bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dose of propofol required to insert the laryngeal mask airway in children
Authors: ALLSOP E. , INNES P. , JACKSON M. , CUNLIFFE M.
Published: February 2007

We have assessed the ease of insertion of the Brain Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) after induction of anaesthesia with propofol in 60 healthy unpremedicated children aged between four and nine years. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups: group A = propofol 2.5 mg·kg−1; group B = propofol 3 mg·kg−1 and group C = propofol 3.5 mg·kg−1. Propofol was mixed with lignocaine 0.5 mg·kg−1. Insertion conditions were assessed subjectively as good, acceptable, unacceptable or impossible. Insertion of the LMA was possible in all patients. Good and acceptable conditions were obtained in 35%, 70% and 95% in groups A, B, and C respectively (P < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant inter group variation in systolic and diastolic arterial pressure or in heart rate for five min after induction. All measured cardiovascular changes were considered to be clinically insignificant in healthy children. We conclude it is safe and effective to insert a LMA immediately after induction of anaesthesia with propofol 3.5 mg·kg−1.
Larsen's syndrome: anaesthetic implications. Six case reports
Authors: LAUDER G.R. , SUMNER E.
Published: February 2007

Six cases were examined to review the important anaesthetic implications of Larsen's syndrome. Potential problems arising in these patients are highlighted and emphasis placed on cervical spine and airway/respiratory management.
Prevalence of unsuspected myopathy in infants presenting for clubfoot surgery
Authors: ZANETTE GASTONE , MANANI GIOVANNI , PITTONI GIOVANNI , ANGELINI CORRADO , TREVISAN CARLO P. , TURRA SISTO
Published: February 2007

The objective of this study was an evaluation of the prevalence of myopathies in paediatric patients scheduled for orthopaedic surgery (clubfoot) performed under regional anaesthesia. Seventeen infants scheduled for lower limb orthopaedic surgery were studied to verify coexisting neuromuscular disorders with electromyography and muscle biopsy during surgery. All surgical procedures were performed under caudal block or spinal anaesthesia, associated with light general anaesthesia. No major cardiorespiratory, neurological or malignant hyperthermic complications (muscle rigidity, arrhythmias, hyperpyrexia) were observed. Combined neurological, electromyographic and biopsy studies showed a high rate of myopathic changes (70%). Performance of clubfoot surgery under light general anaesthesia with regional techniques was free from any problems. The high rate of myopathic changes (70%) observed in the muscle biopsies suggests that precautions should be taken with paediatric patients for clubfoot surgery and a regional anaesthesia technique with adequate monitoring may be helpful to prevent possible malignant hyperthermia related problems.
Can persistent cerebral damage be caused by hyperglycaemia?
Authors: BUSH G.H. , STEWARD D.J.
Published: February 2007

An eight‐year‐old girl demonstrated severe and persistent neurological damage following an uneventful anaesthetic for a planned appendicectomy. The perioperative period was remarkable only in that the patient experienced very severe hyperglycaemia and an epileptiform convulsion. A possible mechanism for neurological damage as a result of severe hyperglycaemia is described.
Moebius syndrome: a review of the anaesthetic implications
Authors: FERGUSON SCOTT
Published: February 2007

Moebius syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by multiple cranial nerve palsies, orofacial malformations and limb anomalies. This study retrospectively reviewed the anaesthetic records of 19 children with Moebius syndrome who had anaesthesia at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children over a 15 year period and analysed the complications which occurred. Affected children most commonly present for anaesthesia for correction of strabismus, or for orthopaedic procedures to improve limb function. Despite the abnormal facies and drooling of saliva, these children are almost always of normal intelligence. Problems can arise during anaesthesia, with a high incidence of difficult or failed intubation. The use of a facemask and spontaneous breathing technique, where appropriate, seems to present no problems and maintaining an airway in this way appears to be safe. However, the potential for problems with aspiration of oral secretions should be remembered and the use of antisialogogue premedication is recommended. Affected children have a high incidence of other anomalies, including congenital cardiac disease, spinal anomalies, corneal abrasions and peripheral neuropathies and a careful preoperative assessment is essential.
Comparison of 25 G and 29 G Quincke spinal needles in paediatric day case surgery. A prospective randomized study of the puncture characteristics, success rate and postoperative complaints
Authors: KOKKI H. , HENDOLIN H.
Published: February 2007

A comparison of a 25 G with a 29 G Quincke needle was performed in paediatric day case surgery. Sixty healthy children aged 1 year to 13 years were randomly allocated to have spinal anaesthesia with either 25 G or 29 G Quincke needle without an introducer needle. There was a failure rate of 10% with the 29 G spinal needle compared with 0% with the 25 G needle. The time needed to perform dural puncture was shorter using 25 G than 29 G needle, 22 (±31)(SD) vs 59 (±63) s. The time taken for cerebrospinal fluid to appear at the needle hub was also longer, 4 (±3) vs 8 (±5) s. The number of puncture attempts was similar, 1.2 (±0.6) vs 1.4 (±0.8), with 25 G and 29 G needle. Low back pain, 5 vs1, and nonpositional headache, 2 vs 4, after 25 G and 29 G needles, respectively, were the most frequent postoperative complaints. Mild postdural puncture headache occurred in one eight year old male patient in the 25 G group. In conclusion, lumbar puncture without introducer needle was possible with both needles. The puncture characteristics favoured the 25 G needle. A shorter needle could partly alleviate the difficulties with the 29 G needle.
Anaesthesia and recently vaccinated children
Authors: VAN DER WALT J.H. , ROBERTON D.M.
Published: February 2007

Most countries have active vaccination programmes for children aged two months and older. It is likely that many children presenting for medical procedures which require general anaesthesia have been vaccinated recently. Although there is no evidence suggesting increased risks associated with anaesthetizing recently vaccinated children there are many theoretical reasons why this situation needs critical assessment and review. After vaccination there is local swelling and pain at the site of the injection and the most common side effects seen are fever, malaise, headache, rash and myalgia which may last from one day to three weeks. Anaesthesia, stress and trauma are known to suppress the immune system. It is suggested that if possible, children should not be subjected to anaesthesia for elective procedures within two to three weeks after vaccination. Urgent procedures should be managed according to anaesthetic principles which will minimize the effect of anaesthesia on the physiological system affected by the immunization process at the time. Paediatric anaesthesia risk management programmes should include vaccination data to enable the risks of anaesthesia in recently vaccinated children to be analysed.
Spontaneous neonatal gastric perforation
Authors: YOUNG AMBER E.R. , SURY MICHAEL R.J.
Published: February 2007

Spontaneous neonatal gastric perforation is a rare neonatal event. We report three cases which demonstrate that significant cardiovascular instability can occur in these patients. We suggest that if the diagnosis is known preoperatively, invasive monitoring should be instituted, and that it is likely that these children will require large volumes of colloid and inotropic support.
Mitochondrial myopathies: an unusual cause of hypotonia in infants and children
Authors: KEYES MARY A. , VAN DE WIELE BARBARA , STEAD STANLEY W.
Published: February 2007

Children frequently undergo muscle biopsy for the workup of hypotonia under general anaesthesia which poses unique risks in patients with undiagnosed muscle disease. Mitochondrial myopathies are a relatively newly recognized cause of myopathy and multisystem disease in both adults and children. The diagnosis is complex. In addition to causing myopathy, there are metabolic derangements present in some cases that may be life‐threatening. We present three cases of children with hypotonia where the diagnosis was suspected in two patients, and confirmed in the third. The question of whether patients with mitochondrial myopathies are at increased risk for developing malignant hyperthermia is discussed.
On the determination of the manpower requirements of old people's homes
Authors: Knapp Martin R. J.
Published: February 2007

THE determination of the optimal level of staffing of residential homes has received much attention in the thirty years since the National Assistance Act. However, each recommendation for a staff‐resident ratio has been based on only a partial study of the many determinants. This paper sets out those determinants of manpower requirements suggested by an economic model of residential care. Using data collected in the Census of Residential Accommodation, the impact of home design, resident dependency, and service delivery determinants is examined empirically with the help of a series of multiple regression analyses. These determinants are found to explain much of the observed variation in the number of supervisory, care, domestic, and night staff and in the corresponding staff‐resident ratios. The results would appear to imply that local authorities should be careful in designing new old people's homes in order to promote resident independence; that the increasing dependency of successive cohorts of new entrants to these institutions will push up manpower requirements, particularly for care and night staff; and that the integration of residential and day care services likewise has important implications for staffing policies.
Reviving Rowntree: Poverty lines and the levels of social security benefits for the unemployed; 1950–19781
Authors: Upton Martin
Published: February 2007

Annual Abstract of Statistics Department of Employment and Productivity Gazette Monthly Digest of Statistics New Earnings Survey Social Security Statistics
Married Women in Jobs
Authors: Cameron S.
Published: February 2007

This article examines the association of personal and family factors with double job holding by married women in Great Britain in 1974. The author first considers reasons for double job holding and then examines data on the subject from the General Household Survey. The literature on the incidence and causes of second‐job holding in Great Britain is extremely small.1 To the best of the present author's knowledge there have been no studies in any country which attempt to explain the decision to hold two jobs in terms of family behaviour. Most studies are interested in asking people general questions about why they have two jobs rather than investigating contingent factors which may be responsible for the decision to hold a second job. The present paper attempts to discover why married women have two jobs using data from the 1974 General Household Survey. The topic is one of importance as the advent of two‐job wives may have a variety of implications for family role structure and public policy.
Police Complaints Procedure: An Overview
Authors: Loveday Barry
Published: February 2007

The article reviews the system of enquiries into complaints about the police, after the 1964 and 1976 Police Acts. It concludes that there are still many unsatisfactory areas despite recent reviews and reforms.
Long‐Term Unemployment: New Initiatives
Authors: Holland Geoffrey
Published: February 2007

Responding to Professor Leaper's basic article in the Spring 1985 issue, the Director of the Manpower Services Commission accepts that long‐term unemployment will continue at a high level. He analyses the big changes in the kind of jobs available, particularly over the last twenty years in manufacturing industry. Long‐term unemployed people need special programmes as well as being helped to adapt to new types of employment like other workers. The Community Programme of the MSC has been successful in meeting special needs, and is this year substantially increased in scope. It should be further improved by: having higher national standards, by getting employers to sponsor more projects, by using the Enterprise Allowance Scheme to help CP workers to go on to self‐employment. These improvements will encourage people generally to feed in new ideas for responding to the challenge of long‐term unemployment.
The Forgotten Million Unemployed
Authors: Ashby Peter
Published: February 2007

In July 1985 the National Council for Voluntary Organisations launched a campaign for “action for the forgotten million”— the four out of every five long‐term unemployed people who receive no practical support from the public services, apart from their benefits. The author of the National Council discussion document outlines some of the major issues which will need to be faced. In particular, he argues that public debate tends to concentrate too narrowly on specific initiatives and individual programmes. Instead, there is a need to consider the rights of all long‐term unemployed people, and the needs of the group as a whole.
Accommodation for Elderly People With Special Needs: 1971–1981
Authors: Hyman Mavis
Published: February 2007

The first five years of the decade under review was marked by an expansion in the provision of public sector residential care for the elderly, spurred on by the government's guidelines for a growth in capital spending. After 1973 attention focused on ideas concerning welfare pluralism and the forms it might take. Any major restructuring would include two major factors: an examination by the state of priorities on provision of professional and technical skills, a clarification of the goals of those services on offer and an assessment of changes in the circumstances of clients and the character of services. A regulatory jole would require tapping in resources in the voluntary and private sectors and taking adequate care on responsibility and public accountability, monitoring procedures and evaluating results.
Rural Transport Needs
Authors: Coles Oliver B.
Published: February 2007

There have been important stimuli to the intensive applied study of rural public passenger transport over the past decade. These include legal obligations placed on the shire counties (of 1974) to co‐ordinate provision with regard to need, rural residents’access to services, and the demands from both academic and political quarters for the rigorous assessment of local government services and functions. There are certain methodological “loose connections”. Examined here is the concern with objective service quality measures linked to observed consumer behaviour as the source of information. Undue importance has been attached to the study of consumers’adaptation to service loss, at the expense of interest in questions of equity and absolute service levels. The resulting model promises both to assist in ensuring that equity and opportunity costs of subsidies are explicitly considered, and to highlight localities in which detailed household surveys and accessibility measurement excercises can most fruitfully be employed.
Research Programming: Description of a Dutch Experience
Authors: Jonker Jan M. L. , Pijl Marja A.
Published: February 2007

In this article we discuss research programming as one of the means to bridge the gap between research and policy. Over the last decade research programming has come to be an integral part of science policy in The Netherlands. As an example of research programming put into practice we describe and evaluate the activities of the Programming Board for Research into the Social Services. We indicate the assets and liabilities of research programming.
Welfare Ideologies and Theories of Federalism
Authors: Lightman Ernie S.
Published: February 2007

This paper examines from a theoretical perspective how each of three major ideological orientations towards the welfare state (structural left; social democracy; new/far right) might incorporate an intermediate level of interest between a central and local governments—namely, a province. While the analysis is most straightforward at either end of the spectrum, it is complex for the middle grouping. The paper observes one commonality across all points on the ideological spectrum: there is an increasing loss of faith and disillusionment everywhere with big government, with a resulting focus on more local neighbourhoods and communities (which may or may not include provinces). A brief case example, dealing with the development of legal aid in Canada, is presented for illustrative purposes. The paper ultimately suggests caution: in a world of monetarist economic policies, a central government must always retain pre‐eminent interest.
Inter‐agency Collaboration in the All‐Wales Strategy: Initial Comments on a Vanguard Area
Authors: McGrath Morag
Published: February 2007

A key element in the All‐Wales Strategy (AWS) for Services for Mentally Handicapped People is the collaboration of statutory agencies involved in planning and managing mental handicap services. This paper discusses the experience over the first three years in one county. The inter‐agency county strategic planning group exhibited a high level of consensus reflecting its structure, group processes and the issues discussed. Controversial matters were rarely raised. Further weaknesses were the low input from the Education Department and the poor communication outside the group. This consensus image is contrasted with the considerable conflict in the inter‐agency county operational management group, the failure of which reflected the different management structure and style of the health and local authority, weaknesses in the management structure for AWS developments, and a failure to resolve some crucial issues in the early stages of the strategy. The lessons learnt from these experiences and the necessary ingredients for effective collaboration are explored — a framework for collaboration, including a clear definition of function, authority and the interrelationship of the various parts and a formal system of communication, commitment from those participating and the authority of participants to implement collaborative decisions.
The Moral Dilemmas of Positive Discrimination
Authors: Edwards John
Published: February 2007

Positive discrimination is a contentious topic both politically and in social policy terms. Reasoned debate about it has been hampered by a fundamental misunderstanding about what it is and what makes it peculiar, that took hold in the immediate post‐Plowden era. This paper argues that what distinguishes positive discrimination from other practices with which it has been confused, such as selectivity and positive action, can only be understood in terms of basic canons of social or distributive justice.

Having established the moral standing of positive discrimination, the paper goes on to examine arguments that attempt to “justify” it either in terms of justice itself or of utility, and to identify the circumstances in which its use might be “justified” in Britain. The questions that surround its proper use are identified as being in large measure moral dilemmas.
Household Claiming Behaviour
Authors: Buckland Sarah , Dawson Patrick
Published: February 2007

Social security benefits provide an essential resource for most families on low incomes. This paper examines the life cycle of claiming activities, from the initial decision to claim through to routine claiming. New empirical evidence is drawn from a study of relatively low income households in South East England carried out by the Alvey DHSS Demonstrator Project. A number of analytical stages which comprise the “claiming process” are identified for the purpose of describing the complex sequence of events associated with claiming behaviour. The paper shows how adequate explanations of the life cycle of claiming activities need to be located within a broader analysis of decision‐making within relatively low income households.
Genetics After the Act: A Specialist Health Service Amid NHS Reform
Authors: Pope Catherine
Published: February 2007

This article considers the impact of the recent reform of the National Health Service (NHS) on specialist regional health services. A case study of medical genetic services is presented to highlight some problems arising from the implementation of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. New financial arrangements introduced by the Act have led many regional health authorities to devolve the finance and organization of specialist health services to districts. The introduction of competition and devolved budgets may pose especial problems for some specialist health services. In the case of genetic services these difficulties are exacerbated by new pricing rules. The paper explores these issues and suggests that the imposition of the market model on health care overlooks some vital, human elements which do not fit neatly into such a model.
An Agenda for Welfare Pluralism in Housing
Authors: Lund Brian
Published: February 2007

During the 1980s the concepts of “welfare pluralism” and a “mixed economy of welfare” were developed by academics writing from the perspective of the social democratic centre of British politics as a response to the criticisms of state welfare put forward by the New Right and the New Left in the 1970s. Whereas the New Right gave little critical attention to such concepts regarding them as useful supports to an anti‐state stance the New Left claims that they were an attempt to allow the Fabian‐style managers of the old consensus to have some role in the restructuring of welfare to be carried out by the political wing of the New Right. It is argued that the claim of the New Left has limited validity but a more certain case can be made for the contention that the lack of a detailed specification of a social and economic context for welfare pluralism has given credibility to the accusation that welfare pluralism has provided a smokescreen for the introduction of market principles into welfare. Housing policy is here utilized to illustrate the argument and the ingredients of a socio‐economic context for welfare pluralism in housing policy are set out in the hope that similar frameworks will be provided for other domains of welfare.
The Reformed National Health Service: A Commentary
Authors: Appleby John
Published: February 2007

This article presents an overview of the current state of the reforms of the British NHS instigated by the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) following the White Paper Working for Patients (1989) and introduced in England and Wales in 1991 and in Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1992. The reforms were not only wide ranging—affecting virtually all aspects of health care organization and delivery—but also ongoing. Moreover, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the reforms. While making reference to other aspects of the reforms this survey article concentrates on two important issues of central concern to the NHS—efficiency and equity—and highlights some of the associated research and literature.
Leading Article: Welfare Development in the Midst of Political Uncertainty
Authors: Chow Nelson W. S.
Published: February 2007

On 1st July 1997 Hong Kong will be transformed from a British colony into a Special Administration Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. Although the Basic Law, a mini‐constitution for the future SAR government, states that “Hong Kong's capitalist system and lifestyle will remain unchanged for 50 years after the establishment of the SAR”, changes are perceived to be inevitable, not least in respect of the welfare policies to be implemented by the future SAR government. Indeed, since the signing of the Joint Declaration in 1984 between the British and Chinese Governments on the future of Hong Kong, the existing Colonial Government has been enlarging its role in the social services and making relevant policies more responsive to the needs of the people. These reforms have largely been carried out in line with the democratization process which Hong Kong has been undergoing in recent years.

To what extent will these changes in welfare policies continue after 1997? It is argued here that with the enlargement of democracy, and especially the establishment of political parties claiming to represent the interests of the people, it would no longer be possible for Hong Kong to return to residual‐type welfare programmes. While it would be unlikely for Hong Kong to develop into a “welfare state”, the future development of social services in Hong Kong would probably command widest acceptance if policies keep in line with the prevalent welfare ideology which stresses, on the one hand, the self‐reliance of the people and, on the other, the responsibility of government to look after weaker members.
Teaching Quality Audit
Authors: Finer Catherine Jones
Published: February 2007

This paper comments briefly on the experience of the Teaching Quality Audit (social policy) organized by the Higher Educational Funding Council (UK), from the point of view of those who were audited. It is an impressionistic account rather than a survey report. It concludes with recommendations as to hew the operation of Teaching Quality Audit might be rendered more efficient, effective, equitable and credible.
TECHNIQUES OF PLETHYSMOGRAPHY
Authors: Brown Clinton C. , Giddbon Donald B. , Dean E. Douglas
Published: February 2007

Four plethysmographic techniques‐rheoplethysmography, electrical impedance plethysmography, girth plethysmography, and photoplethysmography–are described and their theoretic bases discussed. Advantages and limitations are noted, and particular emphasis is given to the optical methods and the use of glass fiber light guides in the construction of the transducer. Typical examples of current plethysmographic research are presented.
ADAPTIVE VALUE OF AROUSAL SWEATING AND THE EPIDERMAL MECHANISM RELATED TO SKIN POTENTIAL AND SKIN RESISTANCE
Authors: Wilcott R. C.
Published: February 2007

The following five experiments are reported.

After palmar sweating is abolished by atropine, the skin is easier to drill with a dental burr. This suggests that arousal sweating protects the skin against mechanical injury.

Intracutaneous injection of acetylcholine or mecholyl at the forearm will produce skin potential (SP) effects of both negative and positive polarity and also a reduction in skin resistance (SR). This suggests that a cholinergic substance is involved in the production of SP and SR.

Intracutaneous injection of mecholyl at the forearm will either lower or raise the pain threshold to a needle prick. A lowering of the pain threshold was associated with the presence of an SP negative effect and a rise was associated with an SP positive effect. It is concluded that the adaptive value of the cholinergic substance related to SP and SR is to modulate cutaneous sensitivity.

The pain threshold to an electric shock can be lowered or raised by mecholyl injection. This may show that the pain threshold can be varied by mecholyl injection independently of its effects on sweating.

Lowering of the electric shock pain threshold at the palm is associated with the appearance of both SP negative and positive responses. This further demonstrates a relation between SP activity and pain sensitivity but indicates that the direction of the change in the pain threshold is not dependent on SP response polarity.
OPERANT SALIVARY CONDITIONING IN MAN
Authors: Brown Clinton C. , Katz Ruth A.
Published: February 2007

Operant conditioning of the human parotid salivary response was attempted in order to bypass some of the difficulties encountered in classical conditioning procedures. Spontaneous, unstimulated parotid saliva was collected from two groups of human subjects under two reward conditions. One group was rewarded for salivary peaks, defined as an increase in on‐going salivary rate to a criterion of 3 drops/5 sec; the other was rewarded only at times of non‐peaking or minimal salivation. A significant increase in the number of peaks was found in the “peak reward” group, hut there was no change in salivary rate in the “non‐peak reward” group. The data demonstrate salivary conditioning in human subjects by means of operant reward technique.
SQUARE‐WAVE ANALYSIS OF SKIN IMPEDANCE
Authors: Lykken David T.
Published: February 2007

A method is described for studying skin impedance phenomena, based on analysis of waveforms of current through the skin produced by square voltage pulses. In several experiments, the method is used to provide data relevant to the choice of an appropriate equivalent circuit for skin. Removal of the stratum corneum eliminates the parallel resistive and capacitative elements, and slightly reduces the series or ‘ohmic’ resistance. During healing the source of skin potential recovers before the other electrodermal parameters have returned to normal. The relationship of these parameters to electrode area, current density, and site temperature is studied. It is argued that the capacitance of skin may not vary with the frequency of the measuring current, in contrast to traditional views. The main purpose of the paper is to illustrate and advocate the square‐wave method of analysis.
THE EFFECTS OF UCS TEMPORAL UNCERTAINTY ON HEART RATE AND PAIN
Authors: Bowers Kenneth S.
Published: February 2007

Every one of the 8 Ss in this experiment showed lower heart rate in anticipation of a temporally uncertain UCS than he did during anticipation of a temporally certain one. Vigilance for uncertainty removing cues during UCS uncertain trials was offered as an explanation for the reduced heart rate of this condition. Previous investigations showing acceleration in heart rate under conditions of UCS temporal uncertainty were criticized, particularly with respect to the adequacy of the cardiac baseline employed. One unexpected and unexplained finding of this study was that 7 out of 8 Ss rated shocks as more painful when the UCS was certain than when it was uncertain.
EXPLICITLY‐UNPAIRED AND TRULY‐RANDOM CS—CONTROLS IN HUMAN CLASSICAL DIFFERENTIAL AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING
Authors: Furedy John J.
Published: February 2007

The conventionally used explicitly‐unpaired CS– (euCS–) of the differential conditioning paradigm, a stimulus which is negatively correlated with the US, may generate inhibition and hence be an inappropriate control for CS+ conditioning. An implication of this possibility is that the CS+:euCS– performance difference should exceed the difference between CS+ performance and performance to a truly‐random CS– (trCS–), a stimulus which is uncorrelated with US occurrence. This implication was tested in a 5‐sec delay conditioning skin resistance response study (Exp. I, N = 32) and an 8‐sec delay conditioning plethysmographic digital pulse volume response study (Exp. II, N = 48). While highly reliable discrimination between CS+ and the two control CSs (euCS– and trCS–) was obtained in both experiments, neither experiment yielded the outcome expected from the position that euCS– generates inhibition.
A Method for Storing a Program of Stimuli and Responses on Magnetic Tape Using Frequency Coding
Authors: Hartley L. R.
Published: February 2007

A system for encoding and storing a program of stimuli on magnetic tape is described. The system uses tones of different frequency recorded on magnetic tape as the code. The decoder is a frequency selective integrated circuit capable of recognizing a wide range of frequencies. A number of these devices may be combined in parallel to decode tones signalling different contingencies to the subjects. The device may be readily interfaced with integrated circuit logic to generate the stimuli and process behavioral responses.
The Effects of Immediate Feedback Upon Voluntary Control of Salivary Rate
Authors: Wells David T. , Feather Ben W. , Headrick Mary W.
Published: February 2007

Thirteen human subjects (Ss) were given immediate auditory feedback concerning their salivary rates and were asked both to increase and to decrease their rates during a series of 30‐sec trials. Significant decreases, but not increases, in salivary rate were obtained relative to baseline. During the second half of the experiment, when feedback was omitted until the end of each trial, Ss maintained significant differential response rates between increase and decrease trials, but the reliability of decreases from expected baseline was reduced. Thirteen control Ss, who received feedback only at the end of each trial during both halves of the experiment, were unable to alter their rates during either half. Salivation on increase and decrease trials was not systematically correlated with changes in either heart rate or breathing rate in the immediate feedback group.
The Latency of the Skin Resistance Response and Reaction Time
Authors: Cowles Michael P.
Published: February 2007

Skin conductance level (SCL) and skin resistance response (SRR) latency to a foreperiod warning light were shown to be related to a measure of simple reaction time performance. Other physiological measures monitored immediately prior to the task were not related to performance nor were they interrelated. Speculation is offered on the possible mechanism whereby a central facilitation system is related to SRR latency and to performance.
The Relationship Between Respiration Phase and Reaction Time
Authors: Beh Helen C. , Nix‐James Dawn R.
Published: February 2007

The relationship between phase of normal respiration and reaction time (RT) was studied. Ss were required to respond by pressing a switch each time a simple auditory signal was presented. Averages of response times were calculated for signals occurring during each of three identifiable phases of normal respiration. It was found that mean RT for signals presented during the inhalation phase of respiration was significantly less than for signals presented during either the exhalation phase or the pause between exhalation and inhalation.
Equating Individual Differences For Auditory Input
Authors: McGuinness Diane
Published: February 2007

While the level of intensity of a stimulus is highly controlled in most psychological experiments, there has never been a corresponding demonstration that the level of stimulus intensity is perceived by different subjects as being equivalent. That this is not the case has been demonstrated here. Both individual differences and a strong effect of sex were observed. A formula is given whereby control of input can be related to perceived loudness.
The Effects on Subsequent Sleep of an Acute Restriction of Sleep Length
Authors: Webb W. B. , Agnew H. W.
Published: February 2007

This experiment was designed to test the effects on subsequent sleep of a restriction in sleep length on the previous night. Eight male subjects were studied. After baseline recordings were made, sleep was restricted to either a period between 4‐8 am or to a period between 6–8 am. On the night following the restriction of sleep the subjects retired at 11 pm and they were permitted to sleep ad lib in the morning.

The restricted sleep periods resulted in differential sleep deprivation. Stages REM and 2 were markedly reduced whereas stages 3 and 4 showed little or no reduction in amount. There were significant reductions in sleep latencies and in the amount of lime spent in stages 0 and 1. The first 8 hrs of ad lib sleep following the 2 restricted sleep periods did not differ in any significant way from the 8 hrs of baseline sleep. When sleep was permitted to continue until the subjects awakened spontaneously, the sleep after the restriction of sleep to‘i hrs was significantly longer and displayed significantly more of stages REM and 2 when compared with the baseline ad lib sleep condition. The ad lib sleep period following the 4 hr condition showed similar changes although the differences were not statistically significant.

The significant reductions in stages KEM and 2 during the restricted sleep periods were attributed to the effects of reduced steep length per se. The increases in sleep length and specifically the increases in stages REM and 2 during the ad lib sleep periods were attributed to a differential sleep “debt” accruing from restricted sleep length.
Stimulus and Temporal Variables in the “Below‐Zero” Habituation of the Orienting Response
Authors: Waters William F. , McDonald David G.
Published: February 2007

Three groups of 15 male undergraduate subjects experienced three different habituation conditions: Extended Habituation (20 “below‐zero” trials), Habituation (no “below‐zero” trials), and Spontaneous Recovery Control (no “below‐zero” trials; additional spontaneous recovery time equal to that taken to present 20 “below‐zero” trials). The extended Habituation group showed no signs of strengthened habituation, as spontaneous recovery and trials to rehabituation were not less than in the Habituation group. In fact, the Extended Habituation condition mitigated the effects of habituation, since there was greater spontaneous recovery and more trials to rehabituation relative to the Habituation condition. These paradoxical findings were due primarily to sensitization effects attributable to the “below‐zero” stimuli. Further, it was found that increased spontaneous recovery time also facilitated spontaneous recovery and inhibited rehabituation. The data were seen as providing a link between “below‐zero” habituation and “overhabituation,” and also as providing support for the “dual process” theory of habituation.
Evidence of High and Low Levels of Physiological Arousal in Schizophrenics
Authors: Gruzelier J. H. , Venables P. H.
Published: February 2007

There is a long history of debate as to whether schizophrenics are over or under aroused physiologically. In this report evidence is presented that schizophrenics differ widely on measures of electrodermal activity, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and finger skin temperature. Two extreme physiological groups may be defined by the presence or absence of skin conductance orienting responses to tones of moderate intensity.
Individual Differences in the Orienting Reflex and Children&s Discriminiation Learning
Authors: Cousins Laurence R.
Published: February 2007

The relationship between individual differences in the Magnitude of the cardiac components of the orienting reflex and learning rate on a two‐choice discrimination task was investigated. This was done by assessing the heart rate response of 128 9 to 11‐yr‐old male subjects to a habituation‐dishabituation series of 24 non‐signal tactual stimuli. These same subjects were then administered a tactual discrimination learning task in which trials to criterion were recorded as the dependent variable. The overall heart rate analyses suggested that the orienting reflex was elicited by the stimulus series, that it habituated over the course of the first 20 presentations and then dishabituated on the presentation of a novel stimulus. The cardiac data of fast and slow learners suggested that there were clear‐cut differences in the heart rate response between these two groups, with the former group showing a larger magnitude OR and slower habituation than the latter group.learning rate was discussed within a two‐stage learning theory framework.
The Effects of Deep Physical Relaxation and Low‐Frequency‐Alpha Brainwaves on Alpha Subjective Reports
Authors: Marshall Marie Sage , Bentler Peter M.
Published: February 2007

Many biofeedback studies link alpha brainwaves to calmness, tranquility. inner peace, and altered stales of consciousness (hereinafter called “alpha subjective reports” or “ASRs”), but other studies do not. This experiment explores the possibility this conflict is based on: 1) varying levels of physical relaxation of subjects in different studies (relaxation hypothesis) although all subjects were in alpha brainwaves, and/or 2) the subjects' dominant alpha frequency within the alpha brainwave bandwidth (alpha‐frequency‐level hypothesis). Previous studies have not controlled these variables. Highly subjects received 50 min of biofeedback contingent on alpha brainwaves (N=32), muscle relaxation (N=32), or randomly (N=16) and reported their mental states and feelings during training. The relaxation hypothesis received very strong support–deeply relaxed subjects reported significantly more ASRs than less relaxed subjects–indicating that relaxation level could easily explain the conflict in the literature regarding ASRs. The alpha‐frequency‐level hypothesis training paradigm was not completely successful; future studies are planned to further investigate the relationship of ASRs with alpha brainwaves.
Cardiovascular and Skin Conductance Correlates of a Fixed‐Foreperiod Reaction Time Task in Retarded and Nonretarded Youth
Authors: Bower A. C. , Tate D. L.
Published: February 2007

Changes in heart rate (HR), digital and cephalic pulse amplitude, and skin conductance were studied during a fixed‐foreperiod reaction time (RT) task. Mentally retarded adolescents with a mean mental age of 9 yrs, 10 mos were compared with two nonretarded groups matched on mental age (MA) and chronological age (CA), respectively. AH subjects received 20 RT trials with distractors (music) during the 4‐sec preparatory interval (PI) and 20 trials without music in a counterbalanced design. The warning signal was a 1 sec light presentation and the reaction signal was an 82 dB tone. Retarded subjects had longer and more variable RTs than the controls. Retarded subjects had smaller HR accelerations and decelerations during the PI than the CA group but not less than the MA group. Further, the retarded group had a marginally lower tonic skin conductance level, smaller skin conductance responses, and smaller constrictions in cephalic pulse amplitude than the CA controls. The results are discussed in terms of attentional and arousal deficits in retarded persons. Some comments are focused on the developmental findings (MA vs CA groups) and on the discrepancies among the skin conductance and cardiovascular measures.
Conditioning of Evoked Potentials in Children of Differing Intelligence
Authors: Lelord G. , Laffont F. , Jusseaume Ph.
Published: February 2007

This study compared the conditioning of averaged evoked potentials in three groups of children (average age 11 yrs): (I) normals, (II) IQ between 50 and 60, (III) IQ between 20 and 50. Sound was the conditioned stimulus, light the unconditioned stimulus, 68 sessions were recorded in 34 children.

Decrease in the number and in the amplitude of potentials evoked by sound was observed from group I to group III, whereas generalized slow waves increased from group I to group III.

Conditioning was different in the three groups. In the normal child it modified the conditioned evoked potential to sound. In the mentally retarded child, it modified generalized slow waves and brought about the reproduction of a temporal sequence.
Physiological Changes in Yoga Meditation
Authors: Elson Barry D. , Hauri Peter , Cunis David
Published: February 2007

A group of 11 meditators using Ananda Marga Yoga techniques were matched individually with non‐meditating controls. Controls were instructed to remain “wakefully relaxed” for 40 min, while the others meditated for the same amount of time. Six of the 11 controls fell asleep during the 40 min (defined by K‐complexes and spindles in the EEG), while none of the meditators fell asleep. Rather, meditators remained in a relatively stable state of alpha and theta EEG activity. Meditation was also characterized by a marked increase in basal skin resistance and by a decrease in respiratory rate, changes which were not observed in the controls. Some physiological changes observed during meditation continued into the post‐meditation resting periods. These findings suggest that Ananda Marga meditation produces a physiological effect different from that observed in controls who try to relax with their eyes closed.
Cortical EEG Frequency Composition and the Quality of Apparent Motion in Man
Authors: Coffin Stephen
Published: February 2007

Human subjects were asked to rate the quality of apparent motion (beta motion) in trial‐wise presentations of stimuli. The interstimulus interval (ISI) between presentation of two adjacent light patches was varied between 10 and 90 msec. EEG activity during stimulus presentation was assessed with a frequency spectral analysis technique. Results with 10 subjects showed that high quality apparent motion was associated with faster EEG activity at short ISI, and lower frequency EEG activity at longer ISI. The results were significant at a midline occipital electrode, with a tendency in the right direction over the right occipital cortex, but not at other occipital and parietal sites. Changes were within the 8‐12 Hz frequency band. Results are interpreted in terms of a mechanism associated with components of the spontaneous EEG which serves to pace information processing within the primary visual cortex.
Brain Mechanisms Subserving Self‐Generated Imagery: Electrophysiological Specificity and Patterning
Authors: Davidson Richard J. , Schwartz Gary E.
Published: February 2007

The present study was designed to assess the patterning of occipital and sensorimotor EEG activation during self‐generated visual and kinesthetic imagery. Twenty subjects were requested to imagine, in separate trials, a flashing light, a tapping sensation on the right forearm, and both the light and the tapping together. Prior to the imagery trials, subjects were exposed to the stimuli which they were asked to subsequently imagine. EEG was recorded from the left occipital and left sensorimotor regions, filtered for alpha and quantified on‐line. The results indicated that self‐generated visual imagery elicited greater relative occipital activation than comparable kinesthetic imagery. The imagine‐both condition fell predictably in between the two unimodal imagery conditions. The difference between visual and kinesthetic imagery was primarily a function of greater occipital activation during the former versus the latter task. No difference in overall alpha abundance among the three imagery tasks was found. These findings suggest that the self‐generation of imagery in different modalities elicits specific changes in the sensory regions of the brain responsible for processing information in the relevant modalities.
Stimulus Intensity Control and the Cortical Evoked Response in Smokers and Non‐Smokers
Authors: Knott Verner J. , Venables Peter H.
Published: February 2007

In order to examine the relationship between stimulus intensity control and tobacco smoking motivation, the cortical averaged evoked response (AER) to a number of flash intensities was studied in 10 non‐smokers (NS), 10 tobacco deprived smokers (DS), and 10 non‐deprived smokers (NDS). AERs to four flash intensities were recorded from the vertex (Cz) of subjects and in addition to latency and amplitude measures, the slope of the regression of amplitude with log flash intensity was obtained. Statistical analysis (employing a .05 rejection region) revealed that DS evidenced faster latencies and larger amplitudes than both NS and NDS groups who exhibited comparable responsiveness. No significant results were obtained with the slope measure. The data indicates that tobacco smoking has a “normalizing” effect on central nervous system (CNS) hyper‐sensitivity observed in DS and this notion is discussed in relation to comparable physiological and behavioral work on humans and animals.