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Automatic nervous system preferential response
85 Discusswn ad b: This is unclear. Perhaps patients studied elsewhere were more severely demented. ad c: Patients might have worked at the limits of their capacity in the ‘Push/Wait’ and Stroop task, but not in the easy oddball. ad a and d: Patients might not be able any more to classify automatically (N2), and cope with this by executing a time-consuming controlled process (delay in reaction time).
AUTONOMIC RESPONSE
NERVOUS
SYSTEM
PREFERENTIAL
E. Vernet-Maury, C. Deschaumes-Molinaro and A. Dittmar Universite Claude Bernard/Lyon I 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France Six ANS parameters measured with different sensors (electric or thermic): skin potential and resistance, skin blood flow and temperature, instantaneous heart and respiratory frequencies were simultaneously recorded with a DC potentiometric recorder. New indices permitted the analysis of the parameters. 33 subjects were submitted to a verbal association test inducing different types of emotion and to mental arithmetic. The population classification showed that the subjects responded mainly either through a unique channel (79.2%) or sometimes through two channels (20.8%). Studies of these six parameters in relation to mean response and principal component analysis made it possible to bring individual response to the fore via ANS preferential channels. and thus to confirm LACEY’s hypothesis. while adding further evidence as corollaries.
REDUCTION OF OCULAR MOTILITY VISUO-SPATIAL QUESTIONS: A TEST SUAL INTERFERENCE HYPOTHESIS
FOLLOWING OF THE VI-
L. De Gennaro, A. Devoto and C. Violani Dipartimento di Psicologia. Universita di Roma ‘La Sapienza’. Roma. Italy Studies in which lateral eye movements (LEMs) were used as indices of differential hemispheric activation during cognitive processing have found a greater proportion of ‘stares’ following visuo-spatial questions than following verbal questions. This phenomenon was explained by a visual interference hypothesis (VIH): assuming that solving spatial questions involves visual imagery, and that visual stimuli may interfere with internally generated visual images, interference can be limited by suppressing eye movements (EMS). No support to the VIH came from investigations predicting a greater proportion of stares in visually enriched environments. However assuming that the ‘gating out’ of visual inputs during the processing ofvisuo-spatial questions is a well-established habit,
experimental manipulation of the visual environment may be ineffective in modifying the rate of stares. Based on the VIH, we tested a different prediction: instances in which spatial questions are followed by an EM should be characterized by longer reflection latencies (RL). Data from 32 female Ss. tested in a LEMs experiment confirmed that RLs for spatial questions followed by an EM are significantly longer CM= 10.33”) than those followed by stares (M = 6.34”). Since this could be due to the fact that EMS might have a greater probability of occurring in longer time intervals, analysis was repeated with a 2” cut off for EMS. The effect of interference was confirmed, RL for questions followed by an EM being equal to 8.05” and for those followed by stares being equal to 5.10”. Further analyses for verbal questions will reveal whether the interference effect is specific to visuo-spatial processing.
IS THE BASELINE CONDITION BIOFEEDBACK RESEARCH A TRUE
C. Violani and C. Lombard0 Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita Roma. Italy
IN THERMAL BASELINE?
di Roma ‘La Sapienza.
Reviews of temperature biofeedback (TBFB) research have pointed out that there is much variability in the magnitude of peripheral finger temperature (PFT) changes obtained. This may be due to procedural variables including presence of adequate periods for adaptation and baseline (BSL). Relevant to this issue are the results of a six session auditory TBFB training for learning bidirectional control of PFT. 37 young healthy Ss took part to the training held in a temperature controlled BFB laboratory. Each session included at least 15’ for adaptation, 12’ and BSL, i.e.. resting without feedback. 12’ FB with the instruction to increase PFT (INC). 12’ FB with the instruction to decrease PFT (DEC); sequence of the FB instructions was balanced across sessions. A computerized BFB system recorded mean PFT every IO”. Mean PFT values in the first and twelfth minute of BSL. INC and DEC were analysed. The following table reports mean differences in PFT between twelfth and first minute for each condition in the six sessions:
BSL INC DEC
1
2
3
4
I.80 0.48 -0.09
2.20 0.40 -0.40
2.57 0.78 -0.84
1.96 2.19 0.31 0.88 -0.53 -0.30
5
6
Mean
1.09 1.96 0.92 0.62 -0.48 0.44
During BSL there are consistent systematic which are also larger than those produced INC condition.
DS 0.50 0.26 0.2.5
increases in PFT under the BFB
AUTONOMIC RESPONSE
NERVOUS
SYSTEM
PREFERENTIAL
E. Vernet-Maury, C. Deschaumes-Molinaro and A. Dittmar Universite Claude Bernard/Lyon I 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France Six ANS parameters measured with different sensors (electric or thermic): skin potential and resistance, skin blood flow and temperature, instantaneous heart and respiratory frequencies were simultaneously recorded with a DC potentiometric recorder. New indices permitted the analysis of the parameters. 33 subjects were submitted to a verbal association test inducing different types of emotion and to mental arithmetic. The population classification showed that the subjects responded mainly either through a unique channel (79.2%) or sometimes through two channels (20.8%). Studies of these six parameters in relation to mean response and principal component analysis made it possible to bring individual response to the fore via ANS preferential channels. and thus to confirm LACEY’s hypothesis. while adding further evidence as corollaries.
REDUCTION OF OCULAR MOTILITY VISUO-SPATIAL QUESTIONS: A TEST SUAL INTERFERENCE HYPOTHESIS
FOLLOWING OF THE VI-
L. De Gennaro, A. Devoto and C. Violani Dipartimento di Psicologia. Universita di Roma ‘La Sapienza’. Roma. Italy Studies in which lateral eye movements (LEMs) were used as indices of differential hemispheric activation during cognitive processing have found a greater proportion of ‘stares’ following visuo-spatial questions than following verbal questions. This phenomenon was explained by a visual interference hypothesis (VIH): assuming that solving spatial questions involves visual imagery, and that visual stimuli may interfere with internally generated visual images, interference can be limited by suppressing eye movements (EMS). No support to the VIH came from investigations predicting a greater proportion of stares in visually enriched environments. However assuming that the ‘gating out’ of visual inputs during the processing ofvisuo-spatial questions is a well-established habit,
experimental manipulation of the visual environment may be ineffective in modifying the rate of stares. Based on the VIH, we tested a different prediction: instances in which spatial questions are followed by an EM should be characterized by longer reflection latencies (RL). Data from 32 female Ss. tested in a LEMs experiment confirmed that RLs for spatial questions followed by an EM are significantly longer CM= 10.33”) than those followed by stares (M = 6.34”). Since this could be due to the fact that EMS might have a greater probability of occurring in longer time intervals, analysis was repeated with a 2” cut off for EMS. The effect of interference was confirmed, RL for questions followed by an EM being equal to 8.05” and for those followed by stares being equal to 5.10”. Further analyses for verbal questions will reveal whether the interference effect is specific to visuo-spatial processing.
IS THE BASELINE CONDITION BIOFEEDBACK RESEARCH A TRUE
C. Violani and C. Lombard0 Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita Roma. Italy
IN THERMAL BASELINE?
di Roma ‘La Sapienza.
Reviews of temperature biofeedback (TBFB) research have pointed out that there is much variability in the magnitude of peripheral finger temperature (PFT) changes obtained. This may be due to procedural variables including presence of adequate periods for adaptation and baseline (BSL). Relevant to this issue are the results of a six session auditory TBFB training for learning bidirectional control of PFT. 37 young healthy Ss took part to the training held in a temperature controlled BFB laboratory. Each session included at least 15’ for adaptation, 12’ and BSL, i.e.. resting without feedback. 12’ FB with the instruction to increase PFT (INC). 12’ FB with the instruction to decrease PFT (DEC); sequence of the FB instructions was balanced across sessions. A computerized BFB system recorded mean PFT every IO”. Mean PFT values in the first and twelfth minute of BSL. INC and DEC were analysed. The following table reports mean differences in PFT between twelfth and first minute for each condition in the six sessions:
BSL INC DEC
1
2
3
4
I.80 0.48 -0.09
2.20 0.40 -0.40
2.57 0.78 -0.84
1.96 2.19 0.31 0.88 -0.53 -0.30
5
6
Mean
1.09 1.96 0.92 0.62 -0.48 0.44
During BSL there are consistent systematic which are also larger than those produced INC condition.
DS 0.50 0.26 0.2.5
increases in PFT under the BFB