressure and heart rate during mental arithmetic instructions, increases in systolic blood pressure during the mental arithmetic test, and increases in diastolic blood pressure on standing were greater in borderline hypertensives. These differences persisted throughout the 3 experimental sessions. Apart from stress ratings for the reaction time test, other behavioural measures, including number of mental arithmetic mistakes and reaction times, did not differ between normotensives and borderline hypertensives. The possibility that the parasympathetic nervous system exerts a restraining influence on sympathetic overactivity in borderline hypertension was discussed.
Blink Activity in a Discrimination Task as a Function of Stimulus Modality and Schedule of Presentation
Authors: Goldstein Robert , Walrath Larry C. , Stern John A. , Strock Barbara D.
Published: February 2007

Eyeblink performance parameters were investigated in subjects engaged in a series of duration discrimination tasks differing in modality (visual vs. auditory) and presentation schedule (fixed vs. variable). Visual tasks were associated with slower blink rates and shorter blink durations than auditory tasks. Sensitivity measures suggested that this difference might be due, in part, to the greater difficulty of the visual tasks. Blink latency declined within and across tasks and was longer for target stimuli which were followed by responses. Since the target stimuli were the short duration stimuli, the latter effect could be a compound of two opposing effects. The first is related to the response, which tends to delay the blink on target trials, while the second, related to decision processes, would tend to increase latencies on nontarget trials. Schedule of stimulus presentation did not affect dependent measures as predicted. RT was unaffected by either of the experimental variables.
Cognitive Event‐Related Brain Potentials in Children with Attention and Reading Deficits
Authors: Holcomb Phillip J. , Ackerman Peggy T. , Dykman Roscoe A.
Published: February 2007

ERPs were recorded from four groups of children: reading disabled, attentional deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity, and normal controls. Subjects pressed a button to a low probability nonsense syllable (target, p= .168) and ignored all other events, which included a high probability nonsense syllable (nontarget, p= .664) and either low probability (category, p= .168) symbols (Block 1) or 3‐letter words (Block 2). The amplitudes of several late ERP components and the latency of the P3 component were examined. The overall amplitude of P3 was significantly smaller in all clinical groups than in controls, but the difference in P3 amplitude between targets and nontargets was smaller only in the two attentional deficit groups. Reading disabled children had smaller P3 and Pc components to words than to symbols, while controls had equivalent values. The N2 component had a different scalp distribution for words and symbols, but did not differentiate reading disabled children from controls. P3 latency was significantly longer in the three clinical groups than in controls, but only the attentional deficit groups showed an increase in P3 latency across blocks of the task. The results are discussed within the framework of recent cognitive models dealing with attentional processes.
Effects of Stimulus Intensity on Autonomic Responding: The Problem of Differentiating Orienting and Defense Reflexes
Authors: Turpin Graham
Published: February 2007

Psychophysiological research has frequently applied autonomic measures as indices of information processing. One rationale which underlies this approach is the distinction between orienting (OR) and defense reflexes (DR). Sokolov (1963) proposed that elicitation of these reflexes depends upon the intensity of the stimulus. He also suggested that ORs and DRs could be differentiated both in terms of their consequences for information processing and by their component autonomic reactions.

Evidence in support of Sokolov's model is reviewed, and a series of experiments are described which were designed to demonstrate the effects of auditory stimulus intensity on autonomic responding. On the basis of these observations, a revised scheme of OR/DR differentiation is put forward. The major features of the scheme are the response direction of the autonomic measures, the identification of short‐ and long‐latency response components, and the inclusion of the startle reflex. The implications of the revised scheme for research on autonomic responses to affective stimulation are discussed.

It is concluded that the sole use of autonomic measures to index information processing is inadequate. Consequently, future research requires both autonomic indices and behavioral and subjective measures of affective and information processing.
Duration of Initial Heart Rate Assessment in Psychophysiology: Current Practices and Implications
Authors: Hastrup Janice L.
Published: February 2007

Heart rate is a widely‐used dependent variable in psychophysiological research. A survey of articles published in Psychophysiology during 1978, 1980, 1982, and 1984 revealed wide variation in procedures for obtaining “resting’ measurement of heart rate prior to administration of other stimuli or tasks. Duration of the baseline period at the beginning of 35 reported investigations was negatively correlated (r=−.64) with heart rates. Variations in duration of baseline measurement may influence some kinds of Type II errors such as the likelihood of detecting relative group differences in heart rate during more active stimulus‐presentation or task periods. Alternative procedures (a minimum 15‐min adaptation period prior to assessment, individualization of duration of baseline assessments) are suggested.
Cardiovascular Responses of Adolescents During a Naturally Occurring Stressor and Their Behavioral and Psychophysiological Predictors
Authors: Matthews Karen A. , Manuck Stephen B. , Saab Patrice G.
Published: February 2007

The present investigation examined the behavioral and psychophysiological characteristics of 23 adolescents who differed in levels of blood pressure and heart rate prior to and following a naturally occurring stressor–giving a required five‐minute speech in a high school English class. Measured characteristics were Type A behavior, hostility and anger, trait anxiety, family history of hypertension, and blood pressure and heart rate responses to three standardized laboratory stressors (serial subtraction, star‐tracing, and handgrip tasks). Results showed that anxious adolescents achieved elevated levels of systolic blood pressure and heart rate during public speaking relative to the next English class, whereas angry adolescents achieved elevated levels of diastolic blood pressure. Those adolescents who exhibited exaggerated increases in the cardiovascular measures while performing laboratory tasks also achieved elevated levels of blood pressure and/or heart rate during the naturally occurring stressor, but the strength of the relationships varied across tasks and physiological parameters. These findings should be viewed as tentative because of the uniqueness and size of the sample.
Blood Pressure Discrimination
Authors: Greenstadt Lisa , Shapiro David , Whitehead Roger
Published: February 2007

This research concerns the ability of humans to discriminate variations in their own blood pressure in comparing two successive 5‐s periods, and the effects of discrimination training (knowledge of results) on their performance. The subjects were 72 healthy male volunteers studied under various conditions. Continuous recordings were made of blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Without knowledge of results, discrimination of systolic blood pressure occurred at chance levels, but performance improved significantly over two sessions of discrimination training. This improvement was not maintained in a subsequent session in which no feedback was provided. Discrimination of diastolic blood pressure achieved significant levels when subjects were given knowledge of results. In general, the larger the difference to be discriminated in pressure, the better the performance. The paper also discusses relationships between blood pressure discrimination performance and simultaneous variations in heart rate and respiration, post‐session subjective reports, and the role of cuff pressure changes in performance.
Stimulus Rise Time, Intensity, and Bandwidth Effects on Acoustic Startle Amplitude and Probability
Authors: Blumenthal Terry D. , Keith Berg W.
Published: February 2007

The amplitude and probability of periorbital EMG responses were assessed for a variety of stimuli. In Experiment 1, 50‐ms duration broadband noise (20–20K Hz) and tones (1000 Hz), at 95 and 100 dB(A), with rise/fall times of 2.5, 10, and 25 ms, were presented. Noise stimuli were more effective than tones for both response amplitude and probability. Stimulus intensity affected both measures for tones, but only response amplitude for noise. Increasing stimulus rise/fall time had no significant effect for noise, but resulted in lower probability for tones. In Experiment 2, 50‐ms duration 1000 Hz tones, at 98 and 102 dB(A), with rise/fall times of 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 ms were presented. Response amplitude was not affected by rise/fall time changes, but increasing rise/fall time from 5 to 10 ms resulted in lower probability. These data show that the startle response can reflect manipulations of stimulus bandwidth, intensity, and rise/fall time, and that startle amplitude and probability reflect these manipulations in different ways. The two response measures may indicate the activity of partially independent underlying mechanisms, with a startle “trigger’ determining response probability and a startle “amplifier’ determining response amplitude for suprathreshold stimuli.
Sex Differences in Physiological Responses to Stress and in Coronary Heart Disease: A Causal Link?
Authors: Stoney Catherine M. , Davis Mary C. , Matthews Karen A.
Published: February 2007

This editorial offers and provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that sex differences exist in physiological responses to acute behavioral stress, which may aid in understanding the enormous sex differences in risk for coronary heart disease. Epidemiological data regarding the differential sex experience of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality are discussed, followed by a meta‐analytic review of available psychophysiological data on sex differences in stress‐induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses. The implications of the meta‐analysis for conceptual and methodological issues in psychophysiological research are highlighted.
Efficiency of Coping with a Real‐Life Stressor: A Multimodal Comparison of Aerobic Fitness
Authors: Brooke Sam T. , Long Bonita C.
Published: February 2007

The mediating effects of aerobic fitness on the psychological and physiological responses to a real‐life psychological stressor (rappelling) were examined. Subjective anxiety, heart rate, nor epinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol were monitored in IS male novice rappellers at various intervals before and following the rappel task. Results showed that high fit compared to low fit subjects maintained overall lower heart rate levels. Aerobic power was associated with faster recovery from subjective anxiety and a more efficient recovery for relative plasma epinephrine measures. Norepinephrine, heart rate, and cortisol did not parallel this recovery pattern. These results provide some support for the research which indicates that high levels of aerobic power are associated with greater coping efficiency.
Standardization Within Subjects: A Critique of Ben‐Shakhar's Conclusions
Authors: Stemmler Gerhard
Published: February 2007

A recent study (Ben‐Shakhar. 1985) reported evidence in favor of standardizing skin conductance response measures within individuals as compared to the Paintal Index (phasic range‐correction) or to raw responses. Notwithstanding the possible efficiency of within‐individual standardization as a means to reduce individual differences in responsivity, this critique is intended to direct attention to three sources of bias that severely limit the generalizability of Ben‐Shakbar's evidence: the response magnitude bias, the bias from unequal numbers of stimuli, and the enhanced correlation of response and standardizing measure. In order to illustrate the range of results obtained from these transformations, an artificial data set was generated based upon the design and statistical procedures employed by Ben‐Shakhar.
Does Methylphenidate Affect Information Processing? Findings From Two Studies on Performance and P3b Latency
Authors: Brumaghim Joan T. , Klorman Rafael , Strauss Jaine , Lewine Jeffrey D. , Goldstein Michael G.
Published: February 2007

Two studies were conducted to assess the impact of methylphenidate on normal young adults in a fixed version of Steinberg's memory scanning task. Both studies yielded characteristic monotonic increases in reaction time (RT) and P3b latency as a function of memory load. Also, in both studies, methylphenidate speeded up RT as and decreased error rates and intra subject RT variability. However, the slope of RT as a function of memory load, i.e. the rate of memory search, was not altered by the stimulant. In Study 1, P3b latency also was not affected by methylphenidate, a result suggesting that the stimulant brought about the decrease in RT by acting after the completion of evaluation, presumably by accelerating response processes. However, in Study 2, the drug significantly shortened P3b latency and the interval between RT and P3b latency. Thus, a speeding of both evaluation as well as motor processes was achieved. A review of procedural differences between the two studies suggests some possible explanations. In combination, the two studies indicate that methylphenidate consistently shortened the timing of motor processes and, under some circumstances, the duration of evaluation processes as well.
Factors Related to Behavioral Control by Stimuli Presented During Sleep
Authors: Harsh John , Badia Pietro , O'Rourke Diane , Burton Stephen , Revis Christopher , Magee Jon
Published: February 2007

Two experiments are presented concerning the control of learned behavior by stimuli presented during sleep. The rule of associative and nonassociative factors was assessed in Experiment 1. Group I was tested to demonstrate that, following instructions during wakefulness, subjects would terminate tones presented during sleep by taking a deep breath. To determine the likelihood of spontaneous responses during the tone, two groups were tested following the same instructions but with tones omitted on every trial (Group II) or every other trial (Group III). To determine whether breathing responses might be due to tone‐elicited arousal. Group IV was tested without instructions to make the breathing response. Reliable responding was found only for Group I. Experiment 2 concerned within‐ and across‐night patterns of responsiveness under the procedure investigated in Experiment 1. Subjects were tested for either 4 consecutive or 4 nonconsecutive nights. Response latencies increased within nights and also across nights with a greater rate of increase on consecutive nights. The data are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the effects of behavioral demands during sleep.
Cardiovascuiar‐CNS Interactions During a Self‐Paced, Intentional Attentive State: Elite Marksmanship Performance
Authors: Hatfield Brad D. , Landers Daniel M. , Ray William J.
Published: February 2007

Data were obtained from elite rifle marksmen during baseline and performance conditions (prior to trigger pull) to examine electroencephalographic (EEC) alpha and heart rate (Ilk) patterning. The results were discussed in terms of “response intention” because a trend was found in HR patterning during performance which paralleled that associated with Laceys' (1970) work on selfpaced “key pressing.” Additionally, directional fractionation of the arousal response was evidenced by an increase in tonic MR from baseline to performance which was accompanied by an absence of change in EECJ, Finally, regression analyses revealed a differential relationship of temporal EEC with HR. Specifically, a cardiac “sensitivity” of the right hemisphere was shown by an association between HR and subsequent EEG during the final phase of the marksman's preparatory state. Occipital EEC also appeared to be influenced by cardiovascular activity. These findings extend the generality of the fractionated arousal construct to an intentional and well‐learned motor skill paradigm and question the generality of the activation model.
An Event‐Related Potential Analysis of Incongruity in Music and Other Non‐Linguistic Contexts
Authors: Besson M. , Macar F.
Published: February 2007

This study was designed to determine whether the N400 component, described by Kutas and Hillyard as an index of semantic expectancy, would he elicited by deviations involving non‐linguistic expectancies. The stimuli within the four experimental conditions included: 1) sentences, 2) geometric patterns of increasing or decreasing size, 3) scale‐notes of increasing or decreasing frequency, and 4) well‐known French melodies. An N400 appeared only following semantic incongruities within sentences. Non‐linguistic deviations were followed by a late positivity whose amplitude varied across conditions. These results are consistent with an interpretation of N400 as an index of the further processing required by linguistic incongruities rather than by violations of arbitrary or over learned rules in general. However, alternative interpretations exist and are discussed.
Habituation of the Skin Conductance Response to Strong Stimuli: A Twin Study
Authors: Lykken D.T. , Iacono W.G. , Haroian K. , Mc Gue M. , Bouchard T.J.
Published: February 2007

Skin conductance responses to a series of loud tones were measured bilaterally in 121 pairs of adult twins, 53 pairs reared together and 68 pairs reared apart. Subjects were given an absorbing task on which to focus their attention and instructed to ignore the meaningless tones. Rangecorrection eliminated hand and sex differences in SCR amplitude and also the correlation with age of this variable. For the combined group of 79 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins, the within‐pair correlations for Y‐intercept, the slope of the habituation curve, and the number of trials to habituation were near the limits of retest reliability for these variables. After range‐correction, the correlation for Y‐intercept for the 42 pairs of dizygotic (DZ) twins was about half the MZ value, suggesting that initial electrodermal reactivity is strongly genetic and can be interpreted according to a polygenic‐additive model. Biometric model testing indicated that stable individual differences in uncorrected SCR amplitude and in habituation slope are primarily determined by non‐additive genetic factors. About 40% of the total variance (and most of the stable variance) in number of trials to habituation is genetically determined. Co‐twins of MZ twins who were electrodermal nonresponders tended also to be hyporesponsive while co‐twins of DZ nonresponders tended to be normoresponsive.
Heart Rate Offset Responses to Visual Stimuli in Infants from 14 to 26 Weeks of Age
Authors: Richards John E.
Published: February 2007

Heart rate offset responses to visual stimuli were studied in infants tested cross‐sectionally at 14, 20, and 26 weeks of age. In Experiments 1 and 2, offset responses were measured in each infant following visual stimuli presented with three procedures. The fixed interval method consisted of stimulus presentations of 7 s in duration. The infant control method consisted of stimulus presentations which were terminated when the infant looked away from them. The interrupted stimulus method consisted of stimulus presentations which were terminated when the infant looked away toward an interrupting, secondary stimulus. In Experiment 3 these procedures were compared with two procedures in which stimulus termination occurred at the point of heart rate deceleration or the return of heart rate toward prestimulus level. The stimuli in Experiment 1 were checkerboard patterns, in Experiment 2 were complex and varying stimuli, and in Experiment 3 were either TV stimuli or an overhead light.

The offset responses were similar for the fixed interval and infant control methods, and consisted of brief heart rate decelerations. The magnitude of the heart rate response was generally small (1.5 to 2 bpm), with the largest heart rate response being 4 bpm. The pre‐offset heart rate response was similar for the infant control and interrupted stimulus and heart rate acceleration trials, with heart rate showing a return to prestimulus levels immediately preceding subject‐controlled fixation termination. Infants with high levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) measured during a 5‐min baseline showed larger heart rate offset responses than did low RSA infants. These results call into question the interpretation of heart rate offset responses in the context of Sokolov's model of the orienting response. However, the offset paradigm is useful in the study of subject‐controlled attention processes.
Psychophysiology and Psychopathology: A Motivational Approach
Authors: Fowles Don C.
Published: February 2007

The current zeitgeist strongly emphasizes genetic and biochemical approaches to psychopathology over psychological and psychobiological approaches. It is argued that a psychobiological model, involving a theory of motivation derived from the animal learning literature, offers an attractive theoretical bridge between neurochemical influences and the phenotypic features of psychiatric disorders. This model involves separate but interactive appetitive and aversive motivational systems that control behavioral activation (appetitive) and inhibition (aversive). Ways in which these motivational constructs can be relevant to psychopathology are discussed for anxiety, psychopathy, childhood disorders, depression, mania, drug abuse, and schizophrenia. Because of this general application, motivational constructs offer an attractive theoretical framework for understanding psychopathology.

Application of the motivational theory to psychophysiology suggested that heart rate may be significantly influenced by appetitive motivation. A series of studies have shown that heart rate during performance of a continuous motor task does respond to appetitive motivation in the form of performance‐contingent monetary incentives, but does not respond to aversive stimulation in the form of failure feedback. Nonspecific skin conductance fluctuations have not responded to appetitive motivation in this paradigm, but this failure could possibly be due to ceiling effects. Nonspecific skin conductance fluctuations do respond to aversive stimulation in other contexts. These findings suggest that under the right circumstances appetitive motivation can be assessed via heart rate and aversive motivation via skin conductance.
The Discriminability of Temporal Patterns Used in the Whitehead Discrimination Procedure
Authors: Jones Gary E. , Collins Steven W. , Dabkowski Edward A. , Jones Kenneth R.
Published: February 2007

Katkin, Reed, and DeRoo (1983) reported that subjects were unable to make discriminations between two exteroceptively presented tones at delays commonly used in the Whitehead heartbeat detection procedure. To further evaluate this report, 72 men and women were equally divided into five experimental and one control group and presented with two tactile, auditory, visual, or two mixed‐mode exteroceptive stimulus pairs (tactile/visual and tactile/auditory). Also, external stimuli were presented so that SI occurred either concomitantly with each R‐wave (coincident) or delayed 100 ms after each R‐wave (noncoincident). This procedure occurred during the first two phases of the data collection process. Phase 3 consisted of 40 standard Whitehead heartbeat discrimination trials. All five experimental groups were shown to have high levels of performance with the exteroceptive stimuli and high proportions of good discriminators. Analyses within groups showed that performance did not differ significantly across the coincident and noncoincident exteroceptive discrimination conditions, but both of these phases showed significantly higher performance than during the Whitehead task. Therefore, the data clearly show that subjects are able to make the temporal discriminations required in the Whitehead paradigm when stimuli are presented exteroceptively, but that the ability to make exteroceptive temporal discriminations has little to do with the ability to make similar interoceptive discriminations.
Topographic Study of Auditory Event‐Related Potentials in Normal Boys and Boys with Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Authors: Satterfield James H. , Schell Anne M. , Nicholas Thomas , Backs Richard W.
Published: February 2007

Auditory evoked potentials were recorded from 19 electrode sites in 20 children with Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity and 20 normal subjects in a two‐choice discrimination task. N2 and Nd were found to be significantly smaller in subjects with Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity. The N2 abnormalities are discussed in relationship to the mismatch negativity component of the orienting response, poor discrimination of salient stimuli, neurotransmitter deficiency, and theories of “arousal.’Nd findings are related to findings from studies of cerebral blood flow in children diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity. These results suggest a problem with both automatic (not under conscious control) and controlled (under voluntary control) processing in children with Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity.
Laboratory and Ambulatory Monitoring of Menopausal Hot Flashes
Authors: Freedman Robert R.
Published: February 2007

A large increase in skin conductance activity recorded from the sternum was found during menopausal hot flashes and corresponded well with patient self‐reports. The magnitude and time course of this skin conductance change was similar during spontaneous hot flashes recorded in the laboratory, during heat‐induced hot flashes, and during those recorded by ambulatory monitoring techniques. This pattern of sternal skin conductance change did not occur in premenopausal women during body heating or ambulatory monitoring. These methods should be useful in research on the etiology and treatment of menopausal hot flashes.
Psychophysiologic Stress Responsivity in Type A and B Female College Students and Community Women
Authors: Morell Marie A.
Published: February 2007

Extreme Type A and Type B women (Jenkins Activity Survey) randomly assigned to low or high stress conditions of a forced choice reaction time task were monitored for heart rate (interbeat intervals), pulse transit time, skin conductance levels, and skin conductance responses during baseline, task, and recovery periods. Participants included 41 female undergraduates (student sample) and 58 women aged 25–65 years (community sample).

Multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that among the students, Type As exposed to high stress had significantly higher skin conductance levels at baseline than did the Type As in low stress. During the reaction time stress task, student Type As in high versus low stress exhibited both higher heart rates and more skin conductance responses, although these effects did not occur for Type Bs. After covarying the baseline physiologic indices, results revealed that both heart rate and skin conductance levels were significantly higher for students in high versus low stress, but the Behavior Type X Stress interaction disappeared. In contrast, the Behavior Type X Stress interaction remained for skin conductance responses. Findings in the community sample showed only a nonsignificant trend for higher heart rate in high stress Type As than in low stress Type As.

These results provide very weak evidence for a relationship in physiological indices between Type A behavior and stress in women across a broad age range. Implications are discussed with regard to sex differences in behavior type and possible interactions between behavior type and stress responsivity.
Race, Parental History of Hypertension, and Patterns of Cardiovascular Reactivity in Women
Authors: Anderson Norman B. , Land James D. , Taguchi Fumihito , Williams Redford B. , Houseworth Stephen J.
Published: February 2007

This study examined the interaction of race and parental history of hypertension on patterns of cardiovascular responses among women. Two stressors were used that produce different patterns of cardiovascular reactivity: mental arithmetic, primarily a beta‐adrenergic stimulus, and the cold face stimulus, which evokes alpha‐adrenergic (i.e. vascular) activity. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, forearm blood flow, and forearm vascular resistance were assessed before, during, and after arithmetic and cold face stimulus. Both tasks produced the expected patterns of cardiovascular adjustment, although no Black‐White differences occurred during arithmetic. However, Black subjects did show a slower recovery of diastolic blood pressure following arithmetic. The cold face stimulus produced significantly greater changes in systolic blood pressure in the Black than in the White women. Parental history of hypertension did not relate significantly to reactivity. The results provide limited support for the idea that Black females exhibit a greater pressor response than White females to a stimulus that produces primarily vascular rather than cardiac changes. These findings are discussed in relation to previous findings with males and with respect to their implications for the role of reactivity in Black‐White differences in hypertension prevalence.
The Autonomic Differentiation of Emotions Revisited: Convergent and Discriminant Validation
Authors: Stemmler Gerhard
Published: February 2007

The convergent and discriminant validity of three models of physiological emotion specificity were compared, Forty‐two female students served as subjects in a 2 (Context of emotional inductions: real‐life, imagery) × 3 (Emotion: fear, anger, control) + 1 (Happiness induced in real‐life context) repeated measures design. The dependent measures included self‐reports of emotion, Gottschalk‐Gleser affect scores, back and forearm extensor EMG activity, body movements, heart period, respiration period, skin conductance, skin temperatures, pulse transit time, pulse volume amplitude, and blood volumes. Self‐report data confirmed the generation of affective states in both contexts, as intended. Planned multivariate comparisons between physiological profiles established discriminant validity for fear and anger in the real‐life context, whereas under imagery, emotion profiles were essentially equal. Convergent validity could not be substantiated. Implications for models of physiological specificity of emotion were discussed.
Comparison of Spot and Band Impedance Cardiogram Electrodes across Different Tasks
Authors: Boomsma Dorret I. , Vries Johan de , Orlebeke Jacob F.
Published: February 2007

Impedance cardiography has become of widespread interest as a noninvasive cardiovascular monitoring technique. This study compared the use of spot electrodes and two different types of band electrodes in the determination of systolic time intervals and stroke volume. EKG, impedance cardiogram, and phonocardiogram were recorded on 12 volunteers during rest, during a reaction time task, and after a short exercise task. Systolic time intervals (pre‐ejection period and left ventricular ejection time) were computed on a beat‐to‐beat basis and on the ensemble‐averaged signals. The only differences between spot and band electrodes were for impedance base level and electrode conductance. For stroke volume and the systolic time interval measures there were no differences between electrode arrays, nor were there any interactions with tasks. Correlations for stroke volume and systolic time interval measures as determined under different electrode conditions were around 8.