bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Some Acute Effects of D-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide on the Rat
Authors: Glow Peter H. 
Published: March 2008

There is a wealth of literature available on the psychosis-like effects of very small doses of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) in human subjects. It is reported that the drug produces profound changes in emotional behaviour, feelings of depersonalization, visual and auditory hallucinations, catharsis-like episodes and slight changes in autonomic nervous system activity. The present experiment investigates the possibility of relating the behavioural disturbances induced by LSD-25 to known physiological data. Variation in the latency and running times of trained albino rats is examined. It is demonstrated that latency scores are directly affected by the cerebral concentration of the drug; and that sensory thresholds appear to be raised. It is further shown that when the level of stimulation is raised the rats appear to behave normally.
Blocking the Incorrect Alley in a Two-Drive Learning Situation
Authors: Deutsch J. A. , Anthony W. S. 
Published: March 2008

This experiment was designed to test the effect of blocking the path to an irrelevant reward on the subject's later performance when motivated for that reward, with a view to clarifying a well-known problem-situation. An experimental group of 17 hooded rats was run in a two-choice maze, with food in one goal-box and water in the other, being motivated alternately for one or the other. The wrong goal-box was always blocked. Their performance on the first trial of the daily series was significantly poorer than that of a control group of 18 hooded rats, for which both boxes were always open. This difference persisted when, in a second period of training, the rhythm of motivation was altered for both groups. It is concluded that blocking an irrelevant reward can have a disturbing effect and that this may be relevant to the problem-situation. It is also shown that such a result is to be predicted from Deutsch's (1953, 1956) theory.
The Effect of Training and Handedness on the Performance of Two Simple Motor Tasks
Authors: Provins K. A. 
Published: March 2008

In the first experimental series nine right-handed and nine left-handed subjects were tested on each side on two tasks. The first task measured the accuracy of reproduction of pressure in attempted extension of the elbow joint, and the second the speed of oscillation of attempted flexion and extension of the elbow joint. The results showed no significant difference in performance on the two sides in the accuracy task but a significant difference in performance on the speed task. In the second experimental series the effect of 15-minutes daily training on each of two tasks over a four-week period was investigated on six subjects. The two tasks were the same as those used in the first experimental series, and attempted movement at the metacarpo-phalangeal joint as well as the elbow joint was studied. The mean results of all subjects showed a significant reduction in the mean error of the “accuracy” task over the training period for both the finger and arm. However, further analysis suggests that this may have been due to a clarifying of the subjects’ concept of the target value rather than an improvement in his ability to grade the appropriate muscle contractions. A significant increase in the mean speed of oscillation over the training period was also recorded for both finger and arm. This improvement was accompanied in most instances by a corresponding decrease in variation of cycle length of the individual oscillations, which is interpreted as an improvement in the subjects’ “timing” of the appropriate muscle contractions.
Speech Production and the Predictability of Words in Context
Authors: Goldman-Eisler Frieda 
Published: March 2008

The purpose of the experiments was to examine the function of hesitation pauses in speech. Pauses were conceived of as anticipating increase of information in subsequent speech and as involving acts of choice. This hypothesis was tested by relating the incidence of pauses within sentences to the transition probabilities of the words constituting them. Estimates of these probabilities were obtained experimentally by an adaptation of Shannon's guessing technique and were based on reverse as well as forward guessing. The hypothesis was borne out by the facts; hesitancy in speech was shown to be closely related to uncertainty of prediction (entropy) and fluency of utterance to redundancy. These results are shown to be in line with the facts of language statistics. Their theoretical implications for the concept of information and for understanding the processes of speech organization is discussed.
Finger Localization and Finger Praxis
Authors: Benton Arthur L. 
Published: March 2008

The relations between finger localization and various types of finger praxis were assessed by estimates of the inter-correlations among the performance of 100 six-year-old children. Finger localization was related significantly to those types of finger praxis which involve movements of the individual fingers with respect to each other. Right-left discrimination was related to finger localization, but not to the measures of finger praxis. The findings are interpreted in terms of the construct of the finger schema, which can be viewed as a determinant of performance in both the localization and praxis tasks. This construct can also serve as an explanation of the observed concurrence of finger agnosia and finger apraxia as a consequence of cerebral disease.
Shorter Articles and Notes: A Case of Fluctuation of Awareness with the Pulse
Authors: Oswald Ian 
Published: March 2008

The case is described of a man in whom certain percepts of central origin (after-images of hallucinations) fluctuated rhythmically with the arterial pulse. The phenomenon is explained in terms of contemporary theories of consciousness and the inhibitory effects of baroceptor impulses. In a previous communication (Oswald, 1957) it was described how some persons may experience visual after-images not only after retinal stimulation but also after the prolonged contemplation of a voluntary vivid image (hallucination). One of those described, Subject Wi, is further discussed below. It is relevant to this case and to the interpretation suggested, to recall that Griffits and Gordon (1924) described the rhythmical increase and decrease of the size, intensity, or apparent distance of vivid images (hallucinations) with rhythmical fluctuations of vasomotor tone, of pulse rate and, by inference, of blood pressure.
Changes in Behaviour Associated with a Nervous System Poison (DDT.)
Authors: Khairy Melek 
Published: March 2008

The main purpose of the investigation was to show that behaviour measures can be used to investigate the effects of those toxic drugs which produce “biochemical lesions” in the nervous system although the nature of the lesions still remains undetermined. The advantages of this approach are twofold. First, a psychological study may help to uncover the initial effects of the drug, and thus provide evidence which may lead to the ultimate understanding of the action of the drug. Second, and of value from the practical point of view, such a method may be used to detect toxicity. In this study D.D.T. was used. Two experiments were performed on one control and four experimental groups of albino rats. Problem solving behaviour, speed and pattern of locomotion, and reaction to stress involving visual stimuli were observed. Problem solving behaviour was found to be unaffected by the drug; no changes were found in speed of locomotion, but pattern of locomotion revealed that “ataxia” was one of the initial effects of D.D.T. poisioning. The experimental animals were found to be generally less reactive to “stress”; “hyper-irritability” reported in previous studies being explicable in terms of exaggerated motor responses. The results obtained on “ataxia” showed that the procedure adopted here could be used to detect chronic D.D.T. toxicity in rats.
Changes in Threshold Level Produced by a Signal Preceding or following the Threshold Stimulus
Authors: Treisman M. , Howarth C. I. 
Published: March 2008

In a previous experiment (Howarth and Treisman, 1958) it was shown that when a warning preceded a stimulus by a fixed interval, the threshold level for the stimulus was higher the longer the fixed interval. A model of this effect was proposed, assuming that the threshold criterion adopted by the subject at any moment was modified by his estimate of the probability of a stimulus at that moment. Three predictions are derived and tested. It is found that: the standard deviation of the response is constant despite the shifts in threshold induced; the threshold continues to fall as the interval from warning to stimulus is decreased to zero, with the lowest threshold when the warning signal and the stimulus are simultaneous; and that a warning signal following the stimulus by an interval of less than 0 5 to 1 sec. also lowers the threshold.
Evidence of a Single-Channel Decision Mechanism Limiting Performance in a Serial Reaction Task
Authors: Welford A. T. 
Published: March 2008

An experiment is described in which the subject sat facing a display of two neon bulbs. When the left-hand bulb lit he pressed a key under his left hand, and when the right hand bulb lit he pressed a key under his right hand. The left-hand bulb gave brief flashes at random intervals averaging about 4 sec. The right-hand bulb gave a brief flash at regular intervals of about 4 sec. The experiment repeats (the author believes for the first time) certain essential conditions of Vince's (1948, 1950) experiments and, following detailed scrutiny of every pair of responses, is taken as evidence for the following statements:— (a) The response to a signal arriving during the reaction time to a former signal will be delayed by an amount approximately equal to the time elapsing between the arrival of the signal and the end of the reaction time to the former signal. (b) An exception to this may occur when two signals arrive close together. In this case the two signals may be responded to as a single group. (c) Delays can be occasioned by the monitoring of responses as well as by reactions to signals. (d) “Grouping” of signal and monitoring may occur when a signal arrives close to the beginning of the movement made in response to a previous signal. A survey is made of current theories in this field and suggestions given for further research.
The Role of “Attention” in the Psychological Refractory Period
Authors: Davis R. 
Published: March 2008

A set of experiments is described in which two consecutive signals, separated by a variable time interval, were presented to the subjects. Manual reaction times to these signals were recorded and the delays in the reactions to the second of the two signals were compared in situations where the subject was required to respond to both signals and where he was not required to respond to the first signal. The magnitude of the delays found at any particular interval were the same in both situations, and there was not much difference between cases where the two signals were in the same sense modality (visual) or in different modalities (visual, followed by auditory). These results confirm the suggestion of the writer in a previous paper that there may be a common analysing and classifying system for auditory and visual information and also illustrate a new point. It is paying attention to a signal rather than performing any overt response to it which gives rise to delays in subsequent responses.
Retroactive Raising of a Sensory Threshold by a Contralateral Stimulus
Authors: Halliday A. M. , Mingay Rosemary 
Published: March 2008

In an experiment designed to extend Howarth and Treisman's recent observations on the lowering of the visual and auditory threshold produced by a warning stimulus, it has been found that the threshold to electrical stimulation of one forearm is raised by a similar stimulus on the other forearm. As in the earlier experiments the “warning” was effective if it came 100 millisec. before or after the threshold stimulus. The effect increased with increasing warning strength over the range of five near-threshold strengths used. These results appear to be inconsistent with the explanation previously proposed to account for the retroactive lowering of threshold. This suggested that the warning was acting simply as a marker, reducing the subject's uncertainty as to when the stimulus was coming. The fact that the rise in threshold was also induced retroactively shows that some interaction must be occurring in the central processes concerned in perception, and that it cannot be explained in terms of attenuation of the afferent volley.
An Investigation of a Satiation Process in the Reversible Perspective of Revolving Skeletal Shapes
Authors: Howard I. P. 
Published: March 2008

A technique for studying a satiation process is described, which is claimed to have many advantages over the older methods. A skeletal wire cube is rotated at 1 rev. per sec., and the time taken for the first apparent reversal of direction to occur is measured and called the “satiation period.” It is a much longer period than the mean period of subsequent reversals. This is due to the fact that the situation is one of biased ambiguity; biased by the cues to depth and thus to the true perspective. Using this measure we have shown:— (1) That the effect is predominantly central. (2) That after satiation has occurred, reversing the cube's direction of rotation induces a longer than normal satiation period. (3) There is no transfer of satiation to other types of static or mobile figure nor to other spatial locations. (4) Satiation time is largely independent of brightness and colour. (5) Köhler's theory of satiation is supported but it is given a neuronal basis rather than a basis in a non-neuronal, electrolytic type of cortical conduction.
The Effect of two “Tranquillizers” on Auditory Discrimination and Delayed Response Performance of Monkeys
Authors: Gross Charles G. , Weiskrantz Lawrence 
Published: March 2008

Five rhesus monkeys were tested on performance of an auditory discrimination and a delayed response test with a sliding scale of increasing difficulty after treatment with ( a) 0·2 to 0·5 mgm./kgm. reserpine, ( b) 150 mgm./kgm. meprobamate, ( c) an equivalent saline injection, and ( d) no treatment. Both drug treatments resulted in a severe deficit on the auditory discrimination and no change or improvement in delayed response performance. The auditory deficit was not due simply to an increased latency of response. It is suggested that these results support the hypothesis that reserpine and meprobamate reduce the utilization of sensory information.
Shorter Articles and Notes: Like and Cross Modality Recognition in Subnormal Children
Authors: O'connor N. , Hermelin B. 
Published: March 2008

The ability of mentally subnormal children to recognize previously presented visual or verbal stimuli was compared. In “like-modality” procedures they had to recognize words or pictures in the modality in which they had originally been presented. In “cross-modality” procedures the stimulus they had to recognize was in the opposite modality from that which had been used for the first presentation. In every recognition test the items had to be recognized from among an equal number of novel stimuli. Cross-modality procedures resulted in higher recognition scores. The hypothesis is advanced that this could be accounted for by the necessary translation from one type of sensory image to another in the cross-modality trials, which might minimize over-generalization.
Laterality and Directional Preferences in a Simple Perceptual-Motor Task
Authors: Reed G. F. , Smith A. C. 
Published: March 2008

The superiority of tensor or outward movements of hand and arm over flexor or inward movements has been described, but no evidence has been found relating to directional preferences in simple perceptual-motor tasks. One hundred children, aged 9 to 13, 50 being right-handed writers and 50 left-handed writers, were tested on a stroke-making task, using both preferred and non-preferred hands. 75 per cent, of them exhibited a preference for outward movements of both hands, a finding which applied equally to both handedness groups. Thus an explanation based on writing habits is discounted.
I: Effect of Delayed Auditory Feedback on Speech and Keytapping
Authors: Chase Richard Allen , Harvey Seth , Standfast Susan , Rapin Isabelle , Sutton Samuel 
Published: March 2008

The effects of delayed auditory feedback (DAF) on the performance of simple speech and keytapping tasks were compared. In the first experiment, each of the fourteen young adult subjects was asked to repeat the speech sound “b” in groups of three sounds. The subject heard his undelayed speech sounds through earphones. Under the delay condition, the speech sounds were delayed 244 millisec. before being returned to the subject's earphones. In the second experiment, each of the same subjects was asked to tap on a key in groups of three taps. The subjects heard an undelayed click through earphones each time they tapped on the key. Under the delay condition, the clicks were delayed 244 millisec. before being returned to the earphones. Graphic recordings were made of the time and intensity characteristics of tapping under both conditions. The changes which occurred in speech and keytapping under DAF were qualitatively the same and consisted of increases in intensity and unit-to-unit time of both taps and speech sounds. When performing under DAF, the subjects also exhibited a tendency to repeat more sounds or to tap more times than had been requested. The percentage of change in intensity and time characteristics for speech and keytapping performances which occurred under DAF were not significantly different for the two motor systems. The amount of change in speech performance under DAF did not correlate significantly with the amount of change in keytapping performance.
II Sensory Feedback Influences on Keytapping Motor Tasks
Authors: Chase Richard Allen , Rapin Isabelle , Gilden Lloyd , Sutton Samuel , Guilfoyle George 
Published: March 2008

Subjects were trained to tap a key continuously at a specific rate, and with a specific amount of pressure (regularity task). Performance of this task was studied under conditions of: (a) decreased auditory feedback (masking noise through earphones), (b) decreased visual feedback (tapping hand screened from view), (c) vibration (vibrators applied to forearm in order to “mask” proprioceptive feedback), (d) digital block of tapping finger, and (e) combination of all four conditions. Significant changes in rate and intensity of tapping resulted under conditions of decreased auditory feedback, vibration, and the combined condition. In the second part of the study, the effects of different delayed sensory events on keytapping were examined. The five conditions of delayed sensory feedback were: (a) delayed auditory feedback, (b) delayed visual feedback, (c) delayed tactile feedback, (d) the first three delayed sensory events presented simultaneously, and (e) condition (d) repeated with digital block of the tapping finger. The conditions of delayed sensory feedback did not markedly alter performance of the regularity task. The same conditions of delayed sensory feedback did, however, produce highly significant changes in the performance of a more complex pattern task. All of these delay conditions produced parallel changes in the pattern task, namely increased intensity and decreased rate of tapping. The fact that the pattern task is more disturbed by delayed sensory feedback than the regularity task suggests that temporal complexity of the task is one determinant of the degree to which it will be disturbed by a delay in sensory feedback.
Shorter Articles and Notes
Authors: Pickersgill Mary J. 
Published: March 2008

Experiments were performed to determine whether it is possible to discriminate which eye or eyes are being stimulated by a point source of light in a dark room when the subject is unaware which eye, if any, is occluded. There were two stimulus conditions, (a) a continuous source of light, and (b) a flash. The results show that in these conditions discrimination is faulty and, in some instances, at chance level, although there is considerable individual variation. The implications of these results for the argument from transfer, as applied to after-effects, and the theory of depth perception are considered.
Handedness, Eye-Dominance, and Immediate Memory
Authors: Sampson H. , Spong P. 
Published: March 2008

Twenty male university students varying in handedness and eye-dominance recalled conventional and unconventional digits under two conditions: (1) when the same type of digit was projected simultaneously to each eye, and (2) when a different type of digit was projected simultaneously to each eye. Forty trials were given, each consisting of four pairs of digits with a different numeral projected to each eye. Performance was analysed in terms of percentage recalled correctly and time of onset of each response. Right eye-dominant groups, particularly a right handed and right eye-dominant group, were superior in both accuracy of recall and speed of response to left eye-dominant groups. Least able in recall were left handed, left eye-dominant subjects. Superiority of right eye-dominant groups was especially marked when a different type of digit was projected to each eye. In accord with results reported by Broadbent for the ears (1956, 1957), other results suggest it is possible for the eyes to operate simultaneously as independent information sources. However, unlike the case for audition, present subjects did not report all information from one eye before that from the other, but gave it in pairs. It seems that the capacity of the eyes to function independently depended upon eye-dominance and handedness, while serial ordering of responses reflected imposition of an habitual response organization.
The Relative Intelligibility Threshold for One's Own Name Compared with other Names
Authors: Howarth C. I. , Ellis K. 
Published: March 2008

Two recent experiments (Moray, 1959; Oswald, Taylor and Treisman, 1960) have shown that in dichotic listening, and in sleep one's own name seems to be responded to selectively. We have shown for 10 subjects, each listening binaurally to the same recording of a list of their names repeated at random 10 times, and masked by noise, that the subject's own name had a significantly lower threshold than other names. The effect we found was not significantly different from the one found by Oswald et al. during sleep and by Moray for the dichotic situation. These three experiments taken together suggest that the same pattern-analysing mechanism is involved in normal listening, dichotic listening to the rejected message, and in discrimination during sleep.
Physiological Drives Investigated by Means of Injections into the Cerebral Ventricles of the Rat
Authors: Herberg L. J. 
Published: March 2008

A technique is described for permanently implanting a cannula in the lateral ventricle of the rat, and the effects on certain physiological drives of various substances injected by this route were investigated. Food intake was significantly reduced by intraventricular glucose, while intra-ventricular fructose, insulin, glucagon and a lipid-mobilizing agent were without effect. Drinking was elicited by hypertonic saline and suppressed by hypotonic solutions. The intake of salt was not effected by intraventricular low-sodium solutions. Intraventricular procaine, but not alcohol, induced an akinetic state. Intraventricular glucose failed to relieve hypoglycaemic coma. The significance of some of these findings is discussed in relation to the hypothalamic regulation of hunger.