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Ajslev, Jeppe Zielinski Nguyen; Lund, Henrik Lambrecht; Møller, Jeppe Lykke
In this article, we investigate the relations between discursive practices within the Danish construction industry and the perceived pain, physical deterioration, and strain affecting the construction workers. Of central importance is the widely accepted hegemonic discourse on physical strain...... and pain as unavoidable conditions in construction work. Based on 32 semi-structured interviews performed in eight case studies within four different construction professions, workers’ descriptions of physical strain and its relation to the organizational and social context are analyzed through concepts...... the industry reproduce physical strain and the habituation of pain as unquestioned conditions in construction work. The understanding of this mutual reinforcement of the necessity of physically straining, painful, high-paced construction work provides fruitful perspectives on the overrepresentation...
Rothen, Nicolas; Meier, Beat
Prospective memory involves the self-initiated retrieval of an intention upon an appropriate retrieval cue. Cue identification can be considered as an orienting reaction and may thus trigger a psychophysiological response. Here we present two experiments in which skin conductance responses (SCRs) elicited by prospective memory cues were compared to SCRs elicited by aversive stimuli to test whether a single prospective memory cue triggers a similar SCR as an aversive stimulus. In Experiment 2 we also assessed whether cue specificity had a differential influence on prospective memory performance and on SCRs. We found that detecting a single prospective memory cue is as likely to elicit a SCR as an aversive stimulus. Missed prospective memory cues also elicited SCRs. On a behavioural level, specific intentions led to better prospective memory performance. However, on a psychophysiological level specificity had no influence. More generally, the results indicate reliable SCRs for prospective memory cues and point to psychophysiological measures as valuable approach, which offers a new way to study one-off prospective memory tasks. Moreover, the findings are consistent with a theory that posits multiple prospective memory retrieval stages.
Lehrer, Paul M.
Compared physiological effects of progressive relaxation, alpha feedback, and a no-treatment condition. Nonpatients showed more psychophysiological habituation than patients in response to hearing very loud tones and to reaction time tasks. Patients showed greater physiological response to relaxation than nonpatients. After relaxation, autonomic…
This article was written as an introduction to a special issue of Behavior Modification dedicated to studies in the field of respiratory psychophysiology. Although the invited articles that constitute this special issue cover a fairly broad range of topics, priority was given to articles that focus on the role of respiration in panic disorder. Attention is directed to the fundamental role of breathing in applied psychophysiology and to the encouragement of research in the modification of breathing behavior. The connection between respiratory psychophysiology and behavior modification is explained by reference to (a) a recent article on Pavlovian and operant control of breathing behavior and (b) four published volumes of selected articles dedicated exclusively to the field of respiratory psychophysiology. The present special issue of Behavior Modification marks the fifth volume.
This article explores the sensory dimensions of scientific field research in the only region in the world where free-ranging bonobos ( Pan paniscus) can be studied in their natural environment; the equatorial rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. If, as sensory anthropologists have argued, the senses are developed, grown and honed in a given cultural and environmental milieu, how is it that field scientists come to dwell among familiarity in a world which is, at first, unfamiliar? This article builds upon previous anthropological and philosophical engagements with habituation that have critically examined primatologists' attempts to become 'neutral objects in the environment' in order to habituate wild apes to their presence. It does so by tracing the somatic modes of attention developed by European and North American researchers as they follow bonobos in these forests. The argument is that as environments, beings and their elements become familiar, they do not become 'neutral', but rather, suffused with meaning.
David R Lloyd
Full Text Available In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009;Rankin et al., 2009. We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect ‘accelerated-HRE’. Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.
Sinding, Charlotte; Valadier, François; Al-Hassani, Viviana; Feron, Gilles; Tromelin, Anne; Kontaris, Ioannis; Hummel, Thomas
Habituation is a filter that optimizes the processing of information by our brain in all sensory modalities. It results in an unconscious reduced responsiveness to continuous or repetitive stimulation. In olfaction, the main question is whether habituation works the same way for any odorant or whether we habituate differently to each odorant? In particular, whether chemical, physical or perceptual cues can limit or increase habituation. To test this, the odour intensity of 32 odorants differing in physicochemical characteristics was rated by 58 participants continuously during 120s. Each odorant was delivered at a constant concentration. Results showed odorants differed significantly in habituation, highlighting the multifactoriality of habituation. Additionally habituation was predicted from 15 physico-chemical and perceptual characteristics of the odorants. The analysis highlighted the importance of trigeminality which is highly correlated to intensity and pleasantness. The vapour pressure, the molecular weight, the Odor Activity Value (OAV) and the number of double bonds mostly contributed to the modulation of habituation. Moreover, length of the carbon chain, number of conformers and hydrophobicity contributed to a lesser extent to the modulation of habituation. These results highlight new principles involved in the fundamental process of habituation, notably trigeminality and the physicochemical characteristics associated.
functionality for the staff, but are stressful for visitors and patients, as they are designed to demand attention even though they have no direct functional meaning to them. By introducing sounds from the ward, integrated in the furniture as simple sound sample triggers, KidKit invites children to become...... accustomed to the alarming sounds through rhythmic interaction in the waiting room, and bringing the furniture with them afterwards as a secure anchor, when entering the ward. This rhythmic habituation can enable the child to focus her attention on the meeting with the hospitalized relative....
essential dynamic parameters when designing atmospheres. This research is based on the development of the novel research artefact Kidkit, designed for children, who are going to meet a hospitalized relative with fatal injuries in a Neuro–Intensive Care Unit. Sounds from hospital equipment have important...... accustomed to the alarming sounds through rhythmic interaction in the waiting room, and bringing the furniture with them afterwards as a secure anchor, when entering the ward. This rhythmic habituation can enable the child to focus her attention on the meeting with the hospitalized relative....
Grünberger, J; Linzmayer, L; Saletu, B
The present paper presents several new psychophysiological test methods and measures, which have been developed by the authors for utilization in the field of psychopathology and psychopharmacology. The main advantage of these new techniques seems to lie in the fact, that control and evaluation procedures are microprocessor-assisted which ensures objectivity, reliability and validity. The multidimensionality, e.g. the possibility to concomitantly evaluate several variables at the same time, and the economics, e.g. the short time effort involved in completing the tests, are further advantages. By means of the newly developed techniques several sensitive measures may be obtained which are of great value in the diagnostic process as well as in the assessment of drug effects in clinical psychopharmacology.
Murray, J B
Abuse of amphetamines-methamphetamines has increased worldwide. Profiles of abusers, effects of different methods of administration, and research on amphetamine psychosis are reviewed, along with research on psychophysiological mechanisms, addictive potential, and psychotherapeutic strategies.
Gurgenidze, E V; Komissarova, Ia V
The notions of psychophysiological investigation (PPI) and psychophysiological examination with application of polygraph are characterized. The history of the method for more than 100 years, the aims of the examination are described. Effective use of the polygraph in criminal investigations is illustrated. The absence of methodological regulations and difficulties in training specialists hinder wide introduction of polygraphs into practice. How to get over these difficulties is shown.
West, Bruce; Grigolini, Paolo
We present a model to explain the psychophysical phenomena of habituation using methods from non-equilibrium statistical physics and complex network theory. Habituation is a ubiquitous and extremely simple from of learning through which animals, including humans; learn to disregard stimuli that are no longer novel, thereby allowing them to attend to new stimuli.Herein we present a statistical habituation model (SHM) based on a generalization of linear response theory and discrete events using renewal theory. The SHM introduces a theory of the effective synaptic weight connecting two neuron networks, with the synaptic weight being described by a time series with inverse power-law statistics. The statistics determine the distribution of time intervals between events, which in a complex neuronal network leads to neuronal avalanches, see e.g., Beggs and Plenz (J. Neurosci 23, 11167, 2003). The SHM establishes that the fundamental mechanism producing habituation in its myriad of forms is the 1/f-nose that is generically produced in individual neurons and in complex neuronal networks. Both simple harmonic and more complicated stimuli are shown to habituate (decay) as inverse power laws with indices determined by the power-law index of the effective synaptic statistical distribution. This is the first theory that directly relates the psychophysical phenomenon of habituation to the dynamics of the brain.
Full Text Available Speculation exists whether dance provides physiological stimuli adequate to promote health and fitness benefits. Unfortunately, research to date has not addressed the affective and exertional responses to dance. These responses are of interest as positive affective and exertional responses experienced during physical activity may play an important role in predicting adherence. The present study aims to examine the psychophysiological responses of different Salsa dance styles. Ten pairs of dancers performed two different structured lessons of Salsa dance, including Typical Salsa and Rueda de Casino lessons, and a non-structured Salsa dance at a night club. Physiological responses (i.e., percent of heart rate reserve; %HRR were continuously assessed and perceived exertion and affective valence were rated every 15 min throughout the trials. %HRR responses differed between the Salsa dance styles (%HRR from 41.3 to 51.9%, and participants were dancing at intensities near their ventilatory threshold. Specifically, Typical Salsa lesson elicited lower %HRR responses than Rueda de Casino lesson (p 0.05. Surprisingly, exertional (from 8 to 11 and affective (from +3 to +5 responses were unaffected by Salsa dance styles (p > 0.05. These data support that different Salsa dance styles provide physiological stimuli adequate to promote health and fitness benefits, and perhaps more importantly, produce pleasurable experiences, which in turn might lead to an increase in adherence to Salsa dancing which likely provides exercise-like health benefits.
Guidetti, Laura; Buzzachera, Cosme Franklim; Emerenziani, Gian Pietro; Meucci, Marco; Saavedra, Francisco; Gallotta, Maria Chiara; Baldari, Carlo
Speculation exists whether dance provides physiological stimuli adequate to promote health and fitness benefits. Unfortunately, research to date has not addressed the affective and exertional responses to dance. These responses are of interest as positive affective and exertional responses experienced during physical activity may play an important role in predicting adherence. The present study aims to examine the psychophysiological responses of different Salsa dance styles. Ten pairs of dancers performed two different structured lessons of Salsa dance, including Typical Salsa and Rueda de Casino lessons, and a non-structured Salsa dance at a night club. Physiological responses (i.e., percent of heart rate reserve; %HRR) were continuously assessed and perceived exertion and affective valence were rated every 15 min throughout the trials. %HRR responses differed between the Salsa dance styles (%HRR from 41.3 to 51.9%), and participants were dancing at intensities near their ventilatory threshold. Specifically, Typical Salsa lesson elicited lower %HRR responses than Rueda de Casino lesson (p dance at a night club condition (p > 0.05). Surprisingly, exertional (from 8 to 11) and affective (from +3 to +5) responses were unaffected by Salsa dance styles (p > 0.05). These data support that different Salsa dance styles provide physiological stimuli adequate to promote health and fitness benefits, and perhaps more importantly, produce pleasurable experiences, which in turn might lead to an increase in adherence to Salsa dancing which likely provides exercise-like health benefits.
Münire Özlem Çevik
Full Text Available In this brief review, I argue that the impact of a stimulus on behavioral control increase as the distance of the stimulus to the body decreases. Habituation, i.e., decrement in response intensity repetition of the triggering stimulus, is the default state for sensory processing, and the likelihood of habituation is higher for distal stimuli. Sensitization, i.e., increment in response intensity upon stimulus repetition, occurs in a state dependent manner for proximal stimuli that make direct contact with the body. In Pavlovian conditioning paradigms, the US is always a more proximal stimulus than the CS. The mechanisms of associative and non-associative learning are not independent. CS-US pairings lead to formation of associations if sensitizing modulation from a proximal US prevents the habituation for a distal anticipatory CS.
ENTRINGER, SONJA; BUSS, CLAUDIA; SHIRTCLIFF, ELIZABETH A.; CAMMACK, ALISON L.; YIM, ILONA S.; CHICZ-DEMET, ALEKSANDRA; SANDMAN, CURT A.; WADHWA, PATHIK D.
The effects of maternal stress during pregnancy may depend, in part, on the timing in gestation of the occurrence of stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of stage of gestation on maternal psychophysiological responses to stress using a standardized laboratory paradigm and on the cortisol response to awakening (CAR). A longitudinal design was employed to quantify maternal psychophysiological stress reactivity [changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and psychological distress in response to the trier social stress test (TSST)] and the CAR at approximately 17 and 31 weeks gestation in a sample of 148 women. To account for the possible effects of habituation when being exposed to the same stress protocol twice, a non-pregnant comparison group (CG, N = 36) also underwent these assessments at two time points, with a comparable time interval between the assessments. In both groups, the TSST elicited significant changes in maternal HR, mean arterial pressure, and psychological distress levels but not a significant increase in cortisol levels. Among the pregnant women (pregnant group(PG)), the stressor-induced increases in HR, blood pressure, and psychological distress were significantly lower at the second (31 weeks gestation) compared to the first (17 weeks gestation) assessment of pregnancy (all p < 0.01). The maternal CAR was also significantly attenuated in later compared to earlier gestation (p = 0.003). In the CG, there were no significant differences in psychophysiological stress responses and in the CAR across the two assessments. Among pregnant women there is a progressive attenuation of psychophysiological stress responses with advancing gestation. This attenuation is unlikely to be attributable to habituation. Individual differences in the degree of attenuation of stress responses over gestation may represent a novel marker of stress susceptibility in human pregnancy. PMID:20067400
Drachen, Anders; Yannakakis, Georgios; Pedersen, Anja Lee
In this paper, we report a case study using two easy-to-deploy psychophysiological measures - electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) - and correlating them with a gameplay experience questionnaire (GEQ) in an attempt to establish this mixed-methods approach for rapid application in a commercial game development context. Results indicate that there is a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.01) between measures of psychophysiological arousal (HR, EDA) and self-reported UX in games (GEQ), with some variation between the EDA and HR measures. Results are consistent across three major commercial First-Person Shooter (FPS) games.
McSweeney, Frances K; Murphy, Eric S
We argue that sensitization and habituation occur to the sensory properties of reinforcers when those reinforcers are presented repeatedly or for a prolonged time. Sensitization increases, and habituation decreases, the ability of a reinforcer to control behavior. Supporting this argument, the rate of operant responding changes systematically within experimental sessions even when the programmed rate of reinforcement is held constant across the session. These within-session changes in operant responding are produced by repeated delivery of the reinforcer, and their empirical characteristics correspond to the characteristics of behavior undergoing sensitization and habituation. Two characteristics of habituation (dishabituation, stimulus specificity) are particularly useful in separating habituation from alternative explanations. Arguing that habituation occurs to reinforcers expands the domain of habituation. The argument implies that habituation occurs to biologically important, not just to neutral, stimuli. The argument also implies that habituation may be observed in "voluntary" (operant), not just in reflexive, behavior. Expanding the domain of habituation has important implications for understanding operant and classical conditioning. Habituation may also contribute to the regulation of motivated behaviors. Habituation provides a more accurate and a less cumbersome explanation for motivated behaviors than homeostasis. Habituation also has some surprising, and easily testable, implications for the control of motivated behaviors.
Jones, Peter; Bowen, Andrea; Dhaliwal, Spinder
In 2000 and 2001 a team at the University of Surrey researched best practice in small businesses in hospitality and tourism as part of the ‘Profit through productivity’ initiative. This identified specific types of entrepreneur, so-called ‘habitual’ entrepreneurs. This article seeks to explore the similarities and differences between alternative types of habitual entrepreneurs.
Smotherman, W P; Robinson, S R
Rat fetuses exhibit motor and cardiac responses to chemosensory stimulation on Days 20 and 21 of gestation. The first experiment demonstrated that fetuses exhibit an increase in overall motor activity and decrease in heartrate in response to an initial intraoral infusion of a lemon solution. After a series of nine exposures, however, fetuses no longer exhibit motor or cardiac responses to lemon infusion, suggesting the existence of a habituation-like process. Responsiveness recovers spontaneously following a 3- to 9-min period without stimulation. In a second experiment, a dishabituation treatment was administered to distinguish habituation, which is a centrally mediated decrement in response, from effector fatigue, sensory adaptation, and other peripheral mechanisms that can result in reduced responsiveness. A single infusion of mint following a series of nine lemon exposures was effective in reinstating fetal motor responses to lemon on both Days 20 and 21, but reinstated cardiac responses only on Day 21. Rat fetuses habituate to repeated chemosensory stimulation, suggesting the utility of the habituation paradigm in measuring CNS development during the perinatal period.
Pancratz, Charity N.; Cohen, Leslie B.
Male infants habituated their fixation time over trials and differentiated between the novel and familiar stimuli when the posthabituation interval was 15 seconds, but neither male nor female infants did so when the interval was 5 minutes. This paper is based upon a thesis submitted by the first author in partial fulfillment of the requirements…
Müller, Sabine; Neergaard, Helle
To date, habitual entrepreneurship research has mainly focused on comparing novice with habitual business founders and creating typologies. The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain the underlying reasons why habitual entrepreneurs establish new businesses repeatedly and continually....... The case based, the study identifies eight factors, which contribute to consecutive venture creation. The findings suggest that boredom and passion are necessary conditions triggering habitual entrepreneurship. Other important mechanisms included the joy of discovering and exploiting an opportunity...
Faulkender, Patricia J.; And Others
Looking times of 36 children were recorded during subject-controlled presentation of slides in order to determine whether the existence of simple categories in 3-year-olds can be inferred from habituation data, and to determine any sex differences in conceptual generalization of habituation. Habituation was demonstrated over repeated presentation…
Pavlov's typology of higher nervous activity was the first systematic approach to the psychophysiology of individual differences. Pavlov's theory has been further developed by Teplov, Nebylitsyn and their pupils in the Institute of Psychology in Moscow. In particular, Nebylitsyn has delineated a new property of the nervous system and has shown that it is different from strength of nervous system. In the Western research context we can compare the relationship between these two parameters to that between arousal and conditioning level. Eysenck's theory of the physiological bases of extraversion/introversion is discussed in relation to Nebylitsyn's theses and Gray's conception of arousability. Finally, it is suggested that future work in the psychophysiology of individual differences should stress the study of the ontogenetic development of the physiological variables.
Kaya Mehmet G
Full Text Available Abstract Background Coronary angiography is an important tool in diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. However, it is the administration is relatively stressful and emotionally traumatic for the subjects. The aim of this study is to evaluate psychophysiological responses induced by the coronary angiography instead of subjective methods such as a questionnaire. We have also evaluated the influence of the tranquilizer on the psychophysiological responses. Methods Electrocardiography (ECG, Blood Volume Pulse (BVP, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR of 34 patients who underwent coronary angiography operation were recorded. Recordings were done at three phases: "1 hour before," "during," and "1 hour after" the coronary angiography test. Total of 5 features obtained from the physiological signals were compared across these three phases. Sixteen of the patients were administered 5 mg of a tranquilizer (Diazepam before the operation and remaining 18 were not. Results Our results indicate that there is a strong correlation between features (LF/HF, Bk, DN1/DN2, skin conductance level and seg_mean in terms of reflecting psychophysiological responses. However only DN1/DN2 feature has statistically significant differences between angiography phases (for diazepam: p = 0.0201, for non_diazepam p = 0.0224. We also note that there are statistically significant differences between the diazepam and non-diazepam groups for seg_mean features in "before", "during" and "after" phases (p = 0.0156, 0.0282, and 0.0443, respectively. Conclusions The most intense sympathetic activity is observed in the "during" angiography phase for both of the groups. The obtained features can be used in some clinical studies where generation of the customized/individual diagnoses styles and quantitative evaluation of psychophysiological responses is necessary.
Jordan, Wesley P; Todd, Travis P; Bucci, David J; Leaton, Robert N
In two conditioned suppression experiments with a latent inhibition (LI) design, we measured the habituation of rats in preexposure, their LI during conditioning, and then extinction over days. In the first experiment, lick suppression, the preexposed group (PE) showed a significant initial unconditioned response (UR) to the target stimulus and significant long-term habituation (LTH) of that response over days. The significant difference between the PE and nonpreexposed (NPE) groups on the first conditioning trial was due solely to the difference in their URs to the conditioned stimulus (CS)-a habituated response (PE) and an unhabituated response (NPE). In the second experiment, bar-press suppression, little UR to the target stimulus was apparent during preexposure, and no detectable LTH. Thus, there was no difference between the PE and NPE groups on the first conditioning trial. Whether the UR to the CS confounds the interpretation of LI (Exp. 1) or not (Exp. 2) can only be known if the UR is measured. In both experiments, LI was observed in acquisition. Also in both experiments, rats that were preexposed and then conditioned to asymptote were significantly more resistant to extinction than were the rats not preexposed. This result contrasts with the consistently reported finding that preexposure either produces less resistance to extinction or has no effect on extinction. The effect of stimulus preexposure survived conditioning to asymptote and was reflected directly in extinction. These two experiments provide a cautionary procedural note for LI experiments and have shown an unexpected extinction effect that may provide new insights into the interpretation of LI.
Entringer, Sonja; Buss, Claudia; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A; Cammack, Alison L; Yim, Ilona S; Chicz-DeMet, Aleksandra; Sandman, Curt A; Wadhwa, Pathik D
The effects of maternal stress during pregnancy may depend, in part, on the timing in gestation of the occurrence of stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of stage of gestation on maternal psychophysiological responses to stress using a standardized laboratory paradigm and on the cortisol response to awakening (CAR). A longitudinal design was employed to quantify maternal psychophysiological stress reactivity [changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and psychological distress in response to the trier social stress test (TSST)] and the CAR at approximately 17 and 31 weeks gestation in a sample of 148 women. To account for the possible effects of habituation when being exposed to the same stress protocol twice, a non-pregnant comparison group (CG, N = 36) also underwent these assessments at two time points, with a comparable time interval between the assessments. In both groups, the TSST elicited significant changes in maternal HR, mean arterial pressure, and psychological distress levels but not a significant increase in cortisol levels. Among the pregnant women (pregnant group(PG)), the stressor-induced increases in HR, blood pressure, and psychological distress were significantly lower at the second (31 weeks gestation) compared to the first (17 weeks gestation) assessment of pregnancy (all p stress responses and in the CAR across the two assessments. Among pregnant women there is a progressive attenuation of psychophysiological stress responses with advancing gestation. This attenuation is unlikely to be attributable to habituation. Individual differences in the degree of attenuation of stress responses over gestation may represent a novel marker of stress susceptibility in human pregnancy.
Molenaar, P.C.M.; van der Molen, M.W.; Dawson, G.; Fischer, K.W.
Focus of this chapter is on cognitive psychophysiology as a bridge for two-way interaction between the study of cognitive development and research on the developing nervous system. Demonstrates how psychophysiological measures can be used to understand cognitive development in relation to brain
Massa, Jacqueline; O'Desky, Ilyse H.
Objective: Habituation has an important role in attention. By reducing one's sensitivity to a constant source of stimulation, it frees up attention resources to process new distinct items. Impaired habituation may disrupt sustained attention via inability to modulate the repeated intrusion of irrelevant stimuli. Method: Using Troxler fading, this…
Sirois, Sylvain; Mareschal, Denis
Habituation and related procedures are the primary behavioral tools used to assess perceptual and cognitive competence in early infancy. This article introduces a neurally constrained computational model of infant habituation. The model combines the two leading process theories of infant habituation into a single functional system that is grounded in functional brain circuitry. The HAB model (for Habituation, Autoassociation, and Brain) proposes that habituation behaviors emerge from the opponent, complementary processes of hippocampal selective inhibition and cortical long-term potentiation. Simulations of a seminal experiment by Fantz [Visual experience in infants: Decreased attention familiar patterns relative to novel ones. Science, 146, 668-670, 1964] are reported. The ability of the model to capture the fine detail of infant data (especially age-related changes in performance) underlines the useful contribution of neurocomputational models to our understanding of behavior in general, and of early cognition in particular.
Batra, Sumit; Arora, Sumit
Habitual dislocation of patella is a condition where the patella dislocates whenever the knee is flexed and spontaneously relocates with extension of the knee. It is also termed as obligatory dislocation as the patella dislocates completely with each flexion and extension cycle of the knee and the patient has no control over the patella dislocating as he or she moves the knee1. It usually presents after the child starts to walk, and is often well tolerated in children, if it is not painful. However it may present in childhood with dysfunction and instability. Very little literature is available on habitual dislocation of patella as most of the studies have combined cases of recurrent dislocation with habitual dislocation. Many different surgical techniques have been described in the literature for the treatment of habitual dislocation of patella. No single procedure is fully effective in the surgical treatment of habitual dislocation of patella and a combination of procedures is recommended. PMID:25983506
Marieke G N Bos
Full Text Available Psychophysiological research on emotion utilizes various physiological response measures to index activation of the defense system. Here we tested 1 whether acoustic startle reflex (ASR, skin conductance response (SCR and heart rate (HR elicited by highly arousing stimuli specifically reflect a defensive state and 2 the relation between resting heart rate variability (HRV and affective responding. In a within-subject design, participants viewed film clips with a positive, negative and neutral content. In contrast to SCR and HR, we show that ASR differentiated between negative, neutral and positive states and can therefore be considered as a reliable index of activation of the defense system. Furthermore, resting HRV was associated with affect-modulated characteristics of ASR, but not with SCR or HR. Interestingly, individuals with low-HRV showed less differentiation in ASR between affective states. We discuss the important value of ASR in psychophysiological research on emotion and speculate on HRV as a potential biological marker for demarcating adaptive from maladaptive responding.
Behavioral and psychophysiological assays provide the most sensitive indication of whether a presumed neurotoxin has a deleterious effect on the nervous system. The effects of lead on the nervous system are strongly suggestive that this agent can produce disturbances in attention; moreover, there are clinical reports of such effects. The action of lead is also manifest in behaviors described as ''hyperactive,'' or reflecting ''minimal brain damage.'' The core symptom in both disorders is probably impairment in attention. The recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association uses the term Attention Deficit Disorder to replace such terms as hyperactivity and minimal brain damage. Prior studies of the behavioral toxicity of lead may have used inadequate or incomplete assays of attention; this could in part account for the variability in outcomes. Recent research on attention suggests that it is a complex behavior consisting of a number of elements or components, each of which may be in part dependent upon a different region of the central nervous system. Behavioral assays should examine the components of attentive behavior using tests which are sensitive to the different elements. It is recommended that psychophysiological assays (using cognitive event-related potentials), although more difficult and costly to implement, be used as well. These assays may provide a more dynamic view of altered information processing in the brain and help to localize and characterize the behavioral impairment. 50 references.
Coronas-Samano, G.; Ivanova, A V; Verhagen, J. V.
The habituation/cross-habituation test (HaXha) is a spontaneous odor discrimination task that has been used for many decades to evaluate olfactory function in animals. Animals are presented repeatedly with the same odorant after which a new odorant is introduced. The time the animal explores the odor object is measured. An animal is considered to cross-habituate during the novel stimulus trial when the exploration time is higher than the prior trial and indicates the degree of olfactory paten...
After having measured the velocity of the nervous impulse in the 1850s, Helmholtz began doing research on the temporal dimensions of visual perception. Experiments dealing with the velocity of propagation in nerves (as well as with aspects of perception) were carried out occasionally for some fifteen years until their final publication in 1871. Although the temporal dimension of perception seems to have interested Helmholtz less than problems of geometry and space, his experiments on the time of perception were technically rather subtle and seminal, especially compared with experiments performed by his contemporaries, such as Sigmund Exner, William James, Rudolf Hermann Lotze, Ernst Mach, Wilhelm Volkmann, and Wilhelm Wundt. Helmholtz's conception of the temporal aspects of perception reflects the continuity that holds between psychophysiological research and the Kantian philosophical background.
Breathing can be viewed as an independent variable which affects emotion, cognition, and behavior as well as a dependent variable which reflects changes in emotion, cognition, and behavior. This bidirectional interaction is basic to an appreciation of the significance of breathing in terms of its relevance in research and application. The underlying premise of the present article is that since breathing is a behavior that is under voluntary as well as reflexive control, it can be modified according to the principles of both instrumental training (operant conditioning) and Pavlovian (classical) conditioning. The implications of this premise are relevant to theory, diagnosis, and treatment of stress and anxiety-related disorders (e.g., panic disorder, phobias, test anxiety, occupational strain, and related psychosomatic disorders), and to basic and applied research in the psychophysiology of breathing.
Kammel, H.; Haase, H.
An experimental psycho-physiological method is presented for the evaluation of visual-cognitive performance preconditions and operational reliability of pilots and cosmonauts. As visual-cognitive stress are used tachistoscopically presented instrument symbols under conditions of individual speed of work and time pressure. The results of the compared extreme groups consisting of pilots with good and insufficient flight performance showed that the pilots with impairments to the quality of flight activity differ already before the test in their individual habitual characteristics and actual motivation, during the stress in their operational parameters, in the dimensions of their cardiorespiratory activation as well as in their efficiency and after the stress in their subjective experience of the stress. Conclusions are drawn for the evaluation of the aptitude of pilots and cosmonauts.
Kelman, William P.; Whiteley, John H.
Generalization of habituation along a form dimension was investigated with 12 nonambulatory, profoundly mentally retarded children. Fixation times decreased over habituation trials and increased during test trials. No differences in fixation times to test stimuli were found in the group data, and analyses of individual subject data indicated that…
Tal, Dror; Bar, Ronen; Nachum, Zohar; Gil, Amnon; Shupak, Avi
The computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) test examines the response pattern to simultaneous, multimodal sensory stimulation. The purpose of this prospective, controlled study was to investigate whether postural dynamics evaluated by CDP are related to seasickness severity and the process of habituation to sea conditions. Subjects included 74 naval personnel assigned to service aboard ship and 29 controls designated for shore-based positions. Study participants performed a baseline CDP test, and subsequent follow-up examinations 6 and 12 months after completion of their training. On those occasions they also completed a seasickness severity questionnaire. Longitudinal changes in postural parameters were examined, as well as a possible correlation between baseline CDP results and final seasickness severity scores. The results indicated longitudinal habituation to seasickness. Reduced scores were found for sensory organization sub-tests 3 and 5 in the first follow-up examination, reflecting increased weighting of visual and somatosensory input in the maintenance of balance. Scores in the second follow-up examination were above baseline values, indicating increased reliance on vestibular cues. These significant bimodal changes were found only in study subjects having the highest degree of habituation to seasickness. A significant decrease in motor response strength was found in parallel with increased habituation to seasickness. Baseline CDP results and postural control dynamics were not correlated with subjects' final seasickness severity score. These results suggest a potential role for CDP in monitoring the process of habituation to unusual motion conditions.
Full Text Available Amputation is considered as a defect and its outcome is person's disability and the incidences of psychological problems. This study examined psychophysiological of disability in male mice with amputed limb. This experimental study was conducted on 30 male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups of 5 animals each: two intact control groups (NC, two groups that their right hands (RH amputed from elbow joint and two other groups that their right feet (RF amputed from knee joint. Behavioral tests were performed in each group either after 30 or 60 days after amputation. To investigate the behavior paradigms, we used of forced swimming test for depression, elevated plus maze for anxiety, tail pinch test for stress, Morris water maze for spatial memory and object recognition test for learning. This study demonstrated that the immobility time in FST was RF group on day 30 significant increased compared to NC group on day 60. The open arms entries in EPM were significant decrease in RH and RF groups on days 30 and 60 compared to NC group on day 60. The time in closed arms in EPM was RF group on day 60 significant increased compared to NC group on day 30. RH and RF groups on days 30 and 60 significant increased in this parameter when compared to NC group on day 60. The time in open arms in EPM was significant different in NC group on day 30 as compared to NC group on day 60. RH and RF groups on days 30 and 60 significant decrease compared to NC group on day 60. To sum, limb amputation increased anxious behavior. The trend of working memory in ORT was deteriorated following limb amputation. The response to stress stimulus in TPT was increased post-amputation (P>0.05. The spatial memory in MWM also showed moderate deficit following amputation. Results from present study indicated that amputation can created some psychophysiological disorders. Major reason for which is probably animal's motor behavior defects, although further studies need to be done on
Slover, G P; Morris, R W; Stroebel, C F; Patel, M K
A 4-year case study was made of a 42-year-old white woman as seen through the psychophysiological diary. There was an awakening diary and a bedtime diary composed of 125 variables. The data are divided into two series: series I containing a manic episode, and series II as a control. Spectral analysis shows infradian rhythms in hypoglycemia and fear (11 days) and time to fall asleep (5 days). Depressed feelings showed a circatrigintan (28-day) rhythm, which was not correlated with menses. Mania had an annual rhythm (spring) but no circatrigintan or less rhythm. The following correlations have a P value less than or equal to 0.01: mania was directly correlated with number of sleeping pills, time to really wake up, need for rest, moodiness, and helplessness, and indirectly with expectations, pressure at work, sense of time, and emotional state. Interestingly, awakening pulse is directly correlated with awakening temperature, number of sleeping pills, bedtime pulse, tiredness at bedtime, hypoglycemia, and fear. Bedtime pulse is directly correlated with awakening pulse and awakening temperature. Both pulse and temperature at bedtime are directly correlated with negative variables such as tiredness, moodiness, helplessness, and depression, and inversely correlated with positive variables such as happiness, loving, performance at work, and thinking efficiency. This study demonstrates a significant correlation between physiological variables.
Mierzwinski, J; Kazmierczak, H; Pawlak-Osinska, K; Piziewicz, A
This study was designed to investigate the effect of histaminergic agonists and antagonists on the acquisition of vestibular habituation. The experimental animals, pigeons, were subjected to unilateral rotatory and sway habituation training sessions. The habituation of postural reflexes and post-rotatory head nystagmus was assessed. Vestibular habituation in the control group was achieved by adopting the kinetic reflex posture after approximately 9 training sessions, and after 10 and 14 training sessions, respectively for 50% reduction of the total number of beats (TNB) and the duration of post-rotatory head nystagmus. In the sway adaptation test control pigeons needed nearly 15 training sessions while pigeons receiving betahistine adapted after approximately 8 sessions. Administration of histamine and, most notably, betahistine accelerated the process, while both H1 and H2 antagonists (clemastine, cimetidine) tended to retard it, indicating a less significant contribution of H2 receptors. The cholinergic agent physostigmine strongly retarded habituation while the anticholinergic agent scopolamine markedly accelerated it. In addition the adrenomimetic agent ephedrine also accelerated habituation while the adrenolytic agent droperidol retarded reduction of nystagmus beats. The results indicate that histaminergic receptors play a significant role in the vestibular habituation mechanism but are intricately involved with other types of receptors. Betahistine is clearly the agent of choice for attenuating vestibular effects.
Christensen, Janne Winther; Zharkikh, Tatjana; Ladevig, Jan
Habituation to frightening stimuli plays an important role in horse training. To investigate the extent to which horses generalise between different visual objects, 2-year-old stallions were habituated to feeding from a container placed inside a test arena and assigned as TEST (n = 12) or REFERENCE...... horses (n = 12). In Experiment 1, TEST horses were habituated to six objects (ball, barrel, board, box, cone, cylinder) presented in sequence in a balanced order. The objects were of similar size but different colour. Each object was placed 0.5 m in front of the feed container, forcing the horses to pass...... the object to get to the food. TEST horses received as many 2 min exposures to each object as required to meet a habituation criterion. We recorded behavioural reactions to the object, latency to feed, total eating time, and heart rate (HR) during all exposures. There was no significant decrease in initial...
Background and Objectives: Stress is associated with gains in adiposity. One factor that determines how much stress is experienced is how quickly an adolescent reduces responding (habituates) across repeated stressors. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of body mass index pe...
Scalise, L.; Casacanditella, L.; Cosoli, G.
Heart Rate Variability, HRV, studies the variations of cardiac rhythm caused by the autonomic regulation. HRV analysis can be applied to the study of the effects of mental or physical stressors on the psychophysiological conditions. The present work is a pilot study performed on a 23-year-old healthy subject. The measurement of HRV was performed by means of two sensors, that is an electrocardiograph and a Laser Doppler Vibrometer, which is a non-contact device able to detect the skin vibrations related to the cardiac activity. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of a physical task on HRV parameters (in both time and frequency domain), and consequently on the autonomic regulation, and the capability of Laser Doppler Vibrometry in correctly detecting the effects of stress on the Heart Variability. The results show a significant reduction of HRV parameters caused by the execution of the physical task (i.e. variations of 25-40% for parameters in time domain, also higher in frequency domain); this is consistent with the fact that stress causes a reduced capability of the organism in varying the Heart Rate (and, consequently, a limited HRV). LDV was able to correctly detect this phenomenon in the time domain, while the parameters in the frequency domain show significant deviations with respect to the gold standard technique (i.e. ECG). This may be due to the movement artefacts that have consistently modified the shape of the vibration signal measured by means of LDV, after having performed the physical task. In the future, in order to avoid this drawback, the LDV technique could be used to evaluate the effects of a mental task on HRV signals (i.e. the evaluation of mental stress).
Reshetnikov, M M
The efficiency of specific psychophysiological preparation--autogenic training--to parachute jumps was measured in two groups of cadets (test subjects and controls). Hetero- and autogenic training was carried out according to a scheme specially developed for this type of activity. The study of questionnaires and physiological data demonstrated that the specific psychophysiological preparation by means of autogenic training for a certain type of activity helped to develop active self-control over one's own state and emotions, alleviated tension, arrested adverse neurotic manifestations (sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety), contributed to the feeling of confidence in the successful completion of the jump and promoted positive tuning towards subsequent jumps.
Vassilieva GYu; Nichiporuk, I A; Ivanov, A A; Pozdnyakov, S V
The study of psychophysiological status' interaction and interrelation with parameters of a neurohumoral regulation is important for perfection of medical and psychological support of high serviceability of the crew-members in conditions of space flight. Long-term bed rest in a head-down tilt (BRHDT, antiorthostatic hypokinesia) is used for simulation of prolonged influence of microgravity on a human body in ground-based conditions. The main objective of the present work was to reveal main links of psychophysiological state with neurohumoral parameters in BRHDT.
Bechtereva, N P; Danko, S G; Medvedev, S V
Important points on methodology and detailed description of methods used in polymodal psychophysiological studies of human verbal creative thinking are presented. The psychophysiological studies were conducted with healthy volunteers during implementations of specially developed and adapted psychological tests aimed to bring the subjects into states of verbal creative thinking. Four different task sets ("story composition", "associative chains", "original definitions", "proverb sense flipping") were developed and applied. Positron emission tomography of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and state-related quantitative electroencephalography (power and coherence evaluated) were used. The effectiveness of the methods is illustrated with figures.
Full Text Available Information of the psychophysiological testing of students of technical institute of higher of different sporting specializations is considered. In research took part 159 students of specialization football, sambo, volleyball, basketball, aerobics, boxing, heavy athletics. The psychophysiological testing is given by possibility to choose the proper sporting specialization students for the best realization of the personality qualities. Positive attitude of students is marked toward employments on physical education. The increase of self-appraisal and improvement of health of students is also marked.
McCorry, Noleen K.; Hepper, Peter G.
Habituation is the decrement in response to repeated stimulation. Fetal habituation performance may reflect the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) prenatally. However, basic characteristics of the prenatal habituation phenomena remain unclear, such as the relationship with gestational age (GA) and fetal sex. The current study…
McCorry, Noleen K.; Hepper, Peter G.
Habituation is the decrement in response to repeated stimulation. Fetal habituation performance may reflect the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) prenatally. However, basic characteristics of the prenatal habituation phenomena remain unclear, such as the relationship with gestational age (GA) and fetal sex. The current study…
Kazmierczak, H; Pawlak-Osińska, K; Osiński, P
The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of hemispherectomy and hemicerebellectomy on acquisition and retention of vestibular habituation in pigeons. The habituation training was performed using a rotatory test. The frequency of head nystagmus and postural reflexes was examined before and after acquisition of habituation and some days later, for the evaluation of the retention process. Our results suggested that the hemispherectomy did not inhibit the acquisition of habituation but retention of this phenomenon was shorter at that time. The hemicerebellectomy made it impossible to reveal the vestibular habituation.
Brouwer, S.J.M. de; Middendorp, H. van; Stormink, C.; Kraaimaat, F.W.; Sweep, F.C.; Jong, E.M.G.J. de; Schalkwijk, J.; Eijsbouts, A.M.M.; Donders, A.R.T.; Kerkhof, P.C.M. van de; Riel, P.L.C.M. van; Evers, A.W.M.
BACKGROUND: Psychosocial stress can be a risk factor for the maintenance and exacerbation of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OBJECTIVES: To gain insight into the specificity of the psychophysiological stress response during chronic inflammation, we ass
Most psychology curricula require the completion of coursework on the physiological bases of behavior. However, delivery of this critical content in a laboratory format is somewhat rare at the undergraduate level. To fill this gap, this article describes the design and implementation of an undergraduate laboratory course in psychophysiology at a…
Michelson, Larry; Mavissakalian, Matig
Examined relative and combined effectiveness of behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy in 62 severe, chronic agoraphobics. Identified differential temporal response and treatment patterns across psychophysiological domains. Synchrony/desynchrony phenomena yielded significant findings with regard to process and clinical outcome status. Exploratory…
van der Molen, M.W.
Two major theories of the development of inhibitory functioning are discussed that assume a close relation between inhibitory ability and the maturation of the frontal lobes. It is argued that a psychophysiological approach may add considerably to the study of developmental change in inhibitory proc
This meta-analysis of 58 resting baseline studies, 25 startle studies, 17 standardized trauma cue studies, and 22 idiographic trauma cue studies compared adults with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on psychophysiological variables: facial electromyography (EMG), heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC), and blood pressure.…
Shuĭkin, N N
There are some ideas in the quantum mechanics, which may be assimilated by psychophysiology. The concept of interference alternatives, advanced by Richard Feynman, may extend the subject matter of the notion of need. The quantum theory assumes virtual transitions. The idea of the physical virtual process may be the rational basis for subjective reality.
Kappes, B; Mills, W; O'Malley, J
Cold injured patients in Alaska come from many sources. Although sport and work continues to provide large numbers of cold injured, most severe repeat injuries tend to reflect other biopsychosocial consequences. Certain behaviors can increase the probability of injury, however all persons living in cold climates are potential candidates. One can decrease risk by education, knowledge and intelligent behavior. Proper respect for adequate protection and hydration seem to be critical factors. Understanding the psychological, physiological and psychophysiological aspects of the cold environment performer helps refine the prevention and treatment strategies for cold injury. Skill training with bio-behavioral methods, such as thermal biofeedback, and the value of medical psychotherapy appear to offer continued promise by facilitating physiologic recovery from injury, as well as assisting in long term rehabilitation. Both approaches increase the likelihood of a favorable healing response by soliciting active patient participation. Medical Psychotherapy for traumatic injuries can also help identify and manage cognitive emotional issues for families and patients faced with the permanent consequences of severe thermal injuries. Thermal biofeedback therapy has the potential benefit of encouraging greater self-reliance and responsibility for self-regulating overall health by integrating self-management skills regarding physiology, diet and lifestyle. Inpatient and outpatient biofeedback training offers specific influence over vascular responses for healing, as well as providing an effective tool for pain management. Interest in cold region habitation has continued to expand our study of human tolerance to harsh, extreme environments. Biological, psychological, sociological, and anthropological views on adaptation, habituation, acclimatization, and injury in cold environments acknowledges the role of development, learning and educated responses to cold environments. The study of
Full Text Available Habituation – the response decrement to repetitively presented stimulation - is a basic cognitive capability and suited to investigate development and integrity of the human brain. To evaluate the developmental process of auditory habituation, the current study used magnetoencephalography to investigate auditory habituation, dishabituation and stimulus specificity in children and adults and compared the results between age groups. Twenty-nine children (Mage = 9.69 years, SD ± 0.47 and 14 adults (Mage = 29.29 years, SD ± 3.47 participated in the study and passively listened to a habituation paradigm consisting of 100 trains of tones which were composed of five 500Hz tones, one 750Hz tone (dishabituator and another two 500Hz tones, respectively while focusing their attention on a silent movie. Adults showed the expected habituation and stimulus specificity within-trains while no response decrement was found between trains. Sensory adaptation or fatigue as a source for response decrement in adults is unlikely due to the strong reaction to the dishabituator (stimulus specificity and strong mismatch negativity responses. However, in children neither habituation nor dishabituation or stimulus specificity could be found within-trains, response decrement was found across trains. It can be speculated that the differences between children and adults are linked to differences in stimulus processing due to attentional processes. This study shows developmental differences in task-related brain activation and discusses the possible influence of broader concepts such as attention, which should be taken into account when comparing performance in an identical task between age groups.
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Temporomandibular disorders are the most common cause of chronic orofacial pain, but, except where they occur subsequent to trauma, their cause remains unknown. This cross-sectional study assessed chewing function (habitual chewing side and the differences of the chewing side and condylar path and lateral anterior guidance angles in participants with chronic unilateral temporomandibular disorder. This is the preliminary report of a randomized trial that aimed to test the effect of a new occlusal adjustment therapy. METHODS: The masticatory function of 21 randomly selected completely dentate participants with chronic temporomandibular disorders (all but one with unilateral symptoms was assessed by observing them eat almonds, inspecting the lateral horizontal movement of the jaw, with kinesiography, and by means of interview. The condylar path in the sagittal plane and the lateral anterior guidance angles with respect to the Frankfort horizontal plane in the frontal plane were measured on both sides in each individual. RESULTS: Sixteen of 20 participants with unilateral symptoms chewed on the affected side; the concordance (Fisher's exact test, P = .003 and the concordance-symmetry level (Kappa coefficient κ = 0.689; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38 to 0.99; P = .002 were significant. The mean condylar path angle was steeper (53.47(10.88 degrees versus 46.16(7.25 degrees; P = .001, and the mean lateral anterior guidance angle was flatter (41.63(13.35 degrees versus 48.32(9.53 degrees P = .036 on the symptomatic side. DISCUSSION: The results of this study support the use of a new term based on etiology, "habitual chewing side syndrome", instead of the nonspecific symptom-based "temporomandibular joint disorders"; this denomination is characterized in adults by a steeper condylar path, flatter lateral anterior guidance, and habitual chewing on the symptomatic side.
Matveev, E V; Gal'etov, I V; Vasil'ev, A A; Kravchuk, A Iu; Tereshkina, D V
Principles of designing software and hardware for new computer equipment for psychophysiological examination were elaborated on the basis of theoretical prerequisites and of analysis of the use of equipment manufactured serially for quantitation of indices of the human higher nervous activity (HNA). The hierarchic structuring of software and hardware enabled, through unification of solutions, the development of new modifications of two equipment sets: computer-based unit "Psihomat" KPFK-99 for psychophysiological examination and computer-based unit "STABILOTEST" ST-01 for the evaluation of the central nervous system by the stability parameters in maintaining the vertical posture. The units have new improved functional features and provide the users with new computer technologies for dealing with research and practical tasks related with examination of human HNA parameters in health and pathology.
Full Text Available The habituation/cross-habituation test (HaXha is a spontaneous odor discrimination task that has been used for many decades to evaluate olfactory function in animals. Animals are presented repeatedly with the same odorant after which a new odorant is introduced. The time the animal explores the odor object is measured. An animal is considered to cross-habituate during the novel stimulus trial when the exploration time is higher than the prior trial and indicates the degree of olfactory patency. On the other hand, habituation across the repeated trials involves decreased exploration time and is related to memory patency, especially at long intervals. Classically exploration is timed using a stopwatch when the animal is within 2 cm of the object and aimed toward it. These criteria are intuitive, but it is unclear how they relate to olfactory exploration, that is, sniffing. We used video tracking combined with plethysmography to improve accuracy, avoid observer bias, and propose more robust criteria for exploratory scoring when sniff measures are not available. We also demonstrate that sniff rate combined with proximity is the most direct measure of odorant exploration and provide a robust and sensitive criterion.
Soibam, Benjamin; Shah, Shishir; Gunaratne, Gemunu H.; Roman, Gregg W.
Habituation is a common form of non-associative learning in which the organism gradually decreases its response to repeated stimuli. The decrease in exploratory activity of many animal species during exposure to a novel open field arena is a widely studied habituation paradigm. However, a theoretical framework to quantify how the novelty of the arena is learned during habituation is currently missing. Drosophila melanogaster display a high mean absolute activity and a high probability for dir...
The outlined treatment strategies are based on research findings. The techniques include repeated physical examinations to reassure patients with hypochondriacal concern and continuous empathy with the partient's distress; explanatory therapy which includes emphasis on the innocuousness of the phenomena, accurate information about the psychophysiologic processes involved, making the patient aware of his selective perception; deliberate suggestion when this is in keeping with accurate predictions and appropriate treatment of coexisting psychiatric disorders.
Slimani, M; Chaabene, H; Miarka, B; Franchini, E.; Chamari, K; Cheour, F
Kickboxing is one of the modern combat sports. The psychophysiological demands of a kickboxing competition require athletes to achieve high thresholds of several aspects of physical fitness. The aim of the current review is to critically analyse and appraise the kickboxer?s anthropometric, physiological, physical and psychological attributes with the activity profile and injury epidemiology in order to provide practical recommendations for training as well as new areas of scientific research....
Bönigk, Mareike; Steffgen, Georges
... with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees' habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change...
Nechaev, A. P.
Space flight factors may effect negatively on psychophysiological state (PPS) and work capacity of crewmembers, lead to errors in tasks performance. Such errors cannot be entirely prevented during "crew-spacecraft" system designing and/or crewmembers training as they are consequence of a human "psychophysiological troubles". In the present investigation we paid special attention to work and rest schedule (WRS) intensity due to sleep-wake rhythm disturbances and crewmembers overload may cause PPS aggravation. By methods of the correlation analysis of the data collected during 9 "Mir" missions (18 Russian cosmonauts, 226 flight weeks) the significant (pmanagement with the purpose of decrease in CE frequency. The algorithm can be briefly described in the following kind. On the basis of the analysis of crew forthcoming work experts should assess WRS intensity, possible crewmembers PPS alterations, and expected CE frequency. If CE frequency is allowable the management may be limited to recommendations that operative vigilance increase. If CE frequency is higher allowable it is necessary to carry out the measures on crewmembers PPS normalization by means of decrease in WRS intensity. The algorithm is intended for use in the on-ground expert system of psychophysiological support of cosmonauts performance.
Valeri, Eva; Cherchi, Elisabetta
significant latent habitual effect on choices of type of car engine. This effect is important only for some of the car alternatives considered in the study. In particular, habitual car users prefer to buy a new car with liquefied petroleum gas and compressed natural gas types of engine technology instead...... of liquefied petroleum gas car....
Kwak, Ji Hoon; Sim, Jae Ang; Kim, Nam Ki; Lee, Beom Koo
Habitual dislocation of patella is a rare disorder. Sometimes it is associated with angular deformity such as genu valgum. We experienced habitual patella dislocation associated with genu valgum that was treated with corrective osteotomy of distal femur and soft tissue realignment procedure including lateral release and medial reefing.
Abram, Paul K.; Cusumano, Antonino; Abram, Katrina; Colazza, Stefano; Peri, Ezio
Background. Habituation, a form of non-associative learning, has several well-defined characteristics that apply to a wide range of physiological and behavioral responses in many organisms. In classic patch time allocation models, habituation is considered to be a major mechanistic component of para
Acevedo, Summer F.; Froudarakis, Emmanuil I.; Kanellopoulos, Alexandros; Skoulakis, Efthimios M. C.
Diminished responses to stimuli defined as habituation can serve as a gating mechanism for repetitive environmental cues with little predictive value and importance. We demonstrate that wild-type animals diminish their responses to electric shock stimuli with properties characteristic of short- and long-term habituation. We used spatially…
Full Text Available PURPOSE: Mitochondrial disease is the most common neuromuscular disease and has a profound impact upon daily life, disease and longevity. Exercise therapy has been shown to improve mitochondrial function in patients with mitochondrial disease. However, no information exists about the level of habitual physical activity of people with mitochondrial disease and its relationship with clinical phenotype. METHODS: Habitual physical activity, genotype and clinical presentations were assessed in 100 patients with mitochondrial disease. Comparisons were made with a control group individually matched by age, gender and BMI. RESULTS: Patients with mitochondrial disease had significantly lower levels of physical activity in comparison to matched people without mitochondrial disease (steps/day; 6883±3944 vs. 9924±4088, p = 0.001. 78% of the mitochondrial disease cohort did not achieve 10,000 steps per day and 48% were classified as overweight or obese. Mitochondrial disease was associated with less breaks in sedentary activity (Sedentary to Active Transitions, % per day; 13±0.03 vs. 14±0.03, p = 0.001 and an increase in sedentary bout duration (bout lengths/fraction of total sedentary time; 0.206±0.044 vs. 0.187±0.026, p = 0.001. After adjusting for covariates, higher physical activity was moderately associated with lower clinical disease burden (steps/day; r(s = -0.49; 95% CI -0.33, -0.63, P<0.01. There were no systematic differences in physical activity between different genotypes mitochondrial disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate for the first time that low levels of physical activity are prominent in mitochondrial disease. Combined with a high prevalence of obesity, physical activity may constitute a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor in mitochondrial disease.
headphones and a tactile transducer floor to simulate riding in a large vehicle. The low immersion condition consisted of the same virtual Iraqi scenario...on a 7-point scale. Psychophysiological Assessment. Psychophysiological assessment included: Elec- tromyographic activity ( EMG ), Electrodermal...running Acknowledge software. Startle eyeblink response. EMG startle eyeblink responses were recorded using two small (4mm in diameter) silver
de Jonge, Peter; Rosmalen, Judith G M; Kema, Ido P
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of affairs on psychophysiological factors that may explain the link between depression and adverse outcome in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Factors discussed include heart rate variability, inflammation, platelet function, hypo...... on the network of psychophysiological (and behavioral) factors to elucidate their precise role and timing in depressed cardiac patients....
Valsamis, Bridget; Schmid, Susanne
The acoustic startle response is a protective response, elicited by a sudden and intense acoustic stimulus. Facial and skeletal muscles are activated within a few milliseconds, leading to a whole body flinch in rodents(1). Although startle responses are reflexive responses that can be reliably elicited, they are not stereotypic. They can be modulated by emotions such as fear (fear potentiated startle) and joy (joy attenuated startle), by non-associative learning processes such as habituation and sensitization, and by other sensory stimuli through sensory gating processes (prepulse inhibition), turning startle responses into an excellent tool for assessing emotions, learning, and sensory gating, for review see( 2, 3). The primary pathway mediating startle responses is very short and well described, qualifying startle also as an excellent model for studying the underlying mechanisms for behavioural plasticity on a cellular/molecular level(3). We here describe a method for assessing short-term habituation, long-term habituation and prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle responses in rodents. Habituation describes the decrease of the startle response magnitude upon repeated presentation of the same stimulus. Habituation within a testing session is called short-term habituation (STH) and is reversible upon a period of several minutes without stimulation. Habituation between testing sessions is called long-term habituation (LTH)(4). Habituation is stimulus specific(5). Prepulse inhibition is the attenuation of a startle response by a preceding non-startling sensory stimulus(6). The interval between prepulse and startle stimulus can vary from 6 to up to 2000 ms. The prepulse can be any modality, however, acoustic prepulses are the most commonly used. Habituation is a form of non-associative learning. It can also be viewed as a form of sensory filtering, since it reduces the organisms' response to a non-threatening stimulus. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) was originally
Farmer, Adam D; Coen, Steven J; Kano, Michiko; Paine, Peter A; Shwahdi, Mustafa; Jafari, Jafar; Kishor, Jessin; Worthen, Sian F; Rossiter, Holly E; Kumari, Veena; Williams, Steven C R; Brammer, Michael; Giampietro, Vincent P; Droney, Joanne; Riley, Julia; Furlong, Paul L; Knowles, Charles H; Lightman, Stafford L; Aziz, Qasim
Pain is a ubiquitous yet highly variable experience. The psychophysiological and genetic factors responsible for this variability remain unresolved. We hypothesised the existence of distinct human pain clusters (PCs) composed of distinct psychophysiological and genetic profiles coupled with differences in the perception and the brain processing of pain. We studied 120 healthy subjects in whom the baseline personality and anxiety traits and the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype were measured. Real-time autonomic nervous system parameters and serum cortisol were measured at baseline and after standardised visceral and somatic pain stimuli. Brain processing reactions to visceral pain were studied in 29 subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The reproducibility of the psychophysiological responses to pain was assessed at year. In group analysis, visceral and somatic pain caused an expected increase in sympathetic and cortisol responses and activated the pain matrix according to fMRI studies. However, using cluster analysis, we found 2 reproducible PCs: at baseline, PC1 had higher neuroticism/anxiety scores (P ≤ 0.01); greater sympathetic tone (Ppain, less stimulus was tolerated (P ≤ 0.01), and there was an increase in parasympathetic tone (P ≤ 0.05). The 5-HTTLPR short allele was over-represented (P ≤ 0.005). PC2 had the converse profile at baseline and during pain. Brain activity differed (P ≤ 0.001); greater activity occurred in the left frontal cortex in PC1, whereas PC2 showed greater activity in the right medial/frontal cortex and right anterior insula. In health, 2 distinct reproducible PCs exist in humans. In the future, PC characterization may help to identify subjects at risk for developing chronic pain and may reduce variability in brain imaging studies.
Full Text Available Background. Phenylketonuria (PKU is caused by the inherited defect of the phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme, which converts phenylalanine (Phe into tyrosine (Tyr. Neonatal screening programs and early treatment have radically changed the natural history of PKU. Nevertheless, an increased risk of neurocognitive and psychiatric problems in adulthood remains a challenging aspect of the disease. In order to assess the vulnerability of complex skills to Phe, we explored: a the effect of a rapid increase in blood Phe levels on event-related potentials (ERP in PKU subjects during their second decade of life; b the association (if existing between psychophysiological and neurocognitive features.Methods. Seventeen early-treated PKU subjects, aged 10 to 20, underwent ERP (Mismatch Negativity, auditory P300, Contingent Negative Variation (CNV, and Intensity Dependence of Auditory Evoked Potentials recording before and 2 hours after an oral loading of Phe. Neurocognitive functioning, historical and concurrent biochemical values of blood Phe, Tyr, and Phe/Tyr ratio, were all included in the statistical analysis.Results. ERP components were normally detected in all the subjects. In subjects younger than 13 CNV amplitude, W2-CNV area, P3b latency, and Reaction Times in motor responses were negatively influenced by Phe loading. Independently from the psychophysiological vulnerability, some neurocognitive skills were more impaired in younger patients. No correlation was found between biochemical alterations and neurocognitive and psychophysiological findings. Conclusion. The vulnerability of the emerging neurocognitive functions to Phe suggests a strict metabolic control in adolescents affected by PKU and a neurodevelopmental approach in the study of neurocognitive outcome in PKU.
Thieme, Kati; Turk, Dennis C; Gracely, Richard H; Maixner, William; Flor, Herta
This study examined the relationship of psychophysiological response patterns in fibromyalgia with psychological characteristics and comorbid mental disorders. Surface electromyographic data, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and skin conductance levels were recorded continuously during baseline, stress, and relaxation tasks. Cluster analysis revealed 4 subgroups of patients who differed on pain characteristics and cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to pain and stress. The largest group (46.7%) was characterized by elevated blood pressure levels and stress reactivity (a disposition assumed to be a vulnerability factor for the development of diseases) associated with pain, anxiety, physical interference, low activity, and pain behaviors. A second group (41.6%) showed low baseline blood pressure and reactivity, and high activity and stress. A third group (9.2%) displayed high baseline skin conductance level, reactivity, and depression, and a fourth small group (2.5%) displayed elevated baseline electromyographic response and reactivity with high levels of anxiety and depression. These data suggest that unique psychophysiological response patterns are associated with psychological coping and mental disorders in fibromyalgia patients. The identification of the mechanisms that contribute to these group differences will further our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of fibromyalgia and suggest differential treatment strategies. This article presents psychological characteristics and comorbidity with mental disorders of psychophysiological subgroups of fibromyalgia patients. This mechanistic analysis will assist scientific identification of systems-based pathways that contribute to autonomic and stress mechanisms that mediate chronic pain. Demonstration of distinct, homogeneous subgroups is an important step towards personalized, mechanism-oriented treatments. Copyright © 2015 American Pain
Salminen, Mikko; Henttonen, Pentti; Ravaja, Niklas
Psychophysiological activity was recorded during development discussions of 44 manager-subordinate pairs to examine the effects of the Big Five personality traits Extraversion and Conscientiousness, and personality similarity during dyadic social interaction. Facial electromyography and frontal electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry were collected continuously during the 30-min discussions. Different actor and partner effects and Actor×Partner interactions were observed. Matching levels of Extraversion led to higher periocular muscle activity, indicating positive valence emotional expressions. The results are discussed considering similarity attraction theories. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Nagayama, Toshiki; Araki, Makoto
Crayfish escape from threatening stimuli by tailflipping. If a stimulus is applied to the rear, crayfish escape up and forwards in a summersault maneuver that is mediated by the activation of lateral giant (LG) interneurons. The occurrence probability of LG-mediated tailflip, however, diminishes and habituates if a stimulus is repeatedly applied. Since crayfish have a relatively simple CNS with many identifiable neurons, crayfish represent a good animal to analyze the cellular basis of habituation. A reduction in the amplitude of the EPSP in the LGs, caused by direct chemical synaptic connection from sensory afferents by repetitive stimulations, is essential to bring about an inactivation of the LGs. The spike response of the LGs recovers within several minutes of habituation, but the LGs subsequently fail to spike when an additional stimulus is applied after specific periods following habituation. These results indicate that a decline in synaptic efficacy from the mechanosensory afferents recovers readily after a short delay, but then the excitability of the LGs themselves decreases. Furthermore, the processes underlying habituation are modulated depending on a social status. When two crayfish encounter each other, a winner-loser relationship is established. With a short interstimulus interval of 5 s, the rate of habituation of the LG in both socially dominant and subordinate crayfish becomes lower than in socially isolated animals. Serotonin and octopamine affect this social status-dependent modulation of habituation by means of activation of downstream second messenger system of cAMP and IP3 cascades, respectively.
Abram, Katrina; Colazza, Stefano; Peri, Ezio
Background Habituation, a form of non-associative learning, has several well-defined characteristics that apply to a wide range of physiological and behavioral responses in many organisms. In classic patch time allocation models, habituation is considered to be a major mechanistic component of parasitoid behavioral strategies. However, parasitoid behavioral responses to host cues have not previously been tested for the known, specific characteristics of habituation. Methods In the laboratory, we tested whether the foraging behavior of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis shows specific characteristics of habituation in response to consecutive encounters with patches of host (Nezara viridula) chemical contact cues (footprints), in particular: (i) a training interval-dependent decline in response intensity, and (ii) a training interval-dependent recovery of the response. Results As would be expected of a habituated response, wasps trained at higher frequencies decreased their behavioral response to host footprints more quickly and to a greater degree than those trained at low frequencies, and subsequently showed a more rapid, although partial, recovery of their behavioral response to host footprints. This putative habituation learning could not be blocked by cold anesthesia, ingestion of an ATPase inhibitor, or ingestion of a protein synthesis inhibitor. Discussion Our study provides support for the assumption that diminishing responses of parasitoids to chemical indicators of host presence constitutes habituation as opposed to sensory fatigue, and provides a preliminary basis for exploring the underlying mechanisms. PMID:28321365
HLA-antigens are extremely polymorphic. A calculation of the polymorphism shows a number of 398.476.343 possible HLA-phenotypes, if HLA-A, -B, -C and -DR antigens are taken into account. The compatibility of HLA-antigens of recipient and donor plays a crucial role in transplantation: HLA-antigens are the traits, which are recognized by the immune system of the recipient in the frame of a rejection of the transplant or by the donor in the frame of a graft-versus-host reaction. Large international statistics show that HLA-incompatibility between recipient and donor leads to short transplant function periods, while compatibility brings about good transplant function. Therefore, matching of HLA-antigens plays an important role in transplantation of solid organs, mainly kidneys (3, 4, 5), and is completely necessary in bone marrow transplantation. Also in pregnancy, HLA-antigens are important: If HLA compatibility between mother and child is high, the risk for habitual abortion is higher than in normal pregnancies (6, 7).
Filho, Edson; Di Fronso, Selenia; Mazzoni, Caterina; Robazza, Claudio; Bortoli, Laura; Bertollo, Maurizio
Our purpose was to test the multi-action plan model assumptions in which athletes' psychophysiological patterns differ among optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Nine professional drivers competing in premier race categories (e.g. Formula 3, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge) completed the study. Data collection involved monitoring the drivers' perceived hedonic tone, accuracy on core components of action, posture, skin temperature, respiration rate and heart rate responses during a 40-lap simulated race. Time marks, gathered at three standardised sectors, served as the performance variable. The A1GP racing simulator (Allinsport, Modena) established a realistic race platform. Specifically, the Barcelona track was chosen because of its inherently difficult nature characterised by intermittent deceleration points. Idiosyncratic analyses showed large individual differences in the drivers' psychophysiological profile, as well as distinct patterns in regards to optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Limitations and future research avenues are discussed. Action- (e.g. attentional control) and emotion (e.g. biofeedback training)-centred applied sport psychology implications are advanced.
David L. Rowland
Full Text Available Cognition and sexuality are two distinct relational functions that are partially interconnected through our mind. Even though medical sciences have progressed substantially over the past decades, the current understanding of the mind psycho-physiology is yet at an early stage. As an example, the “mind-body problem” draws attention to the fact that fundamental aspects related to the understanding of the mind are still unresolved. Thus, it continues to be unclear how abstract ideas and thoughts (which are immaterial in nature, unfolding in an intangible realm interface (and in some cases, interfere with the more concrete brain and body (which are physical in nature, thus resulting in an abstract/conscious control of concrete/biological functions of the body; such is the case with processes involved in both cognition and sexuality. Beginning with this seminal paper we therefore intend to approach the psycho-physiology of the mind as an essential element to the understanding of the two (cognitive and sexual relational functions, using the premises for that model as a basis for understanding of the larger “mind-body problem”.
Mills-Koonce, W Roger; Propper, Cathi; Gariepy, Jean-Louis; Barnett, Melissa; Moore, Ginger A; Calkins, Susan; Cox, Martha J
This study investigated HPA and vagal functioning as correlates of parenting in mothers of 175 six-month-old children. Salivary cortisol indexed HPA functioning and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reduction indexed vagal regulation. Positive engagement and negative intrusiveness were observed during the Face-to-Face Still Face Paradigm (FFSFP) reunion and a semi-structured free play episode. Mixed modeling was used to examine differences in maternal behaviors across contexts as a function of psychophysiology. Main effects of cortisol levels, as well as interactions with RSA reduction and context, predicted negative intrusiveness. Mothers with high cortisol exhibited more negative intrusiveness if they also had lower RSA reduction. Mothers were also less negatively intrusive during the FFSFP than the free play if they had lower cortisol levels. There were no associations between psychophysiological measures and positive engagement. The findings suggest: (1) that parenting behaviors are associated with maternal stress physiology; (2) considerations of single physiological systems related to parenting behaviors may be incomplete; and (3) type and context of behaviors must be considered when examining biobehavioral associations with parenting.
Binboga, Erdal; Guven, Senol; Catıkkaş, Fatih; Bayazıt, Onur; Tok, Serdar
This study examines the relationship between psychophysiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and personality traits in young taekwondo athletes. A total of 20 male and 10 female taekwondo athletes (mean age = 18.6 years; ± 1.8) volunteered for the study. The Five Factor Personality Inventory and the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to measure personality and cognitive state anxiety. Electrodermal activity (EDA) was measured twice, one day and approximately one hour prior to the competition, to determine psychophysiological arousal. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, and stepwise regression were used to analyze the data. Several "Big Five" facets were related to the EDA delta scores that were measured both one day and one hour before the competition. Two stepwise regressions were conducted to examine whether personality traits could significantly predict both EDA delta scores. The final model, containing only neuroticism from the Big Five factors, can significantly explain the variations in the EDA delta scores measured one day before the competition. Agreeableness can significantly explain variations in the EDA delta scores measured one hour before the competition. No relationship was found between cognitive anxiety and the EDA delta scores measured one hour before the competition. In conclusion, personality traits, especially agreeableness and neuroticism, might be useful in understanding arousal responses to competition.
Arnetz, B B
There is rapid technological transformation occurring in both work and social life. The results of information technology, such as mobile telephones, computers, and electronic networks, have been looked upon as the key to solving several of the most pressing problems of the Western world. At the same time, numerous studies have shown that the great majority of computerization projects fail to meet their deadlines with the originally specified functionality mainly because human factors are not sufficiently taken into account during the planning and implementation phase of the project. In a study of the bodily, mental, and psychophysiological reactions of employees involved in the design of advanced telecommunications systems and of office employees using regular video display technology, several stress-related psychosomatic disorders have been identified. They include sleep disturbances, psychophysiological stress and somatic complaints. Controlled intervention programs aimed at enhancing organizational structures and individual coping strategies have been proved effective in counteracting the negative effects of working with information technology. The two-way interaction between the external information technology environment and bodily and mental reactions needs to be taken more into account in the design and use of modern information technology. There appears to be an increased awareness of human aspects when the risks and benefits of the rapid spread of information technologies are discussed.
Lazzeri, Nicole; Mazzei, Daniele; Greco, Alberto; Rotesi, Annalisa; Lanatà, Antonio; De Rossi, Danilo Emilio
Non-verbal signals expressed through body language play a crucial role in multi-modal human communication during social relations. Indeed, in all cultures, facial expressions are the most universal and direct signs to express innate emotional cues. A human face conveys important information in social interactions and helps us to better understand our social partners and establish empathic links. Latest researches show that humanoid and social robots are becoming increasingly similar to humans, both esthetically and expressively. However, their visual expressiveness is a crucial issue that must be improved to make these robots more realistic and intuitively perceivable by humans as not different from them. This study concerns the capability of a humanoid robot to exhibit emotions through facial expressions. More specifically, emotional signs performed by a humanoid robot have been compared with corresponding human facial expressions in terms of recognition rate and response time. The set of stimuli included standardized human expressions taken from an Ekman-based database and the same facial expressions performed by the robot. Furthermore, participants' psychophysiological responses have been explored to investigate whether there could be differences induced by interpreting robot or human emotional stimuli. Preliminary results show a trend to better recognize expressions performed by the robot than 2D photos or 3D models. Moreover, no significant differences in the subjects' psychophysiological state have been found during the discrimination of facial expressions performed by the robot in comparison with the same task performed with 2D photos and 3D models.
Bauer, Margaret R; Ruef, Anna M; Pineles, Suzanne L; Japuntich, Sandra J; Macklin, Michael L; Lasko, Natasha B; Orr, Scott P
Most research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) relies on clinician-administered interview and self-report measures to establish the presence/absence and severity of the disorder. Accurate diagnosis of PTSD is made challenging by the presence of symptoms shared with other psychopathologies and the subjective nature of patients' descriptions of their symptoms. A physiological assessment capable of reliably "diagnosing" PTSD could provide adjunctive information that might mitigate these diagnostic limitations. In the present study, we examined the construct validity of a potential psychophysiological measure of PTSD, that is, psychophysiological reactivity to script-driven imagery (SDI-PR), as measured against the current diagnostic "gold-standard" for PTSD, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Convergent and predictive validity and stability were examined. Thirty-six individuals completed an SDI-PR procedure, the CAPS, and self-report measures of mental and physical health at their initial visit and approximately 6 months later. SDI-PR and the CAPS demonstrated excellent stability across measurement occasions. SDI-PR showed moderately strong convergent validity with the CAPS. After adjusting for self-reported depression, predictive validity for the CAPS, with regard to health sequelae, was reduced, whereas it remained mostly unchanged for SDI-PR. Findings support SDI-PR as a valid and stable measure of PTSD that captures a pathophysiologic process in individuals with PTSD. Results are discussed with regard to the research domain criteria framework.
Full Text Available In puberty the active process of a formation of basic psychophysiological characteristics of temperament takes place. The investigation of this process has high priority because the teaching during this period is quite difficult and in this work the fundamental psychophysiological characteristics of process of education are studied. It is known that the development of temperament affects the significant characteristics of brain activity and interhemispheric relationships, and our hypothesis connects a formation of temperament and education progress. We examined 118 adolescents of both sexes (11-15 years old and 58 students of both sexes (mean age 23,5+/-1,2 years old. Analysis of temperament in Eysenk model (introversion – neurotism showed that the characteristics undergo significant changes in puberty. It has been shown that the increase of the emotional instability (neurotism in the girls, which leads to a change in the distribution of types of temperament in the period of 11 to 15 years, persists among young women. Education progress, measured by the level of school rating, is depended on the types of temperament. Extraverts and adolescents with high emotional stability have better school ratings. Emotional stability is connected with interhemispheric relationships. Adolescents with high level of DC potential in the left hemisphere are more stable.
Fairclough, Stephen H; Venables, Louise; Tattersall, Andrew
The level of expertise of an operator may significantly influence his/her psychophysiological response to high task demand. A naive individual may invest considerable mental effort during performance of a difficult task and psychophysiological reactivity will be high compared to the psychophysiological response of a highly skilled operator. A study on multitasking performance was conducted to investigate the interaction between learning and task demand on psychophysiological reactivity. Thirty naive participants performed high and low demand versions of the Multi-attribute Task Battery (MATB) over a learning period of 64 min. High and low task demand setting were preset via a pilot study. Psychophysiological variables were collected from four channels of EEG (Cz, P3, P4, Pz), ECG, EOG and respiration rate to measure the impact of task demand and learning. Several variables were sensitive to the task demand manipulation but not time-on-task, e.g., heart rate, Theta activity at parietal sites. The sensitivity of certain variables to high demand was compromised by skill acquisition, e.g., respiration rate, suppression of alpha activity. A sustained learning effect was observed during the high demand condition only; multiple regression analyses revealed that specific psychophysiological variables predicted learning at different stages on the learning curve. The implications for the sensitivity of psychophysiological variables are discussed.
Grissom, Nicola; Bhatnagar, Seema
Habituation, as described in the landmark paper by Thompson and Spencer (1966), is a form of simple, nonassociative learning in which the magnitude of the response to a specific stimulus decreases with repeated exposure to that stimulus. A variety of neuronal and behavioral responses have been shown to be subject to habituation based on the criteria presented in that paper. It has been known for several decades that the magnitude of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation occurring in...
Full Text Available This article discusses the problem of user identification and psychophysiological state assessment while writing a signature using a graphics tablet. The solution of the problem includes the creation of templates containing handwriting signature features simultaneously with the hidden registration of physiological parameters of a person being tested. Heart rate variability description in the different time points is used as a physiological parameter. As a result, a signature template is automatically generated for psychophysiological states of an identified person. The problem of user identification and psychophysiological state assessment is solved depending on the registered value of a physiological parameter.
The subject of investigation was the influence of ocular fixation on acquisition of habituation in experimental rotatory test in pigeons. The habituation training was performed in the three difference conditions: with full ocular fixation, fixation partly reduced and fixation excluded. Author confirmed that habituation with fixation excluded gave the best results of habituation of postural reflexes and head nystagmus in pigeons in rotatory training.
of the type of subjectivity that underlies consumer behaviour. I argue instead that a posthuman view of the relationship between brain, mind and behaviour underpinned neurophysiological research into consumers from its very beginning in the late nineteenth century. By tracing the biopolitical potentialities......From the 1890s, psychophysiological measurement devices have played an important, but as yet under-theorized role in marketing and consumer research. Because of the recent advances made in neuromarketing, it is often assumed that these measurement devices ushered in a radically new understanding...... of neuromarketing back to the Fin-de-Siècle neurophysiological laboratory, I show that consumers' bodies and later on their brains became reconfigured as part of a dispositif made up of laboratory-based artefacts (measurement devices) and new ways of seeing the human brain and human behaviour. This dispositif...
Vinokhodova, A G; Boritko, Ia S; Chekalina, A I; Gushchin, V I; Dudukin, A V
One of the prioritized objectives of psychophysiological support for long-duration space missions is to strengthen professional reliability of cosmonauts. Operator's reliability is dependent as on skillfulness, so individual work style. PILOT-1 and VIRTU methods were used to study individual psychological characteristics and operator's strategy during project MARS500. The established two individual work styles (IWSs), i.e. control and search, reflect different types of reacting to stress. Combined analysis of these data and results of the "Mirror coordinograph" test showed invariance of IWSs no matter whether a task is complicated or simple. Operators demonstrating the "control" strategy are characterized by high initial mobilization readiness. Their reliability demands great physiological resources (high "cost"). Initial mobilization and physiological "cost" are lower in operators demonstrating the "search" work style. Dependent on the level of mobilization and motivation, their efficacy, in terms of quality and reliability specifically, is unstable in nature.
Mikutta, Christian Alexander; Schwab, Simon; Niederhauser, Sandra; Wuermle, Othmar; Strik, Werner; Altorfer, Andreas
The present study investigates the relation of perceived arousal (continuous self-rating), autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate, heart rate variability) and musical characteristics (sound intensity, musical rhythm) upon listening to a complex musical piece. Twenty amateur musicians listened to two performances of Chopin's "Tristesse" with different rhythmic shapes. Besides conventional statistical methods for analyzing psychophysiological reactions (heart rate, respiration rate) and musical variables, semblance analysis was used. Perceived arousal correlated strongly with sound intensity; heart rate showed only a partial response to changes in sound intensity. Larger changes in heart rate were caused by the version with more rhythmic tension. The low-/high-frequency ratio of heart rate variability increased--whereas the high frequency component decreased--during music listening. We conclude that autonomic nervous system activity can be modulated not only by sound intensity but also by the interpreter's use of rhythmic tension. Semblance analysis enables us to track the subtle correlations between musical and physiological variables.
T. Y. Abramova
Full Text Available Abstract. The aim of this study was to elucidate a role of brain hemispheres in formation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA. The parameters of higher nervous activity, autonomous and immune systems in these patients that were characterized by domination of the left or right hemispheres of a brain, were defined in present work. The results of this work allow of justifying the following items: a relative increase in functional activity of right brain hemisphere in woman may represent a factor that either contributes to triggering of rheumatoid arthritis, or predisposes for its development; b formation of rheumatoid arthritis in females is accompanied by complex changes in psychophysiological and immune parameters, that exhibit significant features depending on functional asymmetry of the hemispheres; c a pronounced dependence is revealed between clinical course of disease and functional asymmetry of hemispheres.
Alpers, Georg W; Adolph, Dirk; Pauli, Paul
We examined if emotional faces elicit physiological responses similar to pictures of emotional scenes. Forty one students viewed emotional scenes (negative, neutral, and positive) and emotional faces (angry, neutral, and happy). Heart rate, orbicularis oculi and electrodermal activity were measured continuously, and the startle reflex was elicited. Although the patterns of valence and arousal ratings were comparable, physiological response patterns differed. For scenes we replicated the valence-specific modulation of the startle response, heart rate deceleration, and the arousal-related modulation of the electrodermal response. In contrast, for faces we found valence-specific modulation only for the electrodermal response, but the startle and heart rate deceleration were modulated by arousal. Although arousal differences may account for some differences in physiological responding this shows that not all emotional material that is decoded similarly leads to the same psychophysiological output. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Vicente J. Clemente-Suárez
Full Text Available Current armed conflicts are asymmetrical and are developed m urban areas. These new requirements have not been studied for current literature. The aim of this study was to analyse changes in cortical arousal, blood lactate, muscle strength, autonomic modulation and rate of perceived exertion in a simulated urban combat. We analyzed 20 soldiers before and after an urban combat simulation. The results showed how urban combat produced high sympathetic nervous system activation, increasing the muscle strength, heart rate and blood lactate concentration of the soldiers. Despite this effort, rate of perceived exertion were not consistent with the physiological response that soldiers presented, the rate of perceived exertion was lower than the physiological response evaluated. Furthermore, the information processing and cortical arousal decreased after the urban combat simulation. These results have showed the psycho-physiological response of soldiers in combat, helping to better understanding and enabling an improvement of current training methods of soldiers.
The subject of investigation was the analysis of the acquisition and retention of the vestibular habituation in pigeons after hemispherectomy or hemicerebellectomy. The habituation training was performed using rotatory test. The frequency of head nystagmus and postural reflexes were examined before and after acquisition of habituation and some days later, for evaluation of retention. Our results suggests that hemispherectomy does not inhibit acquisition of habituation but retention of this phenomenon is shorter at that time. The hemicerebellectomy makes impossible the vestibular habituation.
Chaabene, H; Miarka, B; Franchini, E; Chamari, K; Cheour, F
Kickboxing is one of the modern combat sports. The psychophysiological demands of a kickboxing competition require athletes to achieve high thresholds of several aspects of physical fitness. The aim of the current review is to critically analyse and appraise the kickboxer’s anthropometric, physiological, physical and psychological attributes with the activity profile and injury epidemiology in order to provide practical recommendations for training as well as new areas of scientific research. The available information shows that both amateur and elite-level male kickboxers are characterized by a higher proportion of mesomorphy with a well-developed muscle mass and low body fat percentage. While there is some variation in the maximum oxygen uptake of kickboxers, moderate to high cardio-respiratory levels are reported for these athletes. Regardless of kickboxers’ level, a high peak and mean anaerobic power output were reported. High-level kickboxing performance also requires well-developed muscle power in both the upper and lower limbs. Psychological factors contribute to success that requires high levels of self-confidence, motivation, dispositional hope and optimism, mental toughness/resiliency, and adaptive perfectionism. Psychological attributes also distinguished successful from less successful kickboxers. The activity-to-rest ratio was higher in elite (1:1) than both amateur and national-level (from 1:2 to 1:5) kickboxers, with no significant differences between rounds (round 1=1:4, and rounds 2 and 3=1:5) as well as between winners and losers in amateur and national-level simulated combats. These particular psychophysiological characteristics and performance aspects of kickboxers influence performance and could serve as guidance for training. Finally, kickboxing is characterized by chronic repetitive head trauma, which causes hypopituitarism due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Future investigations into the physical, physiological and psychological
Slimani, M; Chaabene, H; Miarka, B; Franchini, E; Chamari, K; Cheour, F
Kickboxing is one of the modern combat sports. The psychophysiological demands of a kickboxing competition require athletes to achieve high thresholds of several aspects of physical fitness. The aim of the current review is to critically analyse and appraise the kickboxer's anthropometric, physiological, physical and psychological attributes with the activity profile and injury epidemiology in order to provide practical recommendations for training as well as new areas of scientific research. The available information shows that both amateur and elite-level male kickboxers are characterized by a higher proportion of mesomorphy with a well-developed muscle mass and low body fat percentage. While there is some variation in the maximum oxygen uptake of kickboxers, moderate to high cardio-respiratory levels are reported for these athletes. Regardless of kickboxers' level, a high peak and mean anaerobic power output were reported. High-level kickboxing performance also requires well-developed muscle power in both the upper and lower limbs. Psychological factors contribute to success that requires high levels of self-confidence, motivation, dispositional hope and optimism, mental toughness/resiliency, and adaptive perfectionism. Psychological attributes also distinguished successful from less successful kickboxers. The activity-to-rest ratio was higher in elite (1:1) than both amateur and national-level (from 1:2 to 1:5) kickboxers, with no significant differences between rounds (round 1=1:4, and rounds 2 and 3=1:5) as well as between winners and losers in amateur and national-level simulated combats. These particular psychophysiological characteristics and performance aspects of kickboxers influence performance and could serve as guidance for training. Finally, kickboxing is characterized by chronic repetitive head trauma, which causes hypopituitarism due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Future investigations into the physical, physiological and psychological
Full Text Available Kickboxing is one of the modern combat sports. The psychophysiological demands of a kickboxing competition require athletes to achieve high thresholds of several aspects of physical fitness. The aim of the current review is to critically analyse and appraise the kickboxer’s anthropometric, physiological, physical and psychological attributes with the activity profile and injury epidemiology in order to provide practical recommendations for training as well as new areas of scientific research. The available information shows that both amateur and elite-level male kickboxers are characterized by a higher proportion of mesomorphy with a well-developed muscle mass and low body fat percentage. While there is some variation in the maximum oxygen uptake of kickboxers, moderate to high cardio-respiratory levels are reported for these athletes. Regardless of kickboxers’ level, a high peak and mean anaerobic power output were reported. High-level kickboxing performance also requires well-developed muscle power in both the upper and lower limbs. Psychological factors contribute to success that requires high levels of self-confidence, motivation, dispositional hope and optimism, mental toughness/resiliency, and adaptive perfectionism. Psychological attributes also distinguished successful from less successful kickboxers. The activity-to-rest ratio was higher in elite (1:1 than both amateur and national-level (from 1:2 to 1:5 kickboxers, with no significant differences between rounds (round 1=1:4, and rounds 2 and 3=1:5 as well as between winners and losers in amateur and national-level simulated combats. These particular psychophysiological characteristics and performance aspects of kickboxers influence performance and could serve as guidance for training. Finally, kickboxing is characterized by chronic repetitive head trauma, which causes hypopituitarism due to traumatic brain injury (TBI. Future investigations into the physical, physiological and
Full Text Available Non-verbal signals expressed through body language play a crucial role in multi-modal human communication during social relations. Indeed, in all cultures facial expressions are the most universal and direct signs to express innate emotional cues. A human face conveys important information in social interactions and helps us to better understand our social partners and establish empathic links.Latest researches show that humanoid and social robots are becoming increasingly similar to humans, both aesthetically and expressively. However, their visual expressiveness is a crucial issue that must be improved to make these robots more realistic and intuitively perceivable by humans as not different from them.This study concerns the capability of a humanoid robot to exhibit emotion through facial expressions. More specifically, emotional signs performed by a humanoid robot have been compared with corresponding human facial expressions in terms of recognition rate and response time. The set of stimuli included standardized human expressions taken from an Ekman-based database and the same facial expressions performed by the robot. Furthermore, participants' psychophysiological responses have been explored to investigate whether there could be differences induced by interpreting robot or human emotional stimuli.Preliminary results show a trend to better recognize expressions performed by the robot than 2D photos or 3D models. Moreover no significant differences in the subjects' psychophysiological state have been found during the discrimination of facial expressions performed by the robot in comparison with the same task performed with 2D photos and 3D models.
Climov, Daniela; Lysy, Camille; Berteau, Sylvain; Dutrannois, Jacques; Dereppe, Hubert; Brohet, Christian; Melin, Jacques
.... It has been applied to patients with various cardiovascular disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the practical feasibility and the psychophysiological effects of biofeedback applied to heart rate variability (HRV biofeedback...
Pietro, Cipresso; Silvia, Serino; Giuseppe, Riva
Everyone is interested in the pursuit of happiness, but the real problem for the researchers is how to measure it. Our aim was to deeply investigate happiness measurement through biomedical signals, using psychophysiological methods to objectify the happiness experiences measurements. The classic valence-arousal model of affective states to study happiness has been extensively used in psychophysiology. However, really few studies considered a real combination of these two dimensions and no study further investigated multidimensional models. More, most studies focused mainly on self-report to measure happiness and a deeper psychophysiological investigation on the dimensions of such an experience is still missing. A multidimensional model of happiness is presented and both the dimensions and the measures extracted within each dimension are comprehensively explained. This multidimensional model aims at being a milestone for future systematic study on psychophysiology of happiness and affective states.
Full Text Available The results of determination of structure of physical development are resulted, psycho-physiological possibilities and physical preparedness of children of age-dependent groups, 1-2, 3-4 and 4-5 years. It is set that development of children from 1 to 5 years takes place getertimely. There is a considerable role of indexes in the initial probed age-dependent period (1-2 years there is a considerable role of indexes of physical development in development of physical qualities and psycho-physiological possibilities. In age 3-4 the role of level of development of physical qualities and psycho-physiological possibilities increases in the structure of complex preparedness, and in an age-dependent period 4-5 years again there is an increase of role of physical development with the maintain of role of physical preparedness and psycho-physiological possibilities.
Abstract The examination of the effects of odors on humans is not a simple task. It involves consideration of sensory, psychological, and psychophysiological aspects of the stimulus and the humans studied. Aspects of importance are: 1. Information the subject has ...
Elsabé Louise Kloppers
Full Text Available Wildlife habituation near urban centers can disrupt natural ecological processes, destroy habitat, and threaten public safety. Consequently, management of habituated animals is typically invasive and often includes translocation of these animals to remote areas and sometimes even their destruction. Techniques to prevent or reverse habituation and other forms of in situ management are necessary to balance ecological and social requirements, but they have received very little experimental attention to date. This study compared the efficacy of two aversive conditioning treatments that used either humans or dogs to create sequences resembling chases by predators, which, along with a control category, were repeatedly and individually applied to 24 moderately habituated, radio-collared elk in Banff National Park during the winter of 2001-2002. Three response variables were measured before and after treatment. Relative to untreated animals, the distance at which elk fled from approaching humans, i.e., the flight response distance, increased following both human and dog treatments, but there was no difference between the two treatments. The proportion of time spent in vigilance postures decreased for all treatment groups, without differences among groups, suggesting that this behavior responded mainly to seasonal effects. The average distance between elk locations and the town boundary, measured once daily by telemetry, significantly increased for human-conditioned elk. One of the co-variates we measured, wolf activity, exerted counteracting effects on conditioning effects; flight response distances and proximity to the town site were both lower when wolf activity was high. This research demonstrates that it is possible to temporarily modify aspects of the behavior of moderately habituated elk using aversive conditioning, suggests a method for reducing habituation in the first place, and provides a solution for Banff and other jurisdictions to manage
Implications of Gray’s two-factor theory for heart rate, electrodermal activity , and psychopathy. Psychophysiology, 17, 87-104. Frijda, N.H. (1987...Heslegrave, R.J., Angus, R.G., & Pigeau, R.A. (1987). Changes in cardiac activity during sleep following sleep loss: I. Recovery during a prophylactic nap...Psychophysiology, 19, 323-324. Heslegrave, R.J., Pigeau, R.A, & Angus, R.G. (1987). Changes in cardiac activity during sleep following sleep loss: II
Bloem, B R; van Vugt, J P; Beckley, D J; Remler, M P; Roos, R A
In young healthy subjects, initially large stretch responses in leg muscles are progressively attenuated following a series of identical postural perturbations. We have studied whether this habituation of stretch responses is impaired in Parkinson's disease. Ten patients and 10 elderly controls received 10 serial 'toe-up' rotational perturbations (amplitude 10 degrees) while standing on a supporting forceplate. We recorded posturally destabilizing medium latency (ML) stretch responses from the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Functional habituation across the first few trials occurred in patients, but not in elderly controls. The rate of habituation was influenced by the size of the response to the first perturbation. This observation explained the absence of habituation in elderly subjects because their responses during the first few trials were much smaller compared to patients. These results suggest that habituation of lower leg stretch responses is unimpaired in Parkinson's disease. The presence of initially large and 'unpracticed' responses may partially explain why Parkinson patients fall in response to unexpected postural disturbances that commonly occur in daily life.
Givois, V; Pollack, G S
Auditory receptor neurons exhibit sensory habituation; their responses decline with repeated stimulation. We studied the effects of sensory habituation on the neural encoding of sound localization cues using crickets as a model system. In crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, sound localization is based on binaural comparison of stimulus intensity. There are two potential codes at the receptor-neuron level for interaural intensity difference: interaural difference in response strength, i.e. spike rate and/or count, and interaural difference in response latency. These are affected differently by sensory habituation. When crickets are stimulated with cricket-song-like trains of sound pulses, response strength declines for successive pulses in the train, and the decrease becomes more pronounced as the stimulus intensity increases. Response decrement is thus greater for receptors serving the ear ipsilateral to the sound source, where intensity is higher, resulting in a decrease in the interaural difference in response strength. Sensory habituation also affects response latency, which increases for responses to successive sound pulses in the stimulus train. The change in latency is independent of intensity, and thus is similar for receptors serving both ears. As a result, interaural latency difference is unaffected by sensory habituation and may be a more reliable cue for sound localization.
Calin-Jageman, Robert J
Work funded on this grant has explored the mechanisms of long-term habituation, a ubiquitous form of learning that plays a key role in basic cognitive functioning. Specifically, behavioral, physiological, and molecular mechanisms of habituation have been explored using a simple model system, the tail-elicited siphon-withdrawal reflex (T-SWR) in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica. Substantial progress has been made on the first and third aims, providing some fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which memories are stored. We have characterized the physiological correlates of short- and long-term habituation. We found that short-term habituation is accompanied by a robust sensory adaptation, whereas long-term habituation is accompanied by alterations in sensory and interneuron synaptic efficacy. Thus, our data indicates memories can be shifted between different sites in a neural network as they are consolidated from short to long term. At the molecular level, we have accomplished microarray analysis comparing gene expression in both habituated and control ganglia. We have identified a network of putatively regulated transcripts that seems particularly targeted towards synaptic changes (e.g. SNAP25, calmodulin) . We are now beginning additional work to confirm regulation of these transcripts and build a more detailed understanding of the cascade of molecular events leading to the permanent storage of long-term memories. On the third aim, we have fostered a nascent neuroscience program via a variety of successful initiatives. We have funded over 11 undergraduate neuroscience scholars, several of whom have been recognized at national and regional levels for their research. We have also conducted a pioneering summer research program for community college students which is helping enhance access of underrepresented groups to life science careers. Despite minimal progress on the second aim, this project has provided a) novel insight into the network mechanisms by
Kemper Kathi J
Full Text Available Abstract Background Calm, compassionate clinicians comfort others. To evaluate the direct psychophysiologic benefits of non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC, it is important to minimize the effect of subjects' expectation. This preliminary study was designed to a test the feasibility of two strategies for maintaining subject blinding to non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC, and b determine whether blinded subjects would experience psychophysiologic effects from NVCC. Methods Subjects were healthy volunteers who were told the study was evaluating the effect of time and touch on the autonomic nervous system. The practitioner had more than 10 years' experience with loving-kindness meditation (LKM, a form of NVCC. Subjects completed 10-point visual analog scales (VAS for stress, relaxation, and peacefulness before and after LKM. To assess physiologic effects, practitioners and subjects wore cardiorespiratory monitors to assess respiratory rate (RR, heart rate (HR and heart rate variability (HRV throughout the 4 10-minute study periods: Baseline (both practitioner and subjects read neutral material; non-tactile-LKM (subjects read while the practitioner practiced LKM while pretending to read; tactile-LKM (subjects rested while the practitioner practiced LKM while lightly touching the subject on arms, shoulders, hands, feet, and legs; Post-Intervention Rest (subjects rested; the practitioner read. To assess blinding, subjects were asked after the interventions what the practitioner was doing during each period (reading, touch, or something else. Results Subjects' mean age was 43.6 years; all were women. Blinding was maintained and the practitioner was able to maintain meditation for both tactile and non-tactile LKM interventions as reflected in significantly reduced RR. Despite blinding, subjects' VAS scores improved from baseline to post-intervention for stress (5.5 vs. 2.2, relaxation (3.8 vs. 8.8 and peacefulness (3.8 vs. 9.0, P
Kemper, Kathi J; Shaltout, Hossam A
Calm, compassionate clinicians comfort others. To evaluate the direct psychophysiologic benefits of non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC), it is important to minimize the effect of subjects' expectation. This preliminary study was designed to a) test the feasibility of two strategies for maintaining subject blinding to non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC), and b) determine whether blinded subjects would experience psychophysiologic effects from NVCC. Subjects were healthy volunteers who were told the study was evaluating the effect of time and touch on the autonomic nervous system. The practitioner had more than 10 years' experience with loving-kindness meditation (LKM), a form of NVCC. Subjects completed 10-point visual analog scales (VAS) for stress, relaxation, and peacefulness before and after LKM. To assess physiologic effects, practitioners and subjects wore cardiorespiratory monitors to assess respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) throughout the 4 10-minute study periods: Baseline (both practitioner and subjects read neutral material); non-tactile-LKM (subjects read while the practitioner practiced LKM while pretending to read); tactile-LKM (subjects rested while the practitioner practiced LKM while lightly touching the subject on arms, shoulders, hands, feet, and legs); Post-Intervention Rest (subjects rested; the practitioner read). To assess blinding, subjects were asked after the interventions what the practitioner was doing during each period (reading, touch, or something else). Subjects' mean age was 43.6 years; all were women. Blinding was maintained and the practitioner was able to maintain meditation for both tactile and non-tactile LKM interventions as reflected in significantly reduced RR. Despite blinding, subjects' VAS scores improved from baseline to post-intervention for stress (5.5 vs. 2.2), relaxation (3.8 vs. 8.8) and peacefulness (3.8 vs. 9.0, P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Subjects also
Morris, Sarah E.; Vaidyanathan, Uma; Cuthbert, Bruce N.
The current special issue, devoted to the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative of the US National Institute of Mental Health, showcases a variety of empirical and review articles that address issues related to this dimensional and multi-method approach to research on mental disorders. Here, we provide an integrative perspective on various aspects of these articles, focused around the primary principles of the RDoC approach and the practical and methodological issues related to conducting RDoC-informed research. The chief point we wish to highlight is that these articles demonstrate the ways in which the field of psychophysiology already thinks along the lines of RDoC in terms of using biobehavioral constructs, looking for convergence amongst constructs using various methodologies, and utilizing dimensional measurements in studies. In this sense, RDoC is not novel; however, by specifying a formal research platform it provides explicit encouragement and guidance for using such principles in understanding psychiatric phenomena, rather than continuing to focus research efforts on traditional diagnostic categories alone. PMID:26546860
Dhal, Chandan; Wahi, Akshat
Electromyography (EMG) signals are very noisy and difficult to acquire. Conventional techniques involve amplification and filtering through analog circuits, which makes the system very unstable. The surface EMG signals lie in the frequency range of 6Hz to 600Hz, and the dominant range is between the ranges from 20Hz to 150Hz. 1 Our project aimed to analyze an EMG signal effectively over its complete frequency range. To remove these defects, we designed what we think is an easy, effective, and reliable signal processing technique. We did spectrum analysis, so as to perform all the processing such as amplification, filtering, and thresholding on an Arduino Uno board, hence removing the need for analog amplifiers and filtering circuits, which have stability issues. The conversion of time domain to frequency domain of any signal gives a detailed data of the signal set. Our main aim is to use this useful data for an alternative methodology for rehabilitation called a psychophysiological approach to rehabilitation in prosthesis, which can reduce the cost of the myoelectric arm, as well as increase its efficiency. This method allows the user to gain control over their muscle sets in a less stressful environment. Further, we also have described how our approach is viable and can benefit the rehabilitation process. We used our DSP EMG signals to play an online game and showed how this approach can be used in rehabilitation.
Iacovelli, Elisa; Tarantino, Samuela; De Ranieri, Cristiana; Vollono, Catello; Galli, Federica; De Luca, Massimiliano; Capuano, Alessandro; Porro, Arianna; Balestri, Martina; Guidetti, Vincenzo; Vigevano, Federico; Biondi, Gianni; Drewes, Asbjoern M; Valeriani, Massimiliano
Neurophysiological studies to evaluate spatial attention in children with primary headache are lacking. Tactile spatial attention modulates the N140 somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude. The aims of the study are: (1) to investigate the effect of spatial attention on the N140 amplitude in children with migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) and in healthy children, and (2) to correlate the neurophysiological results with a neuropsychological test for spatial attention. We studied 16 patients with migraine without aura (MoA), 12 TTH children and 10 healthy subjects. "Deux Barrage" test for spatial attention was administered. SEPs were recorded in a neutral condition (NC) and in a spatial attention condition (SAC). No significant differences in neuropsychological measures were found between MoA, TTH and healthy subjects. The N140 amplitude increase during SAC, as compared to NC, was significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls. Migraineurs showed a positive correlation between the N140 amplitude increase during SAC and their neuropsychological performance. Although spatial attention performances in children with headache are as good as in controls, the N140 amplitude increase during SAC in headache patients suggests that the psychophysiological mechanisms subtending spatial attention are different from those in healthy children. Copyright © 2011 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Wassiliwizky, Eugen; Koelsch, Stefan; Wagner, Valentin; Jacobsen, Thomas; Menninghaus, Winfried
It is a common experience-and well established experimentally-that music can engage us emotionally in a compelling manner. The mechanisms underlying these experiences are receiving increasing scrutiny. However, the extent to which other domains of aesthetic experience can similarly elicit strong emotions is unknown. Using psychophysiology, neuroimaging, and behavioral responses, we show that recited poetry can act as a powerful stimulus for eliciting peak emotional responses, including chills and objectively measurable goosebumps that engage the primary reward circuitry. Importantly, while these responses to poetry are largely analogous to those found our music, their neural underpinnings show important differences, specifically with regard to the crucial role of the nucleus accumbens. We also go beyond replicating previous music-related studies by showing that peak aesthetic pleasure can co-occur with physiological markers of negative affect. Finally, the distribution of chills across the trajectory of poems provides insight into compositional principles of poetry. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.
Full Text Available Short-lasting psycho-physiological relaxation was investigated through an analysis of its bipolar electroencephalographic (EEG characteristics. In 8 subjects, 6-channel EEG data of 3-minute duration were recorded during 88 relaxation sessions. Time course of spectral EEG features was examined. Alpha powers were decreasing during resting conditions of 3-minute sessions in lying position with eyes closed. This was followed by a decrease of total power in centro-parietal cortex regions and an increase of beta power in fronto-central areas. Represented by EEG coherences the interhemispheric communication between the parieto-occipital regions was enhanced within a frequency range of 2-10 Hz. In order to discern between higher and lower levels of relaxation distinguished according to self-rated satisfaction, EEG features were assessed and discriminating parameters were identified. Successful relaxation was determined mainly by the presence of decreased delta-1 power across the cortex. Potential applications for these findings include the clinical, pharmacological, and stress management fields.
Carvalho Luciane Bizari Coin de
Full Text Available The personality is the way people express themselves inside the environment they live. Sleep, quality or quantity, is a way of this physical and psychological expression of well being. Psychological factors, associated with psychophysiological insomnia (PPI suggest an exaggerated perception of the difficulties to fall asleep. Worries, anxiety and the fear of not sleeping produce a bad sleep quality or sleep misperception. This study aims to identify personality features associated with PPI throughout Rorschach test (RT. METHOD: We studied 32 patients with PPI (22 women, between 29 and 75 years old. We excluded patients with other sleeping or psychiatric disorders. We analysed the data from PPI patients submitted to the RT and we compared our results with the standard data. RESULTS: We noticed a significant increase in global answers and a significant decrease in detailed answers; a trend of a low number of answers; great number of shape and animal answers, especially for women. CONCLUSION: The features of the PPI patient's personality were daily problems insecure and the incapability to avoid or remove them from their thought, making bedtime a time for worries to appear again and motivate insomnia.
Rieth, Cory A.; Huber, David E.
Immediate repetition priming for faces was examined across a range of prime durations in a threshold identification task. Similar to word repetition priming results, short duration face primes produced positive priming whereas long duration face primes eliminated or reversed this effect. A habituation model of such priming effects predicted that…
This article describes the concept of moral education and its foundation according to Abu Hamid Ghazali as one of the most influential scholars in the world of Islam. Ghazali equates moral education with habituation. Causality holds a prominent place in philosophical foundations of his theory of moral education. Even though Ghazali recommends…
Curtis, Valerie A.; Danquah, Lisa O.; Aunger, Robert V.
Handwashing with soap (HWWS) may be one of the most cost-effective means of preventing infection in developing countries. However, HWWS is rare in these settings. We reviewed the results of formative research studies from 11 countries so as to understand the planned, motivated and habitual factors involved in HWWS. On average, only 17% of child…
Carr, Katelyn A.; Epstein, Leonard H.
Reinforcing value and habituation are two processes that have been used to study eating behaviors, but no research has examined their relationship, how they relate to energy intake, and whether they respond in a similar manner to food deprivation. Twenty-two female subjects were randomized to food deprived or non-deprived conditions, and assessed…
This article describes the concept of moral education and its foundation according to Abu Hamid Ghazali as one of the most influential scholars in the world of Islam. Ghazali equates moral education with habituation. Causality holds a prominent place in philosophical foundations of his theory of moral education. Even though Ghazali recommends…
Petar M. Nikić
Full Text Available Objective. Coffee drinking is the main source of caffeine intake among adult population in the western world. It has been reported that low to moderate caffeine intake has beneficial effect on alertness and cognitive functions in healthy subjects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of habitual coffee consumption on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 86 patients from a single-dialysis centre underwent assessment by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool and evaluation for symptoms of fatigue, mood, and sleep disorders by well-validated questionnaires. The habitual coffee use and the average daily caffeine intake were estimated by participants’ response to a dietary questionnaire. Results. Sixty-seven subjects (78% consumed black coffee daily, mostly in low to moderate dose. Cognitive impairment was found in three-quarters of tested patients. Normal mental performance was more often in habitual coffee users (25% versus 16%. Regular coffee drinkers achieved higher mean scores on all tested cognitive domains, but a significant positive correlation was found only for items that measure attention and concentration (P=0.024. Conclusions. Moderate caffeine intake by habitual coffee consumption could have beneficial impact on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients due to selective enhancement of attention and vigilance.
This paper summarizes the current epidemiological evidence on coffee consumption in relation to blood pressure (BP) and risk of hypertension. Data from crosssectional studies suggest an inverse linear or U-shaped association of habitual coffee use with BP in different populations. Prospective studie
Ashmead, Daniel H.; Davis, DeFord L.
Used computer simulations to examine effectiveness of different criteria for measuring infant visual habituation. Found that a criterion based on fitting a second-order polynomial regression function to looking-time data produced more accurate estimation of looking times and higher power for detecting novelty effects than did the traditional…
Rieth, Cory A.; Huber, David E.
Immediate repetition priming for faces was examined across a range of prime durations in a threshold identification task. Similar to word repetition priming results, short duration face primes produced positive priming whereas long duration face primes eliminated or reversed this effect. A habituation model of such priming effects predicted that…
Full Text Available In the literature review the groups of the most applicable surgical interventions in treatment of patients with habitual shoulder dislocation are cited. The tendency to increase an application of arthroscopic operations seek to eliminate some realizing factors of dislocation of the humeral head is observed
Full Text Available The level of preparedness of graduating students of higher educational establishments is resulted in accordance with the queries of modern production. Descriptions of basic sides of the special psycho-physiological preparedness of specialists of economic type and its cross-correlation connections are selected with the level of professional trade. The bank of these indexes of the most meaningful for skilled economists basic psycho-physiological qualities is got. The criteria of estimation of psycho-physiological preparedness of economists are developed on the level of development of anchorwomen for them the special physical qualities.. It is set that the high level of adaptation and successful professional activity of specialists depends on basic physical and psycho-physiological qualities, abilities, skills. It is set that the high level of adaptation and successful professional activity of specialists is determined: static and general endurance of muscles of trunk and humeral belt, speed and co-ordination of motions of hands; ability is independent to optimize the psycho-physiological state; development of the system of muscles of visual analyzer.
Robin R Johnson
Full Text Available Objective: To identify psychophysiological indices of deadly force decision making in experts versus novices during simulator training.Background: Modern training techniques focus on improving decision-making skills with participative assessment between trainees and subject matter experts primarily through subjective observation. Objective metrics need to be developed. The current study explored the potential for psychophysiological metrics of decision making in deadly force judgment contexts. Method: Twenty-four participants (novice, expert were recruited. All wore a wireless EEG device to collect psychophysiological data during high-fidelity simulated deadly force judgment and decision-making simulations using a modified Glock firearm. Participants were exposed to 27 video scenarios, one-third of which would have justified use of deadly force. Pass/fail was determined by whether the participant used deadly force appropriately. Results: Experts had a significantly higher pass rate compared to novices (p Conclusion: Results suggest that expert performance is more tightly coupled with psychophysiology, compared with a weaker relationship in novices. Discriminant function measures may have the potential to objectively identify when expertise is obtained. Application: Psychophysiological metrics may create a performance model with the potential to optimize simulator-based DFJDM training. These performance models could be used for trainee feedback, and/or by the instructor to assess performance objectively.
Marco Daniel Gulewitsch
Full Text Available Background. Frequent abdominal pain (AP in children and adolescents is often designated as functional gastrointestinal disorder. In contrast to research on psychological and social influences on the experience of AP in this population, psychophysiological features such as function of the autonomic nervous system, the central nervous system, or the endocrine system have rarely been studied. Methods. We conducted a systematic literature search for peer-reviewed journal articles referring to children with AP between 4 and 18 years. Studies on experimental baseline characteristics or reactivity of psychophysiological outcome parameters (autonomous nervous system, central nervous system, and endocrine parameters were included. Key Results. Twelve of 18 included studies found psychophysiological differences between children with AP and healthy ones. These studies indicate a possible autonomic dysregulation and hypersensitivity of the central nervous system in children with AP following stimulation with stress or other intense stimuli. Mainly conflicting results were found regarding baseline comparisons of autonomic and endocrine parameters. Conclusions and Inferences. Frequent AP in children may be associated with an altered psychophysiological reaction on intense stimuli. It has to be considered that the current literature on psychophysiological characteristics of childhood AP is small and heterogeneous. In particular, multiparameter studies using validated experimental paradigms are lacking.
Rennefeld, C; Wiech, K; Schoell, E D; Lorenz, J; Bingel, U
Habituation to repetitive painful stimulation may represent an important protection mechanism against the development of chronic pain states. However, the exact neurobiological mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unclear. In this study we (i) explore the somatotopic specificity of pain attenuation over time and (ii) investigate the role of the endogenous opioid system in its development. We investigated 24 healthy volunteers with a paradigm of daily painful stimulation of the left volar forearm for 1 week. Habituation was assessed by comparing pain-related responses (ratings and thresholds) between days 1 and 8. To test whether a repetition-dependent attenuation of pain is restricted to the site of stimulus application or induces additional systemic effects indicative of a central mechanism, we also measured pain-related responses at the contralateral arm and the left leg. To assess the role of the endogenous opioid system in this mechanism, we used the opioid-receptor antagonist naloxone in a double-blind design. Repetitive painful stimulation over several days resulted in a significant habituation to pain at the site of daily stimulation. In addition, we also observed significant pain attenuation at the non-stimulated limbs. This effect was less pronounced at the untreated arm compared to the treated arm and even weaker in the leg, displaying a significant Stimulation-Site x Time interaction. The development of pain habituation was unaffected by the opioid antagonist naloxone. Taken together, these results strongly support the role of central components in the mechanism of pain habituation that do not directly involve the endogenous opioid system.
Pace-Schott, Edward F.; Tracy, Lauren E.; Rubin, Zoe; Mollica, Adrian G.; Jeffrey M Ellenbogen; Bianchi, Matt T.; Milad, Mohammed R.; Pitman, roger k; Orr, Scott P
Within-session habituation and extinction learning co-occur as do subsequent consolidation of habituation (i.e., between-session habituation) and extinction memory. We sought to determine if, as we predicted: (1) between-session habituation is greater across a night of sleep vs. a day awake; (2) time-of-day accounts for differences; (3) between-session habituation predicts consolidation of extinction memory; (4) sleep predicts between-session habituation and/or extinction memory. Participants...
Hasselgren, Jacob A.
This thesis presents a characterization of biometric habituation in an iris recognition study using qualitative analysis of a distributed habituation survey and quantitative analysis of iris images collected in 2010 and 2012. The performed analyses answered the following two questions: a) How consistently does the biometric community define habituation?; and b) Does the time-on-task variable provide enough evidence to indicate the existence of habituation in an iris recognition system? The qu...
Bolivar, Valerie J.
When placed in a novel environment, mice tend to explore for a period of time, and then reduce the level of exploration. This reduction in locomotor or exploratory behavior is known as habituation and can occur within a single session or across sessions, respectively termed intrasession and intersession habituation. Recent research indicates that there is a genetic component to habituation behavior and that some of the genes involved differ between the two types of habituation. The genetic ev...
Interpersonal stressors promote eating. Habituation to the sensory properties of a food slows or stops motivated responding for a food. Stress may increase eating by acting as a dishabituator that prolongs responding for a food. Mental arithmetic (memory requirements), Stroop task (cognitive disson...
Kavsek, Michael; Bornstein, Marc H.
We review comparative studies of infant habituation and dishabituation performance focusing on preterm infants. Habituation refers to cognitive encoding, and dishabituation refers to discrimination and memory. If habituation and dishabituation constitute basic information-processing skills, and preterm infants suffer cognitive disadvantages, then…
Epstein, Leonard H.; Robinson, Jodie L.; Temple, Jennifer L.; Roemmich, James N.; Marusewski, Angela; Nadbrzuch, Rachel
The rate of habituation to food is inversely related to energy intake, and overweight children may habituate slower to food and consume more energy. This study compared patterns of sensitization, as defined by an initial increase in operant or motivated responding for food, and habituation, defined by gradual reduction in responding, for macaroni…
Full Text Available Habituation is considered the most basic form of learning. It describes the decrease of a behavioural response to a repeated non-threatening sensory stimulus and therefore provides an important sensory filtering mechanism. While some neuronal pathways mediating habituation are well described, underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In general, there is an agreement that short-term and long-term habituation are based on different mechanisms. Historically, a distinction has also been made between habituation of motivated versus reflexive behaviour. In recent studies in invertebrates the large conductance voltage- and calcium-activated potassium (BK channel has been implicated to be a key player in habituation by regulating synaptic transmission. Here, we tested mice deficient for the pore forming α-subunit of the BK channel for short-term and long-term habituation of the acoustic startle reflex (reflexive behaviour and of the exploratory locomotor behaviour in the open field box (motivated behaviour. Short-term habituation of startle was completely abolished in the BK knock-out mice, whereas neither long-term habituation of startle nor habituation of motivated behaviour was affected by the BK deficiency. Our results support a highly preserved mechanism for short-term habituation of startle across species that is distinct from long-term habituation mechanisms. It also supports the notion that there are different mechanisms underlying habituation of motivated behaviour versus reflexive behaviour.
Oakes, Lisa M.
Habituation of looking time has become the standard method for studying cognitive processes in infancy. This method has a long history and derives from the study of memory and habituation itself. Often, however, it is not clear how researchers make decisions about how to implement habituation as a tool to study processes such as categorization,…
Epstein, Leonard H.; Robinson, Jodie L.; Temple, Jennifer L.; Roemmich, James N.; Marusewski, Angela; Nadbrzuch, Rachel
The rate of habituation to food is inversely related to energy intake, and overweight children may habituate slower to food and consume more energy. This study compared patterns of sensitization, as defined by an initial increase in operant or motivated responding for food, and habituation, defined by gradual reduction in responding, for macaroni…
Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier; de la Vega, Ricardo; Robles-Pérez, José Juan; Lautenschlaeger, Mario; Fernández-Lucas, Jesús
We aimed to analyse the effect of experience level in the psychophysiological response and specific fine motor skills of novel and expert parachute warfighters during a tactical combat parachute jump. We analysed blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, salivary cortisol, blood glucose, lactate and creatinkinase, leg strength, isometric hand-grip strength, cortical arousal, specific fine motor skills and cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confident before and after a tactical combat parachute jump in 40 warfighters divided in two group, novel (n=17) and expert group (n=23). Novels presented a higher heart rate, lactate, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and a lower self-confident than experts during the jump. We concluded that experience level has a direct effect on the psychophysiological response since novel paratroopers presented a higher psychophysiological response than compared to the expert ones, however this result neither affected the specific fine motor skills nor the muscle structure after a tactical combat parachute jump.
Kirsch, Veronica; Wilhelm, Frank H; Goldbeck, Lutz
This review summarizes studies investigating psychophysiological alterations associated with pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors conducted a computer-based search in the databases PsycINFO, PSYNDEXplus, and Medline. Additional studies were retrieved using a pyramid scheme. The literature search identified 29 articles. Most studies measured alterations shortly after exposure. Differences from controls emerged mainly in the sympathoadrenal system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Elevated acute heart rate immediately after traumatization was associated with increased risk for PTSD. The literature on psychophysiological characteristics of pediatric PTSD is relatively small and diverse. Nevertheless, findings indicate exaggerated baseline activation across various measures. Studies examining the course and reversibility of psychophysiological alterations are lacking. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
Full Text Available The intention of this article is to present some psycho-physiological perspectives of recent date concerned with the phenomenon of ecstasy. As almost none of this research has yet been assimilated by comparative religion, the focus here is on illustrating some of the background for renewed speculation on the relationship between psyche and soma. Traditional Western science has usually operated with a distinction between external and internal processes. Perhaps owing to this idea of the independence of our internal processes from our intentional consciousness, reports from other cultures such as those concerning the extraordinary achievements of holy men (e.g. their capacity to lie buried for days, or survive unclothed at very low temperatures have tended to be ignored as fantastic rumours (which, to some extent, is certainly true and myths. In a similar way the varieties of religious ecstatic states have often been countered with a shrug by psychiatrists. The recently renewed interest in consciousness within general psychology, together with what may be called marginal psychology and the drug revolt of youth culture have, however, provoked new speculation concerning human potential, speculation which in due time might also benefit comparative religion. From the perspective of comparative religion the primary concern is with cultural tradition and interpretation. Among our many new potential methods for better understanding ecstatic phenomena by means of experimental methods, biofeedback has been the most sensational one. It is above all the research in biofeedback that has forced many scientists to reconsider their view of the autonomic nervous system as a system completely independent of human will and control.
Furedy, J J
Bradycardic reflexes in man are both of scientific and clinical interest. Using the methods of experimental psychophysiology, control over relevant independent variables permits the study of fine-grained temporal physiologic response topographies, and of psychological factors that may modify the reflex. In addition, information can also be sought through interdisciplinary collaborations with experimental physiologists in order to shed light on the mechanism of the reflexes. These general features of the approach are illustrated by presenting data on two bradycardic reflex preparations: the laboratory dive analog, and the 90-degree negative tilt. The dive-analog studies have shown that a) the dive-reflex proper is a late-occurring bradycardia accompanied by a late-occurring vasoconstriction; and b) for the elicitation of this reflex, both breath-holding and face immersion are necessary. In addition, the physiologic manipulation of temperature affects the reflex in an inverse way over the range of 10 degrees to 40 degrees C, while the sense of control (a psychological variable) attenuates the reflex. The negative-tilt preparation produces a bradycardic response that is ideal as a Pavlovian unconditional response. Some Pavlovian conditioning arrangements, especially an "imaginational" form, do produce significant conditional bradycardic responding, and this has both potential clinical (e.g., biofeedback-related) and theoretical (e.g., S-R vs. S-S accounts of Pavlovian conditioning) applications. The paper ends with a comment on the cognitive paradigm shift in psychology. Although this shift is of importance, it is suggested that it is also important to "remember the response."
Tiller, William A
For the past 20 years, the magnitude of the "placebo effect" in double-blind, medical experiments has strongly increased. This paper asks why and how. Starting with the human "psychophysiologic principle," two unconscious and one conscious biofeedback examples are given to demonstrate how malleable we humans are to our expectations and our intentions and how strong our psychoenergetic forces can be relative to conventional chemical forces. Ending with several experimental examples wherein a therapeutically processed device and an unprocessed device are critically compared, one finds strong evidence to propose that an information entanglement process is converting the unprocessed device to a functional replica of the processed device in that its therapeutic efficacy is comparable to that of the treatment device. Furthermore, arguments are provided to indicate that a practitioner's biofield is capable of expanding the range of diagnostic capability of commercial measurement instruments so that the practitioner/device hybrid system becomes a potent psychoenergetic instrument for diagnostic and treatment purposes. In between, a theoretical model is provided, based on the author's extensive experimental psychoenergetic research on long-range interconnectivity between objects, between humans and between humans and objects, to show how long-range, quantitative coupling can occur between our normal atom/molecule level of physical reality and a second, unique level of physical reality whose physics can be modulated by psychoenergetic forces. It is the material qualities of this duplex physical reality that convert a seemingly inert object/device (placebo) into a synergistically active element in double-blind placebo experiments.
Nater, Urs M; Abbruzzese, Elvira; Krebs, Monika; Ehlert, Ulrike
Although it is known that men and women differ in their music preferences and emotional reactions to music, little is known about sex differences in physiological reactions to music. In our study, we therefore set out to examine the differential reactivity to two musical stimuli that elicit distinct psychological and physiological reaction patterns. Fifty-three healthy subjects (mean age: 26.13, SD: 3.97; 26 males, 27 females) were examined. Heart rate, electrodermal activity, skin temperature, salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, and psychological variables were assessed during the course of the whole study. Following baseline assessment, two musical stimuli, which were carefully selected and rated in a pre-study as relaxing and pleasant (renaissance music) and arousing and unpleasant (heavy metal), respectively, were introduced. They were presented on two different days in a randomized order. Whereas psychological variables did not differ between men and women, results of electrophysiological measures indicate significantly different reactivity patterns between men and women. Women displayed elevated response curves to the arousing and unpleasant stimulus, whereas men did not. However, no differences were found with regards to endocrine measures in saliva. Our results demonstrate sex differences in reactivity patterns to musical stimuli in psychophysiological measures. In our study, we were able to show that women tend to show hypersensitivity to aversive musical stimuli. This finding is in accordance with previous literature on sex differences in emotion research. Furthermore, our study indicates that the confounding effects of sex differences have to be considered when using musical stimuli for emotion induction.
Johannes, Bernd; Rothe, Stefanie; Gens, André; Westphal, Soeren; Birkenfeld, Katja; Mulder, Edwin; Rittweger, Jörn; Ledderhos, Carla
The objective assessment of psychophysiological arousal during challenging flight maneuvers is of great interest to aerospace medicine, but remains a challenging task. In the study presented here, a vector-methodological approach was used which integrates different psychophysiological variables, yielding an integral arousal index called the Psychophysiological Arousal Value (PAV). The arousal levels of 15 male pilots were assessed during predetermined, well-defined flight maneuvers performed under simulated and real flight conditions. The physiological data, as expected, revealed inter- and intra-individual differences for the various measurement conditions. As indicated by the PAV, air-to-air refueling (AAR) turned out to be the most challenging task. In general, arousal levels were comparable between simulator and real flight conditions. However, a distinct difference was observed when the pilots were divided by instructors into two groups based on their proficiency in AAR with AWACS (AAR-Novices vs. AAR-Professionals). AAR-Novices had on average more than 2000 flight hours on other aircrafts. They showed higher arousal reactions to AAR in real flight (contact: PAV score 8.4 ± 0.37) than under simulator conditions (7.1 ± 0.30), whereas AAR-Professionals did not (8.5 ± 0.46 vs. 8.8 ± 0.80). The psychophysiological arousal value assessment was tested in field measurements, yielding quantifiable arousal differences between proficiency groups of pilots during simulated and real flight conditions. The method used in this study allows an evaluation of the psychophysiological cost during a certain flying performance and thus is possibly a valuable tool for objectively evaluating the actual skill status of pilots.Johannes B, Rothe S, Gens A, Westphal S, Birkenfeld K, Mulder E, Rittweger J, Ledderhos C. Psychophysiological assessment in pilots performing challenging simulated and real flight maneuvers. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(9):834-840.
Full Text Available 50 schoolchildren (25 girls and 25 boys and 53 non-pupil schoolchildren (30 girls and 24 boys in 4 class of average school took part in research. Antropometric and functional parameters as level of physical development were study. Psychophysiological functions were study by computer's methods. The investigations are shown negative influence of more intensive learning program on process of physical development in schoolchildren. At the same time, the increasing of school tension volume with more deep study of additional discipline in schoolchildren to promote formed psychophysiological functions and developing of associative thought.
Full Text Available A survey of the literature on the effect of cellphones on traffic participants is presented in the paper. In the experimental part, psychophysiological tests based on the use of special technical devices for measuring the time of a complex reaction of the drivers are described. The aims of the tests, technical-psychophysiological conditions, methods of calculating the results obtained, their evaluation and interpreting, as well as statistical characteristics of the tests, are presented. Based on the experimental results obtained, time dependencies of traffic participants’ complex reaction are determined. Article in Lithuanian
Suarez, H; Caffa, C; Macadar, O
Vestibular habituation was studied in normal subjects and in patients with cerebellar disease using a stimulation paradigm proposed in this paper. Six caloric stimuli were repeated daily in the same ear during six days and electronystagmographic responses at the beginning and the end of that period were compared. The normal behaviour was a clear reduction of the response across time. Two groups of cerebellar patients were identified by their ability to recover from positional imbalance after treatment. Compensated patients responded to repeated caloric stimulation in the same way as normal subjects. Conversely, uncompensated patients increased their response after the stimulation paradigm. The role played by the cerebellum in vestibular plasticity is discussed together with the observed correlation between vestibular habituation and the ability for postural recovery to occur.
Christensen, Janne Winther; Zharkikh, Tjatjana; Chovaux, Elodie
.e. testing for object recognition) and ii) a novel object (new shape and colour, i.e. testing for object generalisation), compared to CONTROLS. In the second experiment we investigated whether TEST horses reacted to a change in object order and object location. Behavioural reactions to the object, latency...... to eat, total eating time and heart rate were recorded. Compared to CONTROLS, TEST horses reacted significantly less towards objects, which were previously part of the complex object (e.g. mean heart rate; P = 0.006), indicating object recognition. In contrast to our expectations, TEST horses also...... for object generalisation (Christensen et al., 2008). In a series of experiments, we aimed to further explore the ability of horses (n = 30, 1 and 2-year-old mares) to recognise and generalise between objects during habituation. TEST horses (n = 15) were habituated to a complex object, composed of five...
Nowak, K.; LE ROUX A.; Richards, S A; Scheijen, C.; Hill, R. A.
Humans and human infrastructure are known to alter the relationship between predators and prey, typically by directly or indirectly shielding one of the species from the other. In addition to these overt changes to animals’ behavior, observers may have more subtle impacts on animals’ foraging decisions. However, the anthropogenic alteration of risk-taking behavior has rarely been acknowledged or quantified, particularly in behavioral ecological studies reliant on habituated animals. We tested...
Swift, Damon L; Johannsen, Neil M; Tudor-Locke, Catrine; Earnest, Conrad P; Johnson, William D; Blair, Steven N; Sénéchal, Martin; Church, Timothy S
Exercise training reduces adiposity and risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the combined effects of habitual free-living physical activity and aerobic training on waist circumference, weight, fitness, and blood pressure in postmenopausal women are unknown. To evaluate the effects of habitual physical activity levels during aerobic training on weight, waist circumference, fitness, and blood pressure. Secondary analysis of an RCT. Original data collected April 2001 to June 2005 and analyzed in 2012. Postmenopausal women in a supervised exercise trial. Women (n=325) were randomized to 4, 8, or 12 kcal/kg per week of aerobic training or a control group for 6 months. All outcome measures were collected at baseline and follow-up. Changes in dependent variables within each training group were evaluated across tertiles of pedometer-determined habitual physical activity outside exercise training sessions. Changes in waist circumference and weight. Reductions in waist circumference were significantly greater with higher steps/day accumulated outside exercise training compared to lower levels in the 4 (high: -4.8 cm vs low: -1.4 cm, p=0.03); 8 (high: -4.2 cm vs low: -0.4 cm, p=0.03), and 12 kcal/kg per week groups (high: -4.1 cm vs low: -0.7 cm, p=0.05). For all groups, p-trend≤0.03. A trend was observed for greater weight reduction with higher steps/day in the 4 kcal/kg per week group (p-trend=0.04) but not for the other exercise doses. No effects were observed for blood pressure or fitness measures (all p>0.05). In postmenopausal women, higher habitual physical activity while participating in aerobic training was associated with greater reductions in central adiposity, and was supportive of weight loss compared to lower levels. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Nikić, Petar M.; Andrić, Branislav R.; Stojimirović, Biljana B.; Jasna Trbojevic-Stanković; Zoran Bukumirić
Objective. Coffee drinking is the main source of caffeine intake among adult population in the western world. It has been reported that low to moderate caffeine intake has beneficial effect on alertness and cognitive functions in healthy subjects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of habitual coffee consumption on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 86 patients from a single-dialysis centre underwent assessment by the Montreal Cognit...
Sarabjot Kaur Bhatia
Full Text Available Chronic biting of oral mucosa is an innocuous self inflicted injury, commonly seen in children suffering from developmental and psychological problems and has rarely been reported in normal unaffected individuals. The management strategies vary from counseling, prescription of sedatives to different prosthetic shields. The paper highlights the efficacy of a simple approach using soft mouth guard in the management of self inflicted lesions due to habitual biting of oral mucosa in two normal healthy children.
Ginzburg, Karni; Tsur, Noga; Karmin, Carmel; Speizman, Tali; Tourgeman, Ricki; Defrin, Ruth
Although body awareness and pain perception are considered to be parts of the interoceptive system, the relationship between them is unclear. This study examines the association between body awareness and pain habituation, hypothesizing that this association is moderated by pain catastrophizing and mindfulness. Sixty subjects received a mildly aversive electrical stimulus for 60 s, during which they were requested to rate the amount of perceived pain. Complete habituation was indicated by abolition of pain sensation; partial habituation was indicated by a decrease in pain sensation. Individuals who demonstrated complete habituation had lower levels of pain catastrophizing and lower levels of mindfulness. As hypothesized, the association between body awareness and pain habituation was moderated by pain catastrophizing: Among low pain catastrophizers, the higher the body awareness, the stronger the tendency to exhibit complete habituation. Among high pain catastrophizers, the higher the body awareness, the greater the likelihood to present partial habituation.
Smith, Rachel J; Laiks, Lillian S
Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug use despite negative consequences. Here we review studies that indicate that compulsive drug use, and in particular punishment resistance in animal models of addiction, is related to impaired cortical control over habitual behavior. In humans and animals, instrumental behavior is supported by goal-directed and habitual systems that rely on distinct corticostriatal networks. Chronic exposure to addictive drugs or stress has been shown to bias instrumental response strategies toward habit learning, and impair prefrontal cortical (PFC) control over responding. Moreover, recent work has implicated prelimbic PFC hypofunction in the punishment resistance that has been observed in a subset of animals with an extended history of cocaine self-administration. This may be related to a broader role for prelimbic PFC in mediating adaptive responding and behavioral flexibility, including exerting goal-directed control over behavior. We hypothesize that impaired cortical control and reduced flexibility between habitual and goal-directed systems may be critically involved in the development of maladaptive, compulsive drug use. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.
O. V. Kaigorodtseva
Full Text Available The article provides a comparative analysis of the psychophysiological state of sportsmen of high qualification within one year after the course neurofeedback. These data demonstrated that high qualification sportsmen physiological effects of training persist throughout the year and depend on the ability to arbitrarily increase the power of the alpha rhythm of the brain.
Schneider, Stefan; Brümmer, Vera; Carnahan, Heather; Kleinert, Jens; Piacentini, Maria Francesca; Meeusen, Romain; Strüder, Heiko K
Confinement studies are performed to simulate the psychological effects that may be experienced on a long-term space flight. A general psycho-physiological model assumes that mood and cognitive functioning are impaired during confinement as a result of an absence of physical activity. The aim of the MARS500 study initiated by the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) and the European Space Agency (ESA) is to gather data, knowledge and experience to help prepare for a real mission to Mars. A test run with 105 days of isolation was performed prior to 520 days of isolation. Psycho-physiological data of this study are presented here. We hypothesized that exercise, as it has been shown in laboratory settings, would be able to prevent and counteract mood changes during isolation. Electrocortical data (EEG) and a self report on current psychological and physical state were recorded several times prior to and after exercise during the isolation period. Data revealed a clear effect of exercise on mood and electrocortical activity. Moreover, it was shown that mood and brain cortical activity decreased during the first 11 weeks of isolation and reached baseline again in the last week of isolation. A correlation analysis revealed a significant relation between mood data and electrocortical activity. We conclude (1) that confinement is accompanied by psycho-physiological changes and (2) that exercise is a suitable method to counteract psycho-physiological deconditioning during confinement. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Mori, Kazuma; Iwanaga, Makoto
People sometimes experience a strong emotional response to artworks. Previous studies have demonstrated that the peak emotional experience of chills (goose bumps or shivers) when listening to music involves psychophysiological arousal and a rewarding effect. However, many aspects of peak emotion are still not understood. The current research takes a new perspective of peak emotional response of tears (weeping, lump in the throat). A psychophysiological experiment showed that self-reported chills increased electrodermal activity and subjective arousal whereas tears produced slow respiration during heartbeat acceleration, although both chills and tears induced pleasure and deep breathing. A song that induced chills was perceived as being both happy and sad whereas a song that induced tears was perceived as sad. A tear-eliciting song was perceived as calmer than a chill-eliciting song. These results show that tears involve pleasure from sadness and that they are psychophysiologically calming; thus, psychophysiological responses permit the distinction between chills and tears. Because tears may have a cathartic effect, the functional significance of chills and tears seems to be different. We believe that the distinction of two types of peak emotions is theoretically relevant and further study of tears would contribute to more understanding of human peak emotional response. PMID:28387335
Cowley, Ben; Fantato, Martino; Jennett, Charlene; Ruskov, Martin; Ravaja, Niklas
We report an evaluation study for a novel learning platform, motivated by the growing need for methods to do assessment of serious game efficacy. The study was a laboratory experiment combining evaluation methods from the fields of learning assessment and psychophysiology. 15 participants used the TARGET game platform for 25 minutes, while the…
Full Text Available L. S. Vygotsky in his famous methodological essay “The historical meaning of psychological crisis” (1928 emphasized the importance of studying any psychological process or state as a “whole” — that is, as characterized from the subjective and objective sides at the same time. This position is fully relevant for studying the human functional states (FSes. Today the objective psychophysiological diagnostics of human FSes in activities associated with a high risk of technological disasters (in nuclear-power plants, transportation, the chemical industry are extremely relevant and socially important. This article reviews some new psychophysiological methods of FS assessment that are being developed in Russia and abroad and discusses different aspects of developing integral psychophysiological FS assessment. The emphasis is on distant methods of FS diagnostics: the bioradiolocation method, laser Doppler vibrometry, eye tracking, audio and video recordings, infrared thermography. The possibilities and limitations of the most popular emotion atlases — the Facial Affect Scoring Technique (FAST and the Facial Action Coding System (FACS — in developing distant visual-range and infrared-range systems for automated classification of facial expressions are analyzed. A special section of the article concentrates on the problem of constructing an integral psychophysiological FS index. Mathematical algorithms that provide a partition of FS indicators into different FS types are based on various methods of machine learning. We propose the vector approach for construction of complex estimations of the human FSes.
Psychophysiological factors are not uncommon terms in the aviation incident/accident investigation sequence where human error is involved. It is highly suspect that the same psychophysiological factors may also exist in the industrial arena where operator personnel function; but, there is little evidence in literature indicating how management and subordinates cope with these factors to prevent or reduce accidents. It is apparent that human factors psychophysological training is quite evident in the aviation industry. However, while the industrial arena appears to analyze psychophysiological factors in accident investigations, there is little evidence that established training programs exist for supervisors and operator personnel.
Full Text Available Sensory components of a psychophysiological condition with the help of a computer system of diagnostics are construed. 11 sportsmen of a high class of a combined team of Ukraine have been inspected. It is exhibited, that in dynamic of increasing serviceability at sportsmen the tendency to improving parameters of a sensory component of a psychophysiological condition is marked. The estimation of psychophysiological condition of an organism of sportsmen with the help of differentiated scales enables to adjust training loadings in dynamic of increasing serviceability.
Hemmi, Jan M; Merkle, Tobias
Habituation is one of the most fundamental learning processes that allow animals to adapt to dynamic environments. It is ubiquitous and often thought of as a simple form of non-associative learning. Very little is known, though, about the rules that govern habituation and their significance under natural conditions. Questions about how animals incorporate habituation into their daily behaviour and how they can assure only to habituate to non-relevant stimuli are still unanswered. Animals under threat of predation should be particularly selective about which stimuli they habituate to, since ignoring a real threat could be fatal. In this study, we tested the response of fiddler crabs, Uca vomeris, to repeatedly approaching dummy predators to find out whether these animals habituate to potential predators and to test the selectivity of the habituation process. The crabs habituated to model predators, even though they were confronted with real predators during the same habituation process. They showed remarkable selectivity towards the stimulus: a simple change in the approach distance of the stimulus led to a recovery in their responses. The results strongly indicate that in the context of predator avoidance, habituation under natural conditions is highly selective and a stimulus is not defined just by its current sensory signature, but also its spatio-temporal history.
Stephens, Chad; Kennedy, Kellie; Napoli, Nicholas; Demas, Matthew; Barnes, Laura; Crook, Brenda; Williams, Ralph; Last, Mary Carolyn; Schutte, Paul
Human-autonomous systems have the potential to mitigate pilot cognitive impairment and improve aviation safety. A research team at NASA Langley conducted an experiment to study the impact of mild normobaric hypoxia induction on aircraft pilot performance and psychophysiological state. A within-subjects design involved non-hypoxic and hypoxic exposures while performing three 10-minute tasks. Results indicated the effect of 15,000 feet simulated altitude did not induce significant performance decrement but did produce increase in perceived workload. Analyses of psychophysiological responses evince the potential of biomarkers for hypoxia onset. This study represents on-going work at NASA intending to add to the current knowledge of psychophysiologically-based input to automation to increase aviation safety. Analyses involving coupling across physiological systems and wavelet transforms of cortical activity revealed patterns that can discern between the simulated altitude conditions. Specifically, multivariate entropy of ECG/Respiration components were found to be significant predictors (p< 0.02) of hypoxia. Furthermore, in EEG, there was a significant decrease in mid-level beta (15.19-18.37Hz) during the hypoxic condition in thirteen of sixteen sites across the scalp. Task performance was not appreciably impacted by the effect of 15,000 feet simulated altitude. Analyses of psychophysiological responses evince the potential of biomarkers for mild hypoxia onset.The potential for identifying shifts in underlying cortical and physiological systems could serve as a means to identify the onset of deteriorated cognitive state. Enabling such assessment in future flightdecks could permit increasingly autonomous systems-supported operations. Augmenting human operator through assessment of cognitive impairment has the potential to further improve operator performance and mitigate human error in safety critical contexts. This study represents ongoing work at NASA intending to add
Antonova, Elena; Chadwick, Paul; Kumari, Veena
Mindfulness as a mode of sustained and receptive attention promotes openness to each incoming stimulus, even if repetitive and/or aversive. Mindful attention has been shown to attenuate sensory habituation in expert meditators; however, others were not able to replicate this effect. The present study used acoustic startle reflex to investigate the effect of mindfulness practice intensity on sensory habituation. Auditory Startle Response (ASR) to 36 startling probes (12 trials x 3 block with 40 ms inter-block intervals), was measured using electromyography (EMG) in three groups of participants (N = 12/group): meditation-naïve, moderate practice, and intensive practice. Intensive practice group showed attenuated startle habituation as evidenced by significantly less habituation over the entire experiment relative to the meditation-naïve and moderate practice groups. Furthermore, there was a significant linear effect showing between-block habituation in meditation-naïve and moderate practice groups, but not in the intensive practice group. However, the Block x Group interaction between the intensive practice and the meditation-naive groups was not significant. Moderate practice group was not significantly different from the meditation-naïve in the overall measure of habituation, but showed significantly stronger habituation than both meditation-naïve and intensive practice groups in Block 1. Greater practice intensity was significantly correlated with slower overall habituation and habituation rate in Blocks 2 and 3 in the intensive, but not in the moderate, practice group. The study provides tentative evidence that intensive mindfulness practice attenuates acoustic startle habituation as measured by EMG, but the effect is modest.Moderate practice, on the other hand, appears to enhance habituation, suggesting the effect of mindfulness practice on startle habituation might be non-linear [corrected] . Better understanding of the effect of mindful attention on
Conomy, J.T.; Dubovsky, J.A.; Collazo, J.A.; Fleming, W.J.
Requests to increase military aircraft activity in some training facilities in the United States have raised the need to determine if waterfowl and other wildlife are adversely affected by aircraft disturbance. We hypothesized that habituation was a possible proximate factor influencing the low proportion of free-ranging ducks reacting to military aircraft activities in a training range in coastal North Carolina during winters 1991 and 1992. To test this hypothesis, we subjected captive, wild-strain American black ducks (Anas rubripes) and wood ducks (Aix sponsa) to actual and simulated activities of jet aircraft. In the first experiment, we placed black ducks in an enclosure near the center of aircraft activities on Piney Island, a military aircraft target range in coastal North Carolina. The proportion of times black ducks reacted (e.g., alert posture, fleeing response) to visual and auditory aircraft activity decreased from 38 to 6% during the first 17 days of confinement. Response rates remained stable at 5.8% thereafter. In the second experiment, black ducks and wood ducks were exposed to 6 different recordings of jet noise. The proportion of times black ducks reacted to noise decreased (P 0.05) in time-activity budgets of black ducks between pre-exposure to noise and 24 hr after first exposure. Unlike black ducks, wood duck responses to jet noise did not decrease uniformly among experimental groups following initial exposure to noise (P = 0.01). We conclude that initial exposure to aircraft noise elicits behavioral responses from black ducks and wood ducks. With continued exposure of aircraft noise, black ducks may become habituated. However, wood ducks did not exhibit the same pattern of response, suggesting that the ability of waterfowl to habituate to aircraft noise may be species specific.
Full Text Available Thyroid autoimmunity (TAI appears to be a determining factor in pregnancy loss. Many studies have confirmed this association, not only in hypo- and hyperthyroid women but also in euthyroid ones. The main risk associated with TAI is the occurrence of maternal hypothyroidism, with its potential deleterious effects for both the mother and fetus. We report a case of a 35-years-old woman with a history of habitual abortion. After diagnosis of TAI with normal thyroid function and treatment with levothyroxine, the patient became pregnant. After a normal pregnancy without problems, she gave birth of normal fetus at 39’ weeks gestation.
Pilz, Peter K D; Carl, Thomas D; Plappert, Claudia F
To test whether habituation is specific to the stimulus modality, the authors analyzed cross-habituation between the tactile startle response' (TSR) and the acoustic startle response (ASR). The acoustic artifacts of airpuffs used to elicit the TSR were reduced by using a silencer and were effectively masked by background noise of 90-100 dB sound-pressure level. ASR was elicited by 14-kHz tones. TSR and ASR habituated in DBA and BALB mice: both the TSR and ASR habituated to a greater extent in DBA mice than in BALB mice. In both strains, habituation of the TSR did not generalize to the ASR, and vice versa. From this, the authors concluded that habituation of startle is located in the sensory afferent branches of the pathway.
Stamm, Raini; Stamm, Meelis; Thomson, Kaivo
Body-build peculiarities (49 body measurements) and psychophysiological properties (21 computerized tests) of 32 adolescent female volleyballers were studied to assess their significance in performance at competitions. Games were recorded by the original computer program Game, and an index of proficiency representative elements of the game was calculated for each player. Regression analysis was applied to predict the best psychophysiological and anthropometric models for serve, reception, block, feint, and attack. Seven tests of psychophysiological indices and 14 anthropometric variables explained 38-98% and 32-83% of skill performance, respectively. Consequently, to improve young volleyball players' performance, everyday coaching should be complemented by detailed assessment of their body build and psychophysiological characteristics.
Oakes, Lisa M.
Habituation of looking time has become the standard method for studying cognitive processes in infancy. This method has a long history and derives from the study of memory and habituation itself. Often, however, it is not clear how researchers make decisions about how to implement habituation as a tool to study processes such as categorization, object representation, and memory. This article describes the challenges for implementing this tool, and describes a set of best practices for its use...
Campbell, Miranda L.; Gorka, Stephanie M; McGowan, Sarah Kate; Nelson, Brady D.; Sarapas, Casey; Katz, Andrea C.; Robison-Andrew, E. Jenna; Shankman, Stewart A.
Individuals with anxiety disorders have previously demonstrated abnormal habituation to aversiveness over time. As anxiety sensitivity (AS), or an individuals’ propensity to fear anxiety-related sensations, has been shown to be a risk factor for anxiety disorders (particularly panic disorder), the present study examined whether AS was also associated with abnormal habituation. This association was examined in two independent samples of undergraduates (total N=178). Habituation was operational...
Bell, Alison M.; Peeke, Harman V.S.
Habituation, or the relatively permanent waning of a response as a result of repeated stimulation, is a form of behavioural plasticity that allows animals to filter out irrelevant stimuli and to focus selectively on important stimuli. Individuals that fail to habituate might be at a disadvantage if they continue to respond to irrelevant stimuli; therefore, habituation can have adaptive significance. In this study we compared rates of behaviour over time toward three different ecologically-rel...
This study was conducted in order to measure the reported pain caused by cold immersions over a 5-day period to determine if habituation to the perception of cold pain occurs. Numerous authors have described a habituation phenomenon to therapeutic ice bath immersions. Athletic trainers often explain to athletes that their perceptions of the pain induced by a therapeutic ice bath will decrease each day as they proceed through therapy. Essentially, it is assumed that there is a habituation to t...
Christensen, Janne Winther
stress responses when negatively reinforced to approach novel objects, compared with horses allowed to voluntarily explore the objects and 2) whether a negatively reinforced approach facilitates object habituation. Methods: Twenty-two 2–3-year-old Danish Warmblood geldings were included. Half...... increased habituation. Conclusion: A negatively reinforced approach to novel objects increases stress responses during the initial exposure but facilitates habituation in young horses. Potential relevance: Although a negatively reinforced approach appears beneficial for habituation, the procedure should...... be carefully managed due to increased stress responses in the horse, which may constitute a safety risk. Further experiments should aim to investigate differences in stimulus intensity....
Hugo Mélida; Jesús .(A)lvarez; José Luis Acebes; Antonio Encina; Stephen C. Fry
The habituation of cell cultures to cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors such as dichlobenil (DCB) represents a valuable tool to improve our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in plant cell wall structural plasticity.Maize cell lines habituated to lethal concentrations of DCB were able to grow through the acquisition of a modified cell wall in which cellulose was partially replaced by a more extensive network of arabinoxylans.The aim of this work was to investigate the phenolic metabolism of non-habituated and DCB-habituated maize cell cultures.Maize cell cultures were fed [14C]cinnamate and the fate of the radioactivity in different intra-protoplasmic and wall-localized fractions throughout the culture cycle was analyzed by autoradiography and scintillation counting.Non-habituated and habituated cultures did not markedly differ in their ability to uptake exogenous [14C]cinnamic acid.However,interesting differences were found in the radiolabeling of low- and high-Mr metabolites.Habituated cultures displayed a higher number and amount of radiolabeled low-Mr compounds,which could act as reserves later used for polysaccharide feruloylation.DCB-habituated cultures were highly enriched in esterified [14C]dehydrodiferulates and larger coupling products.In conclusion,an extensive and early cross-linking of hydroxycinnamates was observed in DCB-habituated cultures,probably strengthening their cellulose-deficient walls.
Pase, Matthew P; Grima, Natalie; Cockerell, Robyn; Pipingas, Andrew
Despite a common perception that fruit juice is healthy, fruit juice contains high amounts of naturally occurring sugar without the fibre content of the whole fruit. Frequent fruit juice consumption may therefore contribute to excessive sugar consumption typical of the Western society. Although excess sugar intake is associated with high blood pressure (BP), the association between habitual fruit juice consumption and BP is unclear. The present study investigated the association of fruit juice consumption with brachial and central (aortic) BP in 160 community dwelling adults. Habitual fruit juice consumption was measured using a 12 month dietary recall questionnaire. On the same day, brachial BP was measured and central (aortic) BP was estimated through radial artery applanation. Frequency of fruit juice consumption was classified as rare, occasional or daily. Those who consumed fruit juice daily, versus rarely or occasionally, had significantly higher central systolic BP (F (2, 134) = 6.09, p fruit juice daily rather than rarely or occasionally. In conclusion, more frequent fruit juice consumption was associated with higher central BPs.
McLure, S A; Summerbell, C D; Reilly, J J
While the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children continues to grow nationally, prevalence in the North-East of England is among the highest in the UK. The objective of this study was to investigate the habitual physical activity levels in a particularly obesogenic environment in the North-East of England. Eight primary schools were selected using a stratified random sampling frame ranking average deprivation levels. Participating children (n = 246, mean age 10 years) wore an accelerometer (Actigraph, GT-256) over five consecutive days (weekend plus three weekdays). Total daily moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity was calculated using thresholds by Puyau and colleagues. Only 7% (17/246) of children were sufficiently active. Boys were more physically active than girls (766 +/- 268 vs. 641 +/- 202 counts/min, 95% CI for the difference 63-186 cpm.). Total physical activity was not influenced significantly by deprivation levels or weight status, and there were no significant differences in physical activity between school or weekend days. The North-East of England is a recognized 'hot spot' for paediatric obesity and the present study shows that low levels of habitual physical activity are typical. Choice of accelerometry threshold affects both the apparent amount of physical activity and the ability to detect groups with particularly low levels of physical activity.
Epstein, Leonard H; Saad, Frances G; Handley, Elizabeth A; Roemmich, James N; Hawk, Larry W; McSweeney, Frances K
Repeated presentation of food cues results in habituation in adults, as demonstrated by a decrement in salivary responding that is reversed by presenting a new food cue in adults. Food reinforced behavior in animals shows the same pattern of responding, with a decrease in responding to obtain the food, followed by a recovery of responding when a new food is presented. The present study assessed whether children would show the same pattern of a decrement of food reinforced responding followed by recovery of responding when a new food is presented for both salivation and food reinforcement tasks. Subjects were assigned to one of two groups that differed in the trial that the new food stimulus was presented to ensure recovery was specific to the introduction of the new food stimulus. In the salivation task, subjects were provided repeated olfactory presentations of a cheeseburger with apple pie as the new food stimulus, while in the food reinforcement task subjects worked for the opportunity to consume a cheeseburger, followed by the opportunity to work for consumption of apple pie. Subjects in both groups showed a decrement in salivary and food reinforced responding to repeated food cues followed by immediate recovery of responding on the trial when a new food was presented. Subjects increased their energy intake by over 30% in the food reinforcement task when a new food was presented. These results are consistent with the general process theory of motivation that suggests that changes in food reinforced responding may be due in part to habituation.
Full Text Available To cope with the everyday challenges that they encounter in their evolutionary niche, crayfish are considered to rely mainly on chemical information or, alternatively, on tactile information, but not much on vision. Hence, research has focused on chemical communication, whereas crayfish visual abilities remain poorly understood and investigated. To fill in this gap, we tested whether crayfish (Procambarus clarkii can distinguish between two different visual shapes matched in terms of luminance. To this aim, we measured both the habituation response to a repeated presentation of a given shape, a downright Y, and the response recovery when a novel shape was presented. The novel shape could be either a Möbius or the same Y-shape but upright rotated. Our results demonstrate that, after habituation to the downright Y, crayfish showed a significantly higher response recovery to the Möbius as compared to the upright rotated Y. Hence, besides relying on chemo-haptic information, we found that crayfish can use sight alone to discriminate between different abstract geometrical shapes when macroscopically different. Failure to discriminate between the downright Y and its inversion or a generalization from the presence of a shape with three points creating a simple category, are both likely parsimonious explanations that should be investigated systematically in further studies. A future challenge will be understanding whether crayfish are capable of generalized shape recognition.
Full Text Available In the physical exercises of yoga (hatha yoga, the Mountain Pose is a basic arrangement of the body involving, among other things, active extension of the spine in the vertical axis and symmetrical arrangement of individual elements of the body. The aim of the study was to compare the difference between this posture and the relaxed stance in people doing hatha yoga. The study included 28 women and 8 men doing yoga aged 20-58. The study was carried out using the apparatus for computer assessment of posture of the MORA system.The study has shown that all the elements of body posture in the Mountain Pose are placed more correctly (according to the criterion of symmetry related to frontal and transverse planes. Differences in the placement of lines of the spinous processes and of the pelvis in the transverse plane were observed. The angles of inclination of the anteroposterior curvatures of the spine were smaller in the Mountain Pose than in the habitual one. It has been demonstrated that for people doing hatha yoga the Mountain Pose is a more correct (symmetrical stance than the habitual one. Those who had been doing yoga longer and those who devoted more time to exercise per week were characterised by more correct body stance. The physical exercises of yoga shape the habit of correct stance. The arrangement of the body in the Mountain Pose in the light of the criteria of correct posture may be regarded as optimal.
Full Text Available Implementing psychophysiological measures is a worthwhile approach for understanding human reaction to robot presence in terms of individual emotional state. This paper reviews the suitability of using psychophysiological assessment in human-robot interaction (HRI research. A review of most common psychophysiological parameters used in a controlled laboratory setting is provided and advantages and challenges of their utilization in HRI experiments are described. Exemplar studies focused on the implementation of psychophysiological measures for the evaluation of the emotional responses of the participants to the robots’ presence are described. Based on the reviewed literature, the paper also describes the results of our own research experience to make the most of the emerged recommendations. We planned and performed a study aimed at implementing psychophysiological measurements for assessing the human response of two groups of older adults (Healthy vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment subjects towards a telepresence robot. Finally, the paper provides a summary of lessons learned across the field in using psychophysiological measures in HRI studies.
Full Text Available The reality gap is the discrepancy between simulation and reality—the same behavioural algorithm results in different robot swarm behaviours in simulation and in reality (with real robots. In this paper, we study the effect of the reality gap on the psychophysiological reactions of humans interacting with a robot swarm. We compare the psychophysiological reactions of 28 participants interacting with a simulated robot swarm and with a real (non-simulated robot swarm. Our results show that a real robot swarm provokes stronger reactions in our participants than a simulated robot swarm. We also investigate how to mitigate the effect of the reality gap (i.e., how to diminish the difference in the psychophysiological reactions between reality and simulation by comparing psychophysiological reactions in simulation displayed on a computer screen and psychophysiological reactions in simulation displayed in virtual reality. Our results show that our participants tend to have stronger psychophysiological reactions in simulation displayed in virtual reality (suggesting a potential way of diminishing the effect of the reality gap.
Full Text Available The problems of diagnosis of psycho-physiological status of boys in the prepubertal stage of their biological development is considered. The study involved 94 boys aged 9-10 years. They were assessed by parameters of physical development, the functional state of the nervous, cardio-respiratory, muscular and sensory systems and motor fitness, energy and properties of psychodynamics. It is shown that the failure of the approach to assess children's physical health on the grounds of their physical development. Children of this age are characterized by a lag in terms of static lung volume, and vice versa - ahead of age norms in the development of pulmonary ventilation function and resistance to hypoxia. Central hemodynamic parameters vary within age norms. From the observed dominance of neurodynamic mechanisms of excitation and response of advanced type. The established features of the psycho-physiological status, can be used as prognostic indicators in guiding children to sports activities.
Shved, D M; Gushchin, V I; Vinokhodova, A G; Nichiporuk, I A; Vasil'eva, G Iu
Purpose of the study was to assess effects of 105-d isolation on language behavior and psychophysiological status of volunteered subjects. Software NOOJ was used to determine frequency of mentioning in written reports notions falling into the categories of "Needs", "Activity", "Negation" and "Social regulation". Well-being, activity and mood were assessed with the SAN questionnaire and urine cortisol measurement. Correlation of the content-analysis results with phases of adaptation to extended isolation and confinement made it possible to elicit specific features of language behavior of the small group members, at the time of simulated autonomy, specifically. Besides, the computerized content-analysis enabled a quantitative description of communication strategy as a function of psychophysiological adaptation to stressful factors of the simulation experiment.
Full Text Available In this paper we evaluate the possibilities psychophysiological study of emotions can offer to communication research, main focus being on studies of organizational reputation. We briefly discuss the study of emotion in communication sciences and then describe the experimental protocol for studying reputation and emotions with the psychophysiological methods and offer some empirical results from our first experiments. The results obtained from studies reviewed in this paper show that reputation is at least partly emotional appeal and hence can be measured on an individual level through bodily reactions. Secondly, the results show that the valence of company-related content (e.g., news also has emotional implications and thus consequences. After presenting the studies we discuss our findings and reflect our observations during the research collaboration from two different perspectives: methodological and theoretical.
Sophie van Rijn
Full Text Available Studying genetically defined syndromes associated with increased risk for psychopathology may help in understanding neurodevelopmental mechanisms related to risk for psychopathology. Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY is one of the most common sex chromosomal aneuploidies (1 in 650 male births and associated with increased vulnerability for psychopathology, including psychotic symptoms. Yet, it remains unknown whether this increased risk is associated with underlying psychophysiological mechanisms that are typically deficient in individuals with psychotic disorders. The present study assessed three "classic" psychophysiological markers of psychosis in Klinefelter syndrome (KS: smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM, prepulse inhibition (PPI and P50 suppression. Fourteen adults with KS and 15 non-clinical adults participated in the study. Data on SPEM (reflecting visuo-motor control as well as PPI and P50 suppression (reflecting sensory gating were collected. Dysfunctions in SPEM were observed in individuals with KS, with less smooth pursuit as expressed in lower position gain. Also, reduced sensory gating in individuals with KS was suggested by significantly reduced prepulse inhibition of the startle response (PPI (effect size 1.6. No abnormalities were found in suppression of the P50 (effect size 0.6. We speculate that impairments in these psychophysiological mechanisms may reflect core brain dysfunctions that may also mediate the described increased vulnerability for psychotic symptoms in KS. Although speculative, such deficit specific, rather than disorder specific, psychophysiological dysfunctions in KS might convey vulnerability to other types of psychopathology as well. As KS already can be diagnosed prenatally, the predictive value of childhood impairments in prepulse inhibition and smooth pursuit for development of psychopathology later in life could be assessed. In sum, studying individuals with KS may prove to be an avenue of research leading to
Full Text Available The purpose of the work - to study the determinants of psycho-physiological state of sportsmen of high qualification with different emotional characteristics. In experiment took part 19 highly skilled athletes involved in the Greco-Roman wrestling. The survey was carried out using a hardware-software complex psychodiagnostic "Multipsihometr-05. Determined by the emotional background of athletes according to the method A. Rukavishnikova features of visual perception and perceptual speed.
Clemente Suárez, Vicente Javier; Vega Marcos, Ricardo de la; Robles Pérez, José Juan; Lautenschlaeger, Mario; Fernández Lucas, Jesús
We aimed to analyse the effect of experience level in the psychophysiological response and specific fine motor skills of novel and expert parachute warfighters during a tactical combat parachute jump. We analysed blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, salivary cortisol, blood glucose, lactate and creatinkinase, leg strength, isometric hand-grip strength, cortical arousal, specific fine motor skills and cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confident before and after a tactical combat para...
Drozdovski A; Gromova I; Korotkov K; Shelkov O; Akinnagbe F
Alexander Drozdovski,1 Irina Gromova,2 Konstantin Korotkov,1 Oleg Shelkov,1 Femi Akinnagbe31Saint Petersburg Federal Research Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, St Petersburg, Russia; 2Paralympic Team of Russia, Moscow, Russia; 3Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USAObjective: Evaluation of elite athletes’ psycho-physiological condition at various stages of preparation and in international competition.Design: Athletes were tested during training and participation in intern...
Full Text Available The informative criterion of psychophysiological states of wrestles in training activity condition was considered. 20 wrestlers of higher qualification were examined. The peculiarities of ability to perception and information processing was study. The presence of higher level of functional mobility of nervous process of analytics styles of perception and information processing in higher qualification wrestlers are depend. The synthetic styles of perception and information processing in athletes with increasing of meanings of functional mobility of nervous process are correlation.
Pusenjak, Nika; Grad, Anton; Tusak, Matej; Leskovsek, Matevz; Schwarzlin, Romina
In recent years, biofeedback has become increasingly popular for its proven success in peak performance training - the psychophysiological preparation of athletes for high-stakes sport competitions, such as the Olympic games. The aim of this research was to test whether an 8-week period of exposure to biofeedback training could improve the psychophysiological control over competitive anxiety and enhance athletic performance in participating subjects. Participants of this study were highly competent athletes, each training in different sport disciplines. The experimental group consisted of 18 athletes (4 women, 14 men), whereas the Control group had 21 athletes (4 women, 17 men). All athletes were between 16 and 34 years old. The biofeedback device, Nexus 10, was used to detect and measure the psychophysiological responses of athletes. Athletes from both groups (control and experimental) were subjected to stress tests at the beginning of the study and once again at its conclusion. In between, the experimental group received training in biofeedback techniques. We then calculated the overall percentage of athletes in the experimental group compared with those in the control group who were able to control respiration, skin conductance, heart rate, blood flow amplitude, heart rate variability, and heart respiration coherence. One year following completion of the initial study, we questioned athletes from the experimental group, to determine whether they continued to use these skills and if they could detect any subsequent enhancement in their athletic performance. We demonstrated that a greater number of participants in the experimental group were able to successfully control their psychophysiological parameters, in comparison to their peers in the control group. Significant results (p biofeedback - psycho-regulation skills. Furthermore, these participants uniformly reported believing that these skills had enhanced their athletic performance and general well-being.
Spruyt, Adriaan; Clarysse, Jeroen; Vansteenwegen, Debora; Baeyens, Frank; Hermans, Dirk
We describe Affect 4.0, a user-friendly software package for implementing psychological and psychophysiological experiments. Affect 4.0 can be used to present visual, acoustic, and/or tactile stimuli in highly complex (i.e., semirandomized and response-contingent) sequences. Affect 4.0 is capable of registering response latencies and analog behavioral input with millisecond accuracy. Affect 4.0 is available free of charge.
Bradley, Raymond Trevor; McCraty, Rollin; Atkinson, Mike; Tomasino, Dana; Daugherty, Alane; Arguelles, Lourdes
This study investigated the effects of a novel, classroom-based emotion self-regulation program (TestEdge) on measures of test anxiety, socioemotional function, test performance, and heart rate variability (HRV) in high school students. The program teaches students how to self-generate a specific psychophysiological state--psychophysiological coherence--which has been shown to improve nervous system function, emotional stability, and cognitive performance. Implemented as part of a larger study investigating the population of tenth grade students in two California high schools (N = 980), the research reported here was conducted as a controlled pre- and post-intervention laboratory experiment, using electrophysiological measures, on a random stratified sample of students from the intervention and control schools (N = 136). The Stroop color-word conflict test was used as the experiment's stimulus to simulate the stress of taking a high-stakes test, while continuous HRV recordings were gathered. The post-intervention electrophysiological results showed a pattern of improvement across all HRV measures, indicating that students who received the intervention program had learned how to better manage their emotions and to self-activate the psychophysiological coherence state under stressful conditions. Moreover, students with high test anxiety exhibited increased HRV and heart rhythm coherence even during a resting baseline condition (without conscious use of the program's techniques), suggesting that they had internalized the benefits of the intervention. Consistent with these results, students exhibited reduced test anxiety and reduced negative affect after the intervention. Finally, there is suggestive evidence from a matched-pairs analysis that reduced test anxiety and increased psychophysiological coherence appear to be directly associated with improved test performance--a finding consistent with evidence from the larger study.
Kabardov M. K.,; Aminov N.A.,; Zhambeeva Z.Z.,
The article shows the background and specifics of application of differential psychological and psychophysiological approach to learning in modern school. The revealed problems of the use of the process of individualization and differentiation of teaching, the necessity of taking into account the individual learning opportunities, individual style of pedagogical activity, as well as features the method used by the teacher during training at the modern stage of education development. Presents ...
Clemente Suárez, Vicente Javier
Many studies have researched the psychophysiological response and energy balance of athletes in numerous ultraendurance probes, but none has investigated an ultraendurance mountain running event. The current study aims to analyze changes in blood lactate concentration, rating of perceived exertion, heart rate, heart rate variability, and energy balance after the performance of an ultraendurance mountain running event. The parameters in the 6 participants who finished the event were analyzed (...
Towards the end of the 1840s, Hermann von Helmholtz began to investigate experimentally the propagation of stimuli within nerves. Helmholtz's experiments on animals and human subjects opened a research field that in the following decades was intensively explored by neurophysiologists and experimental psychologists. Helmholtz's pioneering investigations justify the central place he occupies in accounts of the history of modern psychophysiology. Studying the concrete experimental settings and t...
Wier, Larry T.; Suminski, Richard R.; Poston, Walker S.; Randles, Anthony M.; Arenare, Brian; Jackson, Andrew S.
VO2max is associated with many factors, including age, gender, physical activity, and body composition. It is popularly believed that habitual smoking lowers aerobic fitness. PURPOSE: to determine the effect of habitual smoking on VO2max after controlling for age, gender, activity and BMI. METHODS: 2374 men and 375 women employed at the NASA/Johnson Space Center were measured for VO2max by indirect calorimetry (RER>=1.1), activity by the 11 point (0-10) NASA Physical Activity Status Scale (PASS), BMI and smoking pack-yrs (packs day*y of smoking). Age was recorded in years and gender was coded as M=1, W=0. Pack.y was made a categorical variable consisting of four levels as follows: Never Smoked (0), Light (1-10), Regular (11-20), Heavy (>20). Group differences were verified by ANOVA. A General Linear Models (GLM) was used to develop two models to examine the relationship of smoking behavior on VO2max. GLM #1(without smoking) determined the combined effects of age, gender, PASS and BMI on VO2max. GLM #2 (with smoking) determined the added effects of smoking (pack.y groupings) on VO2max after controlling for age, gender, PASS and BMI. Constant errors (CE) were calculated to compare the accuracy of the two models for estimating the VO2max of the smoking subgroups. RESULTS: ANOVA affirmed the mean VO2max of each pack.y grouping decreased significantly (psmoking exposure increased. GLM #1 showed that age, gender, PASS and BMI were independently related with VO2max (R2 = 0.642, SEE = 4.90, pSmoked, the effects on VO2max from Light and Regular smoking habits were -0.83 and -0.85 ml.kg- 1.min-1 respectively (peffect of Heavy smoking on VO2max was -2.56 ml.kg- 1.min-1 (psmoking group in GLM #2 was smaller than the CE s of the smoking group counterparts in GLM #1. CONCLUSIONS: After accounting for the effects of gender, age, PASS and BMI the effect of habitual smoking on reducing VO2max is minimal, about 0.85 ml/kg/min, until the habit exceeds 20 pack.y at which point an
Woo, Jane S T; Brotto, Lori A; Yule, Morag A
Evidence from studies of ethnic differences in sexual conservativeness and Papanicolaou (Pap) testing behaviors suggests that there may be culture-linked differences in rates of participation in physically invasive sexuality studies, resulting in volunteer bias. The effects of ethnicity and acculturation on participation in female psychophysiological sexual arousal research were investigated in a sample of Euro-Canadian (n = 50) and East Asian (n = 58) women. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires and were given either course credits or $10 for their participation. Participants were then informed about the opportunity to participate in a second phase of the study, which involved psychophysiological sexual arousal testing and which was completely optional. Contrary to expectations, the results showed that the East Asian women were more likely to participate in Phase 2 than the Euro-Canadian women. Among the East Asian women, greater heritage acculturation and lower mainstream acculturation predicted a lower likelihood of Phase 2 participation. The findings suggest the need to be wary of overgeneralizing female psychophysiological sexual arousal research results and may have implications for improving Pap testing behaviors in East Asian women.
Full Text Available Purpose: to determine the effect of complex application procedures Bodyflex and Pilates using information and communication technology on the level of psycho-physiological capabilities of students. Material: the study involved 46 university students. Research methods - physiological (speed detection of simple and complex reactions in different modes of testing, the level of functional mobility and strength of the nervous system, pedagogical experiment, methods of mathematical statistics. Results: the positive effect on the level of the developed technique psychophysiological capacities of students. The application of the developed technique in the experimental group showed a significant decrease in the latency time of a simple visual-motor reaction time latent complex visual-motor reaction time test run "level of functional mobility of nervous processes" in feedback mode. Found that the use of Bodyflex and Pilates promotes strength of nervous processes. Conclusions: the recommended use in the learning process of students of complex techniques of Pilates Bodyflex using information and communication technologies, increased levels of psychophysiological features, mobility and strength of the nervous processes.
Janka, A; Adler, C; Fischer, L; Perakakis, P; Guerra, P; Duschek, S
Directing disaster operations represents a major professional challenge. Despite its importance to health and professional performance, research on stress in crisis management remains scarce. The present study aimed to investigate self-reported stress and psychophysiological stress responses in crisis managers. For this purpose, 30 crisis managers were compared with 30 managers from other disciplines, in terms of self-reported stress, health status and psychophysiological reactivity to crisis-related and non-specific visual and acoustic aversive stimuli and cognitive challenge. Crisis managers reported lower stress levels, a more positive strain-recuperation-balance, greater social resources, reduced physical symptoms, as well as more physical exercise and less alcohol consumption. They exhibited diminished electrodermal and heart rate responses to crisis-related and non-specific stressors. The results indicate reduced stress and physical complaints, diminished psychophysiological stress reactivity, and a healthier life-style in crisis managers. Improved stress resistance may limit vulnerability to stress-related performance decline and facilitate preparedness for major incidents.
Full Text Available Compared to standard laboratory protocols, the measurement of psychophysiological signals in real world experiments poses technical and methodological challenges due to external factors that cannot be directly controlled. To address this problem, we propose a hybrid approach based on an immersive and human accessible space called the eXperience Induction Machine (XIM, that incorporates the advantages of a laboratory within a life-like setting. The XIM integrates unobtrusive wearable sensors for the acquisition of psychophysiological signals suitable for ambulatory emotion research. In this paper, we present results from two different studies conducted to validate the XIM as a general-purpose sensing infrastructure for the study of human affective states under ecologically valid conditions. In the first investigation, we recorded and classified signals from subjects exposed to pictorial stimuli corresponding to a range of arousal levels, while they were free to walk and gesticulate. In the second study, we designed an experiment that follows the classical conditioning paradigm, a well-known procedure in the behavioral sciences, with the additional feature that participants were free to move in the physical space, as opposed to similar studies measuring physiological signals in constrained laboratory settings. Our results indicate that, by using our sensing infrastructure, it is indeed possible to infer human event-elicited affective states through measurements of psychophysiological signals under ecological conditions.
Corr, Philip J; Perkins, Adam M
Psychophysiological approaches to personality have made significant progress in recent years, partly as a spin-off of technological innovation (e.g., functional neuroimaging) and partly as a result of an emerging theoretical consensus regarding the structure and biology of basic processes. In this field, Jeffrey Gray's influential psychophysiological theory of personality - now widely known as Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) - owes much to Pavlov, who devoted a large proportion of his later life to personality differences and their implications for psychiatry. In this article, we trace the influence of Pavlov on Hans Eysenck's and Jeffrey Gray's work, and then provide a brief description of RST in order to highlight some of the central problems - as well as some tentative solutions - in the psychophysiology of personality. Specifically, the importance of theory in personality research is stressed by the contrast of Gray's theoretically driven model with less fertile atheoretical (i.e., exploratory-inductive) approaches. The fecundity of RST, which has been in continual development over a period of thirty years, is discussed in the light of Karl Popper's views on the nature of science, especially the formulation of the 'problem situation', which sets up the theoretical and operational conditions under which hypotheses may be challenged and tested to destruction. In this respect, we see the truth of Lewin's [Lewin, K., 1951. Field theory in social science: selected theoretical papers. In: Cartwright, D., (Ed.). Harper & Row, New York] famous phrase, "There is nothing so practical as a good theory".
Full Text Available The purpose: to improve the treatment of patients with orthopedic dento-alveolar deformation of dentition and occlusion by using a range of methods of psychophysiological support of patient care. Material and methods. The study included 86 patients, men and women aged from 18 to 49 years with dento-alveolar deformation of dentition and occlusion. The study used clinical, anthropometric, radiological, photometric and static methods. At each stage of treatment, to investigate the characteristics of the functional status of patients methods of SAN, IPC «adaptive», self-esteem of patients by developed questionnaire were used. Results. A direct, reliable, moderate correlation has been established between the estimates that have given quality of care to patients with a regularity of the complex of psychophysiological methods proposed. Conclusion. A positive impact of the proposed complex of psychophysiological methods to support the functional characteristics of the patients and their assessment of the treatment, and the effectiveness of orthopedic treatment have been determined.
Puig-Perez, S; Hackett, R A; Salvador, A; Steptoe, A
Optimism is thought to be beneficial for health, and these effects may be mediated through modifications in psychophysiological stress reactivity. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with reduced cardiovascular responses to stress and heightened cortisol over the day. This study assessed the relationships between optimism, stress responsivity, and daily cortisol output in people with T2D. A total of 140 participants with T2D were exposed to laboratory stress. Heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and cortisol were measured throughout the session. Cortisol output over the day was also assessed. Optimism and self-reported health were measured using the revised Life Orientation Test and the Short Form Health Survey. Optimism was associated with heightened SBP and DBP stress reactivity (ps Optimism was not related to HR, cortisol stress responses, or the cortisol awakening response (ps > .180). Low optimism was related to poorer self-reported physical and mental health (ps Optimism could have a protective role in modulating stress-related autonomic and neuroendocrine dysregulation in people with T2D. © 2016 The Authors. Psychophysiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Psychophysiological Research.
Bertollo, Maurizio; Bortoli, Laura; Gramaccioni, Gianfranco; Hanin, Yuri; Comani, Silvia; Robazza, Claudio
The main purposes of the present study were to substantiate the existence of the four types of performance categories (i.e., optimal-automatic, optimal-controlled, suboptimal-controlled, and suboptimal-automatic) as hypothesised in the multi-action plan (MAP) model, and to investigate whether some specific affective, behavioural, psychophysiological, and postural trends may typify each type of performance. A 20-year-old athlete of the Italian shooting team, and a 46-year-old athlete of the Italian dart-throwing team participated in the study. Athletes were asked to identify the core components of the action and then to execute a large number of shots/flights. A 2 × 2 (optimal/suboptimal × automated/controlled) within subjects multivariate analysis of variance was performed to test the differences among the four types of performance. Findings provided preliminary evidence of psychophysiological and postural differences among four performance categories as conceptualized within the MAP model. Monitoring the entire spectrum of psychophysiological and behavioural features related to the different types of performance is important to develop and implement biofeedback and neurofeedback techniques aimed at helping athletes to identify individual zones of optimal functioning and to enhance their performance.
Zhanneta Kozina; Irina Sobko; Tetiana Yermakova; Miroslawa Cieslicka; Walery Zukow; Michael Chia; Volodymyr Goncharenko; Olga Goncharenko; Vitalii Korobeinik
Purpose: to work out and experimentally prove methodic of technical tactic training for elite female basketball players with hearing problems, considering their psycho-physiological characteristics. Material...
Hunter, Michael A.; Ames, Elinor W.
This study was designed to determine if the failure of previous investigations to find habituation and response to novelty in infants younger than 2 months of age was because the stimuli used were too complex or because a constant number of trials rather than an individual criterion of habituation was used. A total of 24 infants between 5 and 6…
Strandbu, Åse; Steen-Johnsen, Kari
This paper explores the role of reflexivity in habituation by contrasting the learning of aerobics and basketball with the acquisition of gendered bodily skills. The discussion is inspired by the paper "So, how did Bourdieu learn to play tennis? Habitus, consciousness and habituation," by Noble and Watkins (2003), which represents a…
Strandbu, Åse; Steen-Johnsen, Kari
This paper explores the role of reflexivity in habituation by contrasting the learning of aerobics and basketball with the acquisition of gendered bodily skills. The discussion is inspired by the paper "So, how did Bourdieu learn to play tennis? Habitus, consciousness and habituation," by Noble and Watkins (2003), which represents a…
Blom, A.; Cipolletta, C.; Brunsting, A.M.H.; Prins, H.H.T.
We monitored the impact of habituation for tourism through changes in gorillas' behavior during the habituation process at Bai Hokou (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic) from August 1996 to December 1999. From August 1998 onwards we focused on one gorilla group: the Munye. During t
Molenaar, P.C.M.; Roelofs, J.W.
Presents a new statistical technique for analyzing multiple habituation profiles of single-trial evoked potentials (EPs). The method is based on a model of the essential characteristics of the habituation process--trial-dependent modulation of amplitude and phase of the underlying brain responses to
Miller, Dolores J.; And Others
Serial habituation of visual fixations was investigated through a design permitting cross-sectional, within-subject longitudinal, cohort longitudinal, and time-lag analyses. Results suggested that for all ages habituation was under way to the parts of the stimulus in order of the realitive saliencies. No one methodology appeared to significantly…
Bornstein, Marc H.; Suess, Patricia E.
Investigated the role of physiological self-regulation (cardiac vagal tone) in information processing (habituation) in infants. Found that decreases in vagal tone consistently related to habituation efficiency at 2 and 5 months. Within- and between- age suppression of vagal tone predicted accumulated looking time (ALT), but ALT did not predict…
Madison, Lynda S.; And Others
Evaluated the relation between fetal activity and postnatal behavior and development by measuring the amount of fetal movement occurring in response to stimulation and the number of stimulus applications necessary for habituation. Preliminary evidence suggests that fetal rate of habituation predicts some aspects of infant behavior and development…
Seo, Hyun Ah; Chun, Hui Young; Jwa, Seung Hwa; Choi, Mi Hyun
This study investigates the relationship between young children's habitual computer use and influencing variables on socio-emotional development. The participants were 179 five-year-old children. The Internet Addiction Scale for Young Children (IASYC) was used to identify children with high and low levels of habituation to computer use. The data…
Bava AJ; Garro S; Troncoso A
This paper communicates the presence of aberrant microscopic forms of Histoplasma capsulatum in a sample ob-tained by scrapping of the skin lesion and stained with a rapid modification of the Grocott technique.The AIDS patient was treated with cream contained corticoids and antifungal and antibacterial antibiotics by an erroneous diagnosis.Once the etiologic diagnosis was achieved,oral itraconazol was administrated at the daily dose of 400 mg during at least six months.These non habitual forms described in the literature as"aberrant variants", can be interpreted as an"adaptive phenomenon"of this termodimorphic fungal specie,as response of the eco-logic alterations produced by antibiotic on the local antagonic bacterial microbiota,the deleterous activity of antifungal on the fungal cells and the local inmunodepression produced by the corticoids.
Kristian J Carlson
Full Text Available Joint surfaces of limb bones are loaded in compression by reaction forces generated from body weight and musculotendon complexes bridging them. In general, joints of eutherian mammals have regions of high radiodensity subchondral bone that are better at resisting compressive forces than low radiodensity subchondral bone. Identifying similar form-function relationships between subchondral radiodensity distribution and joint load distribution within the marsupial postcranium, in addition to providing a richer understanding of marsupial functional morphology, can serve as a phylogenetic control in evaluating analogous relationships within eutherian mammals. Where commonalities are established across phylogenetic borders, unifying principles in mammalian physiology, morphology, and behavior can be identified. Here, we assess subchondral radiodensity patterns in distal tibiae of several marsupial taxa characterized by different habitual activities (e.g., locomotion. Computed tomography scanning, maximum intensity projection maps, and pixel counting were used to quantify radiodensity in 41 distal tibiae of bipedal (5 species, arboreal quadrupedal (4 species, and terrestrial quadrupedal (5 species marsupials. Bipeds (Macropus and Wallabia exhibit more expansive areas of high radiodensity in the distal tibia than arboreal (Dendrolagus, Phascolarctos, and Trichosurus or terrestrial quadrupeds (Sarcophilus, Thylacinus, Lasiorhinus, and Vombatus, which may reflect the former carrying body weight only through the hind limbs. Arboreal quadrupeds exhibit smallest areas of high radiodensity, though they differ non-significantly from terrestrial quadrupeds. This could indicate slightly more compliant gaits by arboreal quadrupeds compared to terrestrial quadrupeds. The observed radiodensity patterns in marsupial tibiae, though their statistical differences disappear when controlling for phylogeny, corroborate previously documented patterns in primates and
G C Sahoo
Full Text Available Introduction : Mobile phone usage is widespread and concerns have been raised on the safety of its long-term usage. The electromagnetic fields emitted from mobile can penetrate skull and deposit energy 4-6 cm into the brain resulting in heating of the tissue. In this study, we explore a possible relationship between prolonged mobile phone usage and sensorineural deafness. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a medical college situated in rural India. A total of 100 persons between the age group of 20-45years using mobile phone for at least 5 years are selected and screened for sensorineural deafness. Use of cellular phones was assessed by a questionnaire. Mean number of daily calls and minutes were asked for to calculate the cumulative use in hours for all years. The most frequently used ear during cellular phone calls was noted, or whether both ears were used equally. Otoscopic examinations were performed by an otolaryngologist before testing in order to rule out any external or middle ear pathology that could affect audiometric measurements. The hearing levels of subjects were tested using pure tone audiometry. Results : One hundred subjects who are habitual mobile phone users were screened by pure tone audiometry. It is found that the prevalence of sensorineural deafness was 3% and there is a linear relationship between the duration of mobile phone use and the degree of the severity of deafness. Conclusion : The prevalence of sensorineural deafness in our study in habitual mobile users is 3%. It is not clearly known whether mobile phone use is the direct cause of deafness in these subjects but the absence of other causes might point towards its etiological role.
Turcio, Karina Helga Leal; Zuim, Paulo Renato Junqueira; Guiotti, Aimée Maria; Dos Santos, Daniela Micheline; Goiato, Marcelo Coelho; Brandini, Daniela Atili
To compare electrical activity in the anterior temporal and masseter muscles on the habitual (HMS) and non-habitual mastication side (NHMS), during mastication and in the mandibular postural position. In addition, the increase in electrical activity during mastication was assessed for the HMS and NHMS, analysing both working (WSM) and non-working side during mastication (NWSM). A total of 28 healthy women (18-32 years) participated in the study. They were submitted to Kazazoglu's test to identify the HMS. Bioresearch 'Bio EMG' software and bipolar surface electrodes were used in the exams. The exams were conducted in the postural position and during the unilateral mastication of raisins, on both the HMS and NHMS. The working and non-working side on HMS and NHMS were assessed separately. The obtained data were then statistically analysed with SPSS 20.0, using the Paired Samples Test at a significance level of 95%. The differences in the average EMG values between HMS and NHMS were not statistically significant in the postural position (Temporal p=0.2; Masseter p=0.4) or during mastication (Temporal WSM p=0.8; Temporal NWSM p=0.8; Masseter WSM p=0.6; Masseter NWSM p=0.2). Differences in the increase in electrical activity between the masseter and temporal muscles occurred on the working side, on the HMS and NHMS (p=0.0), but not on the non-working side: HMS (p=0.9) and NHMS (p=0.3). The increase in electrical activity was about 35% higher in the masseter than in the temporal muscle. Mastication side preference does not significantly impact electrical activity of the anterior temporal and masseter muscles during mastication or in postural position. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Habituation is a form of nonassociative learning observed in a variety of species of animals. Arguably, it is the simplest form of learning. Nonetheless, the ability to habituate to certain stimuli implies plastic neural systems and adaptive behaviors. This paper describes how computational models of habituation can be applied to real robots. In particular, we discuss the problem of the oscillatory movements observed when a Khepera robot navigates through narrow hallways using a biologically inspired neurocontroller. Results show that habituation to the proximity of the walls can lead to smoother navigation. Habituation to sensory stimulation to the sides of the robot does not interfere with the robot's ability to turn at dead ends and to avoid obstacles outside the hallway. This paper shows that simple biological mechanisms of learning can be adapted to achieve better performance in real mobile robots.
Lee, Hsin-Ping; Liu, Yu-Chen; Lin, Mei-Feng
Undergraduate students face tremendous stressors from learning, interpersonal relationships, and life. Stress may cause adaptation exhaustion and stress-related disorders. While the results of recent clinical studies indicate that music interventions may alleviate stress, there is a dearth of research exploring the discrete effects of various genres of music on psycho-physiological status. To explore the effects of listening to different genres of music on the psycho-physiological responses of undergraduates. A one-group, pretest-posttest design was used. A total of 122 undergraduates were assigned to the following four music subgroups according to their musical preference: joyful, tense, sad, and peaceful. Students in each subgroup listened to the self-selected music for 15 minutes during the experiment. A physiological data acquisition systems, the State Anxiety Inventory, and the Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety and depression were used to measure the psycho-physiological responses of participants before, during, and after music listening. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0. Results: Depression significantly decreased in the peaceful music group compared to the sad music group after the intervention. Further, significant differences in heart rate variability were identified during the intervention among the groups. The change in low frequency (LF) in the joyful music group was lower than the other three groups; the change in high frequency (HF) in the peaceful music group was lower than in the tension and joyful music groups; and the change in LF/HF in the peaceful music group was lower than in the sad and joyful music groups. Additionally, the subsamples with high state anxiety experienced more change in HF while listening to tense music than to peaceful music, reflecting an upward trend after listening for 10 minutes. The findings indicate that listening to different genres of music induces different psycho-physiological
Ana Maria Cervato
Full Text Available INTRODUÇÃO: Estudo descritivo por amostragem em munícípio do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, em 1990, com objetivo de analisar, mediante entrevistas domiciliares, a dieta habitual e fatores de risco para doenças cardiovasculares em indivíduos maiores de 20 anos. METODOLOGIA: Foram entrevistados 557 indivíduos, de idade entre 20 e 88 anos, que fazem parte de subamostra de um estudo global na região. A dieta habitual, identificada pelo histórico alimentar foi comparada às recomendações da OMS e os fatores de risco estudados (obesidade, dislipidemias, diabetes melito diagnosticados pelo Índice de Massa Corpórea e dosagens bioquímicas. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÕES: Observou-se que 60% da população consome dieta com energia total abaixo da estimativa das necessidades e que a contribuição calórica dos carboidratos foi de 56%, dos lipídios de 29% e das proteínas de 15%. Entretanto, na análise por percentil, a contribuição calórica dos lipídios e das proteínas encontra-se muito acima dos padrões recomendados em detrimento dos carboidratos. A energia, distribuição calórica e quantidade de colesterol foi adequada em apenas 5% das dietas. Dentre os fatores de risco para doenças cardiovasculares estudados observou-se a prevalência de obesidade em 38% dos indivíduos, de dislipidemias em 26% e de diabetes melito em 5%. A atividade física leve preponderante com dieta inadequada, tanto em termos de qualitativos quanto quantitativos, agravam ainda mais esse quadro.INTRODUCTION: A survey by sampling in a county of the State of S. Paulo in 1990 sought, by means of home interviews, to analyse the habitual diet and risk factors for cardiovascular disease of people over 20 years of age. METHODOLOGY: Of the sub-specimen of a comprehensive study population, 557 individuals, aged between 20 and 88, were interviewed. The habitual diet, characterized by the dietary history, was compared with the recommendations on energy and nutrients of the
Avery, Suzanne N; Blackford, Jennifer Urbano
Neural habituation allows familiar information to be ignored in favor of salient or novel stimuli. In contrast, failure to rapidly habituate likely reflects deficits in the ability to learn that an environment is predictable, familiar and safe. Differences in habituation rate may underlie individual differences in the tendency to approach or avoid novelty; however, many questions remain unanswered. Given the importance of adaptive social functioning, here we tested whether habituation differences to social stimuli are associated with differences in social fearfulness, a trait that ranges from low social fear-the adaptive tendency to approach novel social stimuli-to high social fear-the maladaptive tendency to avoid novel social stimuli. Higher social fearfulness was associated with slower habituation across regions of the social brain, including the hippocampus, amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, medial orbitofrontal cortex, fusiform face area, primary visual cortex, and extrastriate visual cortex. Interestingly, habituation differences were driven by sustained amygdala-visual cortex interactions, but not deficient amygdala-prefrontal cortex interactions. Together, these findings provide evidence that a failure to filter social stimuli is associated with a key social trait. In light of the link between social fear and dysfunction, individual differences in habituation may provide an important neurobiological marker for risk for psychiatric illness, such as social anxiety disorder.
Araki, Makoto; Hasegawa, Takuya; Komatsuda, Shohei; Nagayama, Toshiki
Strong stimuli applied to the tailfan of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii evoked lateral giant interneurone (LG)-mediated tailflips. When the sensory stimulus was applied repeatedly, the response of the LG habituated until it failed to give rise to a spike. We found that this LG-flip habituation was dependent on social status. With a short interstimulus interval of 5 s, the rate of habituation of the LG in both socially dominant and subordinate crayfish was lower than that in socially isolated animals. By contrast, with a long interstimulus interval of 60 s, the rate of habituation of subordinate animals was lower than that of both socially isolated and dominant animals. The excitability of the LGs following habituation was also dependent on social status. Following habituation, the spike response of LGs recovered within several minutes; however, they showed significant depression with a decrease in excitability. With a 5 or 60 s interstimulus interval, subordinate animals showed longer delays of depression compared with dominant animals. A decrease in the rate of habituation and a delay of depression in subordinate crayfish would be advantageous for maintaining an active escape response to evade repeated attacks of dominant animals and a reduced learning ability to adapt to social status.
Bell, Alison M.; Peeke, Harman V.S.
Habituation, or the relatively permanent waning of a response as a result of repeated stimulation, is a form of behavioural plasticity that allows animals to filter out irrelevant stimuli and to focus selectively on important stimuli. Individuals that fail to habituate might be at a disadvantage if they continue to respond to irrelevant stimuli; therefore, habituation can have adaptive significance. In this study we compared rates of behaviour over time toward three different ecologically-relevant stimuli (food, a male intruder and a gravid female) in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We detected evidence for habituation to the stimuli, and males in this study were especially aggressive toward both male and female conspecifics. Although there were some clear temporal patterns that could be detected by looking at average behaviour, not all individuals behaved in the same ‘average’ way. We detected substantial inter-individual variation in behaviour toward all three stimuli, inter-individual variation in rates of habituation to both male and female conspecifics, but no evidence for correlations between behaviours across stimuli (behavioural syndromes). These results suggest that individual animals vary in rates of habituation, and prompt hypotheses about the causes and consequences of variation in rates of habituation. PMID:25678715
Chan, Kevin K S; Mak, Winnie W S
As habitual self-stigma can have a tremendous negative impact on people with mental illness, it is of paramount importance to identify its risk factors. The present study aims to examine the potential contributory role of attentional bias in habitual self-stigma. People with mental illness having strong (n = 47) and weak (n = 47) habitual self-stigma completed a computerized emotional Stroop task which included stigma-related, positive, and non-affective words as stimuli. The strong habit group was found to exhibit faster color-naming of stigma-related words (compared to non-affective words), whereas the weak habit group showed no difference in the speed of response to different stimuli. These findings suggest that people with stronger habitual self-stigma may be more able to ignore the semantic meaning of stigma-related words and focus on the color-naming task. Moreover, people with stronger habitual self-stigma may have greater attentional avoidance of stigma-related material. The present study is the first to demonstrate a specific relationship between habitual self-stigma and biased processing of stigma-related information. In order to further determine the role and the nature of attentional bias in habitual self-stigma, future research should employ a broader range of experimental paradigms and measurement techniques to examine stigma-related attentional bias in people with mental illness.
Ardiel, Evan L.; Yu, Alex J.; Giles, Andrew C.; Rankin, Catharine H.
Habituation is a non-associative form of learning characterized by a decremented response to repeated stimulation. It is typically framed as a process of selective attention, allowing animals to ignore irrelevant stimuli in order to free up limited cognitive resources. However, habituation can also occur to threatening and toxic stimuli, suggesting that habituation may serve other functions. Here we took advantage of a high-throughput Caenorhabditis elegans learning assay to investigate habituation to noxious stimuli. Using real-time computer vision software for automated behavioral tracking and optogenetics for controlled activation of a polymodal nociceptor, ASH, we found that neuropeptides mediated habituation and performed an RNAi screen to identify candidate receptors. Through subsequent mutant analysis and cell-type-specific gene expression, we found that pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) neuropeptides function redundantly to promote habituation via PDFR-1-mediated cAMP signaling in both neurons and muscles. Behavioral analysis during learning acquisition suggests that response habituation and sensitization of locomotion are parts of a shifting behavioral strategy orchestrated by pigment dispersing factor signaling to promote dispersal away from repeated aversive stimuli.
Smith, Bruce W; Tooley, Erin M; Montague, Erica Q; Robinson, Amanda E; Cosper, Cynthia J; Mullins, Paul G
The purpose of this study was to examine differences in habituation to heat and cold pain in women with fibromyalgia (FM; n=33) and in women who were healthy controls (HC; n=44). Quantitative sensory testing (QST) was used to assess pain thresholds during five consecutive trials of ascending heat and descending cold stimulation. Anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain during the previous week were assessed using self-report measures. The overall hypotheses were that there would be differences between groups in pain thresholds and in the rate of habituation to heat and cold pain stimuli. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypotheses. There were large overall differences in pain thresholds, with the FM group showing greater sensitivity to heat and cold pain stimuli compared with the HC group. While habituation occurred in both of the groups for heat pain, the HC group had stronger habituation across trials than the FM group. Conversely, while the HC group habituated to cold pain stimuli, the FM group showed sensitization and had decreased cold pain thresholds across trials (they felt cold pain at higher temperatures). In addition, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain were related to decreased heat and cold pain thresholds in the overall sample. However, when group was controlled, none of these variables were related to thresholds or rates of habituation or sensitization. The differences between women with FM and healthy women in habituation and sensitization may have important implications for the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of FM and other chronic pain conditions.
Blanch, Angel; Aluja, Anton; Blanco, Eduardo; Balada, Ferran
The habituation of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) was examined concerning individual differences in sensitivity to punishment (PUN) and sensitivity to reward (REW), within the general framework of the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality. Two hypotheses derived from the RST were evaluated: the separable subsystems hypothesis and the joint subsystems hypothesis. In addition, we examined the direction of the relationship of PUN and REW with the habituation of the ASR. A habituation segment of electromyography recordings of the orbicularis oculi was assessed with an unconditional latent curve model. In accordance with the RST hypotheses, the relationship of PUN and REW on the habituation process was assessed with two conditional latent curve models. There was higher support for the separable subsystems hypothesis. In addition, PUN and REW related with the habituation trajectory of the ASR in the expected directions. Higher levels of PUN and lower levels of REW related with a slower habituation of the ASR, whereas lower levels of PUN and higher levels of REW related with a faster habituation of the ASR.
Full Text Available Abstract Background Habitual snoring, a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, is an important indicator for a number of health problems in children. Compared to adults, large epidemiological studies on childhood habitual snoring and associated predisposing factors are extremely scarce. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of habitual snoring among Chinese school-aged children. Methods A random sample of 20,152 children aged 5.08 to 11.99 years old participated in a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted in eight cities of China. Parent-administrated questionnaires were used to collect information on children's snoring frequency and the possible correlates. Results The prevalence of habitual snoring was 12.0% (14.5% for boys vs. 9.5% for girls in our sampled children. Following factors were associated with an increased risk for habitual snoring: lower family income (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.46, lower father's education (OR = 1.38 and 1.14 for middle school or under and high school of educational level, respectively, breastfeeding duration Conclusion The prevalence of habitual snoring in Chinese children was similar to that observed in other countries. The potential predisposing factors covered socioeconomic characteristics, environmental exposures, chronic health problems, and family susceptibility. Compared to socioeconomic status and family susceptibility, environmental exposures and chronic health problems had greater impact, indicating childhood habitual snoring could be partly prevented by health promotion and environmental intervention.
Barker, Jacqueline M; Taylor, Jane R
The transition from goal-directed actions to habitual ethanol seeking models the development of addictive behavior that characterizes alcohol use disorders. The progression to habitual ethanol-seeking behavior occurs more rapidly than for natural rewards, suggesting that ethanol may act on habit circuit to drive the loss of behavioral flexibility. This review will highlight recent research that has focused on the formation and expression of habitual ethanol seeking, and the commonalities and distinctions between ethanol and natural reward-seeking habits, with the goal of highlighting important, understudied research areas that we believe will lead toward the development of novel treatment and prevention strategies for uncontrolled drinking. PMID:25193245
Tuzin, P S; Evdokimov, A V; Iznak, A F; Chaianov, N V
There has been studied application of a complex approach to development of automated ways to gain contactless psychophysiological correction of functional status and improvement of performance of working up operators. The psychophysiological support of operator consisted in combined presentation of functional music, surf noise and pulsed dynamic green lighting under a special program built-up on the principle of biological feedback of heart and respiration rates. The individually adaptable audio and visual pulses on the programme showed a rather high efficiency as was confirmed by the change in the set of psychophysiological indices (heart rate, arterial pressure, cutaneogalvanic reaction, accommodation volume, critical rate of flicker fusion, electroencephalogram), and subjective SAM (self-feeling, activity, mood) estimates in the course of extended operator's activity.
Fleming, N; Walters, J; Grounds, J; Fife, L; Finch, A
The aim of this study was to examine the immediate effects of barefoot (BF) running on lower limb kinematics and muscle activity in a group of habitually shod runners. Ten male runners with no prior BF or minimalist running experience performed 1-min bouts of treadmill running at 3 velocities in both shod and BF conditions. 2D video data were recorded in order to quantify ankle, knee and hip kinematics. Synchronous kinetic data were recorded from a force plate supporting the treadmill in order to quantify spatiotemporal variables. EMG data were collected from 6 lower limb muscles, quantifying recruitment patterns during discrete phases of the gait cycle. BF running resulted in significantly higher stride frequency and shorter ground contact times (P < .001). Additionally, BF running significantly reduced knee and hip range of motion but increased ankle range of motion during the absorptive phase of the stance. Alterations in ankle kinematics during BF running resulted from increased pre-activation of the medial (P < .05) and lateral (P < .01) gastrocnemius in addition to reductions in pre-activation of the tibialis anterior (P < .05). The results highlight that recruitment patterns and kinematics can change in as little as 30-s of BF running in individuals with no previous BF running experience.
Ariel, Robert; Al-Harthy, Ibrahim S; Was, Christopher A; Dunlosky, John
Item order can bias learners' study decisions and undermine the use of more effective allocation strategies, such as allocating study time to items in one's region of proximal learning. In two experiments, we evaluated whether the influence of item order on study decisions reflects habitual responding based on a reading bias. We manipulated the order in which relatively easy, moderately difficult, and difficult items were presented from left to right on a computer screen and examined selection preference as a function of item order and item difficulty. Experiment 1a was conducted with native Arabic readers and in Arabic, and Experiment 1b was conducted with native English readers and in English. Students from both cultures prioritized items for study in the reading order of their native language: Arabic readers selected items for study in a right-to-left fashion, whereas English readers largely selected items from left to right. In Experiment 2, native English readers completed the same task as participants in Experiment 1b, but for some participants, lines of text were rotated upside down to encourage them to read from right to left. Participants who read upside-down text were more likely to first select items on the right side of an array than were participants who studied right-side-up text. These results indicate that reading habits can bias learners' study decisions and can undermine agenda-based regulation.
Gęsiarz, Filip; Crockett, Molly J
Although prosocial behaviors have been widely studied across disciplines, the mechanisms underlying them are not fully understood. Evidence from psychology, biology and economics suggests that prosocial behaviors can be driven by a variety of seemingly opposing factors: altruism or egoism, intuition or deliberation, inborn instincts or learned dispositions, and utility derived from actions or their outcomes. Here we propose a framework inspired by research on reinforcement learning and decision making that links these processes and explains characteristics of prosocial behaviors in different contexts. More specifically, we suggest that prosocial behaviors inherit features of up to three decision-making systems employed to choose between self- and other- regarding acts: a goal-directed system that selects actions based on their predicted consequences, a habitual system that selects actions based on their reinforcement history, and a Pavlovian system that emits reflexive responses based on evolutionarily prescribed priors. This framework, initially described in the field of cognitive neuroscience and machine learning, provides insight into the potential neural circuits and computations shaping prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, it identifies specific conditions in which each of these three systems should dominate and promote other- or self- regarding behavior.
Bönigk, Mareike; Steffgen, Georges
Organizational change is a particularly emotional event for those being confronted with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees' habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change. It was explored whether anger reactions conducive to recovering or increasing individual well-being will enhance the likelihood of functional change behavior. Dysfunctional regulation strategies in terms of individual well-being are expected to decrease the likelihood of functional change behavior-mediated by the commitment to change. Four hundred and twelve employees of different organizations in Luxembourg undergoing organizational change participated in the study. Findings indicate that the anger regulation strategy venting, and humor increase the likelihood of deviant resistance to change. Downplaying the incident's negative impact and feedback increase the likelihood of active support for change. The mediating effect of commitment to change has been found for humor and submission. The empirical findings suggest that a differentiated conceptualization of resistance to change is required. Specific implications for practical change management and for future research are discussed.
Johanna M Geleijnse
Full Text Available Johanna M GeleijnseDivision of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, The NetherlandsAbstract: This paper summarizes the current epidemiological evidence on coffee consumption in relation to blood pressure (BP and risk of hypertension. Data from crosssectional studies suggest an inverse linear or U-shaped association of habitual coffee use with BP in different populations. Prospective studies suggest a protective effect of high coffee intake (4 or more cups per day against hypertension, mainly in women. Furthermore, the risk of hypertension may be lower in coffee abstainers. Randomized controlled trials, which are mostly of short duration (1–12 weeks, have shown that coffee intake around 5 cups per day causes a small elevation in BP (∼2/1 mmHg when compared to abstinence or use of decaffeinated coffee. With regard to underlying biological mechanisms, most research has been devoted to BP-raising effects of caffeine. However, there are many other substances in coffee, such as polyphenols, soluble fi bre and potassium, which could exert a beneficial effect in the cardiovascular system. Although the precise nature of the relation between coffee and BP is still unclear, most evidence suggests that regular intake of caffeinated coffee does not increase the risk of hypertension.
Gaissmaier, Wolfgang; Wilke, Andreas; Scheibehenne, Benjamin; McCanney, Paige; Barrett, H Clark
Why do people gamble? A large body of research suggests that cognitive distortions play an important role in pathological gambling. Many of these distortions are specific cases of a more general misperception of randomness, specifically of an illusory perception of patterns in random sequences. In this article, we provide further evidence for the assumption that gamblers are particularly prone to perceiving illusory patterns. In particular, we compared habitual gamblers to a matched sample of community members with regard to how much they exhibit the choice anomaly 'probability matching'. Probability matching describes the tendency to match response proportions to outcome probabilities when predicting binary outcomes. It leads to a lower expected accuracy than the maximizing strategy of predicting the most likely event on each trial. Previous research has shown that an illusory perception of patterns in random sequences fuels probability matching. So does impulsivity, which is also reported to be higher in gamblers. We therefore hypothesized that gamblers will exhibit more probability matching than non-gamblers, which was confirmed in a controlled laboratory experiment. Additionally, gamblers scored much lower than community members on the cognitive reflection task, which indicates higher impulsivity. This difference could account for the difference in probability matching between the samples. These results suggest that gamblers are more willing to bet impulsively on perceived illusory patterns.
Bönigk, Mareike; Steffgen, Georges
Organizational change is a particularly emotional event for those being confronted with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees’ habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change. It was explored whether anger reactions conducive to recovering or increasing individual well-being will enhance the likelihood of functional change behavior. Dysfunctional regulation strategies in terms of individual well-being are expected to decrease the likelihood of functional change behavior—mediated by the commitment to change. Four hundred and twelve employees of different organizations in Luxembourg undergoing organizational change participated in the study. Findings indicate that the anger regulation strategy venting, and humor increase the likelihood of deviant resistance to change. Downplaying the incident’s negative impact and feedback increase the likelihood of active support for change. The mediating effect of commitment to change has been found for humor and submission. The empirical findings suggest that a differentiated conceptualization of resistance to change is required. Specific implications for practical change management and for future research are discussed. PMID:24287849
Full Text Available Although prosocial behaviors have been widely studied across disciplines, the mechanisms underlying them are not fully understood. Evidence from psychology, biology and economics suggests that prosocial behaviors can be driven by a variety of seemingly opposing factors: altruism or egoism, intuition or deliberation, inborn instincts or learned dispositions, and utility derived from actions or their outcomes. Here we propose a framework inspired by research on reinforcement learning and decision making that links these processes and explains characteristics of prosocial behaviors in different contexts. More specifically, we suggest that prosocial behaviors inherit features of up to three decision-making systems employed to choose between self- and other- regarding acts: a goal-directed system that selects actions based on their predicted consequences, a habitual system that selects actions based on their reinforcement history, and a Pavlovian system that emits reflexive responses based on evolutionarily prescribed priors. This framework, initially described in the field of cognitive neuroscience and machine learning, provides insight into the potential neural circuits and computations shaping prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, it identifies specific conditions in which each of these three systems should dominate and promote other- or self- regarding behavior.
Full Text Available Organizational change is a particularly emotional event for those being confronted with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees’ habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change. It was explored whether anger reactions conducive to recovering or increasing individual well-being will enhance the likelihood of functional change behavior. Dysfunctional regulation strategies in terms of individual well-being are expected to decrease the likelihood of functional change behavior—mediated by the commitment to change. Four hundred and twelve employees of different organizations in Luxembourg undergoing organizational change participated in the study. Findings indicate that the anger regulation strategy venting, and humor increase the likelihood of deviant resistance to change. Downplaying the incident’s negative impact and feedback increase the likelihood of active support for change. The mediating effect of commitment to change has been found for humor and submission. The empirical findings suggest that a differentiated conceptualization of resistance to change is required. Specific implications for practical change management and for future research are discussed.
Full Text Available Currently the problem of students’ professional development and the formation of their future work readiness with account for their psychological peculiarities is very actual. Our reference to the point is determined by several factors: 1 contemporary students have difficulties in their professional identity formation, and in curriculum learning; 2 the new specialities are appear; 3 technical progress influences the human potential demands changes and specialities learning; existing psychograms grow obsolete; 4 the attitude system of different educational profiles students’ is not studied sufficiently, and there not enough computer based psychodiagnostic research methods (techniques. Relevant personality attitude’s system research is still carried out introspectively, or else with the help of socio-psychological methods that significantly limit the research perspectives. The aim of this article is to analyse the results of psychological and psychophysiological research of the contents and extent of the humanitarian and technical profiles students’ attitude system. We have organized an experimental research in two stages: St-Petersburg universities students’ questionnaire; and laboratory research on the base of psychophysiological testing laboratory. We have worked out and tested psychological computer methods for different profiles students’ attitude system research: associative experiment version and the technology “Psychomotor differential”. We present here the results of the different profiles students’ attitude system research: their needs, instincts, psychological defence influencing profession learning. Besides, we have analysed differences in the temperament and students’ common and non-verbal intelligence level. With the help of authentic versions of the instrumental- computer methods we have received objective differences of the needs system and psychophysiological parameters of the motivation and emotional component
Chen, Hsin-Ji; Chen, Tsung-Ying; Huang, Chiung-Yu; Hsieh, Yuan-Mei; Lai, Hui-Ling
The present authors examined the effects of listening to music on psychophysiological parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate) during preoperative and postoperative days and determined whether listening to music could lower pain intensity and opioid dosage during postoperative days in patients who underwent total knee replacements. This was a two group repeated measures design for 30 subjects aged 53-85 years who were scheduled for total knee replacement. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a music group or a control group. Psychophysiological parameters were obtained from patients' monitors. A visual analog scale was used to assess postoperative pain. Opioid dosage was recorded and converted to standardized units. Mann-Whitney U-test and generalized estimating equation analysis were used to compare groups. Respiratory rates while in the surgical waiting area were lower for the music group than for the control group (P = 0.02). There was no significant difference between these groups for blood pressure, heart rate, pain intensity, or opioid dosage. However, a within-group comparison showed that systolic blood pressure in the music group was significantly and consistently decreased during postoperative recovery (Wald = 9.21, P = 0.007). These results suggest that listening to music stabilized systolic blood pressure in patients during postoperative recovery. However, the effects of music on psychophysiological parameters, pain intensity, and opioid dosage in a surgical setting require further research. © 2015 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2015 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.
Tulen, J. H. M.; Kumar, A.; Jurriëns, A. A.
The relation between the physical characteristics of sound and an individual's perception of its as annoyance is complex and unclear. Sleep disturbance by sound is manifested in the physiological responses to the sound stimuli and the quality of sleep perceived in the morning. Both may result in deterioration of functioning during wakefulness. Therefore, psychophysiological responses to noise during sleep should be studied for the evaluation of the efficacy of sound insulation. Nocturnal sleep and indoor sound level were recorded in the homes of 12 subjects living along a highway with high traffic density. Double glazing sound insulation was used to create two experimental conditions: low insulation and high insulation. Twenty recordings were made per subject, ten recordings in each condition. During the nights with low insulation the quality of sleep was so low that both performance and mood were negatively affected. The enhancement of sound insulation was not effective enough to increase the restorative effects of sleep. The transient and peaky characteristics of traffic sound were also found to result in non-adaptive physiological responses during sleep. Sound insulation did have an effect on noise peak characteristics such as peak level, peak duration and slope. However, the number of sound peaks were found to be the same in both conditions. The relation of these sound peaks detected in the indoor recorded sound level signal to characteristics of passing vehicles was established, indicating that the sound peaks causing the psychophysiological disturbances during sleep were generated by the passing vehicles. Evidence is presented to show that the reduction in sound level is not a good measure of efficacy of sound insulation. The parameters of the sound peaks, as described in this paper, are a better representation of psychophysiological efficacy of sound insulation.
Farmer, A D; Coen, S J; Kano, M; Naqvi, H; Paine, P A; Scott, S M; Furlong, P L; Lightman, S L; Knowles, C H; Aziz, Q
Despite chronic pain being a feature of functional chest pain (FCP) its experience is variable. The factors responsible for this variability remain unresolved. We aimed to address these knowledge gaps, hypothesizing that the psychophysiological profiles of FCP patients will be distinct from healthy subjects. 20 Rome III defined FCP patients (nine males, mean age 38.7 years, range 28-59 years) and 20 healthy age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls (nine males, mean 38.2 years, range 24-49) had anxiety, depression, and personality traits measured. Subjects had sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system parameters measured at baseline and continuously thereafter. Subjects received standardized somatic (nail bed pressure) and visceral (esophageal balloon distension) stimuli to pain tolerance. Venous blood was sampled for cortisol at baseline, post somatic pain and post visceral pain. Patients had higher neuroticism, state and trait anxiety, and depression scores but lower extroversion scores vs controls (all p visceral stimulus (p = 0.009) and had a higher cortisol at baseline, and following pain (all p pain they increased their parasympathetic tone (p ≤ 0.008). The amalgamating the data, we identified two psychophysiologically distinct 'pain clusters'. Patients were overrepresented in the cluster characterized by high neuroticism, trait anxiety, baseline cortisol, pain hypersensitivity, and parasympathetic response to pain (all p < 0.03). In future, such delineations in FCP populations may facilitate individualization of treatment based on psychophysiological profiling. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Garner, Tom Alexander; Grimshaw, Mark
The potential value of a looping biometric feedback system as a key component of adaptive computer video games is significant. Psychophysiological measures are essential to the development of an automated emotion recognition program, capable of interpreting physiological data into models of affect...... and systematically altering the game environment in response. This article presents empirical data the analysis of which advocates electrodermal activity and electromyography as suitable physiological measures to work effectively within a computer video game-based biometric feedback loop, within which sound...
Bond, DS; Raynor, HA; McCaffery, JM; Wing, RR
Objective Research shows that slower habituation of salivary responses to food stimuli is related to greater energy intake and that obese (Ob) individuals habituate slower than those of normal weight (NW). No study has examined habituation rates in weight loss maintainers (WLMs) who have reduced from obese to normal weight, relative to those who are Ob or NW. Design Salivation to two baseline water trials and 10 lemon-flavored lollipop trials were studied in 14 WLMs, 15 Ob and 18 NW individuals comparable in age, gender and ethnicity. Linear mixed models were used to compare WLMs with Ob and NW groups. Results Salivation in the WLM and NW groups decreased significantly (for both P obesity, and show quicker habituation than those who are currently obese. These results suggest that physiological responses to food may ‘normalize’ with successful weight loss maintenance. PMID:20010900
de Tommaso, Marina; Libro, Giuseppe; Guido, Marco; Losito, Luciana; Lamberti, Paolo; Livrea, Paolo
A reduced habituation of averaged laser-evoked potential (LEP) amplitudes was previously found in migraine patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the habituation of single LEP responses and pain sensation during the interictal phase in migraine patients. Fourteen migraine patients were compared with ten control subjects. The pain stimulus was laser pulses, generated by CO2 laser, delivered to right supraorbital zone. Patients were evaluated during attack-free conditions. The LEP habituation was studied by measuring the changes of LEP amplitudes across and within three consecutive repetitions of 21 non-averaged trials. In migraine patients the N2-P2 wave amplitudes did not show a tendency toward habituation across and, above all, within the three repetitions. Anomalous behaviour of nociceptive cortex during the interictal phase of migraine may predispose patients to headache occurrence and persistence.
Stocker, Andrea; Mosler, Hans‐Joachim
.... Second, based on the Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, and Self‐regulation (RANAS) Model of behavior, the study aimed to determine which sociopsychological factors should be influenced by an intervention to promote habitual cleaning. In a cross...
Andrea Stocker; Hans-Joachim Mosler
.... Second, based on the Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, and Self-regulation (RANAS) Model of behavior, the study aimed to determine which sociopsychological factors should be influenced by an intervention to promote habitual cleaning...
Valeriani, M; de Tommaso, M; Restuccia, D; Le Pera, D; Guido, M; Iannetti, G D; Libro, G; Truini, A; Di Trapani, G; Puca, F; Tonali, P; Cruccu, G
The habituation to sensory stimuli of different modalities is reduced in migraine patients. However, the habituation to pain has never been evaluated. Our aim was to assess the nociceptive pathway function and the habituation to experimental pain in patients with migraine. Scalp potentials were evoked by CO(2) laser stimulation (laser evoked potentials, LEPs) of the hand and facial skin in 24 patients with migraine without aura (MO), 19 patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH), and 28 control subjects (CS). The habituation was studied by measuring the changes of LEP amplitudes across three consecutive repetitions of 30 trials each (the repetitions lasted 5 min and were separated by 5-min intervals). The slope of the regression line between LEP amplitude and number of repetitions was taken as an index of habituation. The LEPs consisted of middle-latency, low-amplitude responses (N1, contralateral temporal region, and P1, frontal region) followed by a late, high-amplitude, negative-positive complex (N2/P2, vertex). The latency and amplitude of these responses were similar in both patients and controls. While CS and CTTH patients showed a significant habituation of the N2/P2 response, in MO patients this LEP component did not develop any habituation at all after face stimulation and showed a significantly lower habituation than in CS after hand stimulation. The habituation index of the vertex N2/P2 complex exceeded the normal limits in 13 out of the 24 MO patients and in none of the 19 CTTH patients (P<0.0001; Fisher's exact test). Moreover, while the N1-P1 amplitude showed a significant habituation in CS after hand stimulation, it did not change across repetitions in MO patients. In conclusion, no functional impairment of the nociceptive pathways, including the trigeminal pathways, was found in either MO or CTTH patients. But patients with migraine had a reduced habituation, which probably reflects an abnormal excitability of the cortical areas involved in
Cohen, H.; Cohen, B.; Raphan, T.; Waespe, W.
We habituated the dominant time constant of the horizontal vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys by repeated testing with steps of velocity about a vertical axis and adapted the gain of the VOR by altering visual input with magnifying and reducing lenses. After baseline values were established, the nodulus and ventral uvula of the vestibulocerebellum were ablated in two monkeys, and the effects of nodulouvulectomy and flocculectomy on VOR gain adaptation and habituation were compared. The VOR time constant decreased with repeated testing, rapidly at first and more slowly thereafter. The gain of the VOR was unaffected. Massed trials were more effective than distributed trials in producing habituation. Regardless of the schedule of testing, the VOR time constant never fell below the time constant of the semicircular canals (approximately 5 s). This finding indicates that only the slow component of the vestibular response, the component produced by velocity storage, was habituated. In agreement with this, the time constant of optokinetic after-nystagmus (OKAN) was habituated concurrently with the VOR. Average values for VOR habituation were obtained on a per session basis for six animals. The VOR gain was adapted by natural head movements in partially habituated monkeys while they wore x 2.2 magnifying or x 0.5 reducing lenses. Adaptation occurred rapidly and reached about +/- 30%, similar to values obtained using forced rotation. VOR gain adaptation did not cause additional habituation of the time constant. When the VOR gain was reduced in animals with a long VOR time constant, there were overshoots in eye velocity that peaked at about 6-8 s after the onset or end of constant-velocity rotation. These overshoots occurred at times when the velocity storage integrator would have been maximally activated by semicircular canal input. Since the activity generated in the canals is not altered by visual adaptation, this finding indicates that the gain
Kedzior, Karina K.; Wehmann, Eileen; Martin-Iverson, Mathew
Background Cannabis use is associated with an attention-dependent deficit in prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI). The aim of the current study was to investigate startle habituation in cannabis users and healthy controls during two attentional tasks. Methods Auditory startle reflex was recorded from orbicularis oculi muscle while participants (12 controls and 16 regular cannabis users) were either attending to or ignoring 100 dB startling pulses. Startle habituation was measured a...
Kedzior, Karina K; Wehmann, Eileen; Martin-Iverson, Mathew
Cannabis use is associated with an attention-dependent deficit in prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI). The aim of the current study was to investigate startle habituation in cannabis users and healthy controls during two attentional tasks. Auditory startle reflex was recorded from orbicularis oculi muscle while participants (12 controls and 16 regular cannabis users) were either attending to or ignoring 100 dB startling pulses. Startle habituation was measured as the absolute reduction in startle magnitude on block 2 (last nine trials) vs. block 1 (first nine trials). Startle habituation with moderate effect sizes was observed in controls and cannabis users only while they were ignoring the startling pulses but not while they were attending to them. Similar results were also observed in controls (lifetime non-users of cannabis) and cannabis users with lifetime cannabis use disorders (CUD). Startle habituation appears to depend on selective attention but not on cannabis use. Startle habituation was present when attention was directed away from auditory startling pulses in healthy controls and cannabis users. Such a similar pattern of results in both groups suggests that at least a trend exists towards presence of startle habituation regardless of cannabis use or CUD in otherwise healthy members of the general population.
Buonfiglio, Marzia; Toscano, M; Puledda, F; Avanzini, G; Di Clemente, L; Di Sabato, F; Di Piero, V
Habituation is considered one of the most basic mechanisms of learning. Habituation deficit to several sensory stimulations has been defined as a trait of migraine brain and also observed in other disorders. On the other hand, analytic information processing style is characterized by the habit of continually evaluating stimuli and it has been associated with migraine. We investigated a possible correlation between lack of habituation of evoked visual potentials and analytic cognitive style in healthy subjects. According to Sternberg-Wagner self-assessment inventory, 15 healthy volunteers (HV) with high analytic score and 15 HV with high global score were recruited. Both groups underwent visual evoked potentials recordings after psychological evaluation. We observed significant lack of habituation in analytical individuals compared to global group. In conclusion, a reduced habituation of visual evoked potentials has been observed in analytic subjects. Our results suggest that further research should be undertaken regarding the relationship between analytic cognitive style and lack of habituation in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
Full Text Available This study aimed to assess total energy expenditure (TEE and specific habitual physical activities in adolescent sprint athletes. Two methods used to estimate TEE, an activity diary (AD and SenseWear armband (SWA, were compared. Sixteen athletes (6 girls, 10 boys, mean age 16.5 ± 1.6 yr simultaneously wore a SWA and completed an AD and food diary during one week. Basal energy expenditure as given by the SWA when taken off was corrected for the appropriate MET value using the AD. TEE as estimated by the AD and SWA was comparable (3196 ± 590 kcal and 3012 ± 518 kcal, p = 0.113 without day-to-day variations in TEE and energy expended in activities of high intensity. Daily energy intake (2569 ± 508 kcal did not match TEE according to both the AD and SWA (respectively p < 0.001 and p = 0.007. Athletes were in a supine position for a longer time on weekend days than on week days and slept longer on Sundays. Athletes reported a longer time of high-intensive physical activities in the AD than registered by the SWA on 4 out of 7 days. In addition to specific sprint activities on 3 to 7 days per week, 11 out of 16 athletes actively commuted to school where they participated in sports once or twice per week. The AD and the SWA are comparable in the estimation of TEE, which appears realistic and sustainable. The SWA offers an appropriate and objective method in the assessment of TEE, sleeping and resting in adolescent athletes on the condition that detailed information is given for the times the armband is not worn. The AD offers activity specific information but relies on the motivation, compliance and subjectivity of the individual, especially considering high-intensive intermittent training
de Tommaso, M; Guido, M; Libro, G; Losito, L; Difruscolo, O; Sardaro, M; Puca, F M
The aim was to study mismatch negativity features and habituation during the interictal phase of migraine. In migraine patients, a strong negative correlation has been found between the initial amplitude of long latency auditory-evoked potentials and their amplitude increase during subsequent averaging. We studied 12 outpatients with a diagnosis of migraine without aura recorded in a headache-free interval and 10 gender- and age-matched healthy volunteers not suffering from any recurrent headache. The experiment consisted of two sequential blocks of 2000 stimulations, during which 1800 (90%) recordings for standard tones and 200 (10%) for target tones were selected for averaging. The latency of the N1 component was significantly increased in migraine patients in respect of controls in both the first and second repetitions; the MMN latency was increased in the second repetition. In the control group the MMN amplitude decreased on average by 3.2 +/- 1.4 microV in the second trial, whereas in migraine patients it showed a slight increase of 0.21 +/- 0.11 microV in the second repetition. The MMN latency relieved in the second trial was significantly correlated with the duration of illness in the migraine patients (Spearman correlation coefficient: 0.69; P < 0.05). The increases in N1 latency and MMN latency and amplitude, the latter correlated with duration of illness, seemed to be due to a reduced anticipatory effect of stimulus repetition in migraine patients. This suggests that such hypo-activity of automatic cortical processes, subtending the discrimination of acoustic stimuli, may be a basic abnormality in migraine, developing in the course of the disease.
Full Text Available Foot morphology and function has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researchers and footwear manufacturers. In this study, 168 habitually unshod runners (90 males whose age, weight & height were 23±2.4 years, 66±7.1 kg & 1.68±0.13 m and 78 females whose age, weight & height were 22±1.8 years, 55±4.7 kg & 1.6±0.11 m (Indians and 196 shod runners (130 males whose age, weight & height were 24±2.6 years, 66±8.2 kg & 1.72±0.18 m and 66 females whose age, weight & height were 23±1.5 years, 54±5.6 kg & 1.62±0.15 m (Chinese participated in a foot scanning test using the easy-foot-scan (a three-dimensional foot scanning system to obtain 3D foot surface data and 2D footprint imaging. Foot length, foot width, hallux angle and minimal distance from hallux to second toe were calculated to analyze foot morphological differences. This study found that significant differences exist between groups (shod Chinese and unshod Indians for foot length (female p = 0.001, width (female p = 0.001, hallux angle (male and female p = 0.001 and the minimal distance (male and female p = 0.001 from hallux to second toe. This study suggests that significant differences in morphology between different ethnicities could be considered for future investigation of locomotion biomechanics characteristics between ethnicities and inform last shape and design so as to reduce injury risks and poor performance from mal-fit shoes.
Stevenson, Richard J
There are 3 motivations for studying the psychological correlates of habitual diet. First, diet is a major but modifiable cause of morbidity and mortality, and dietary interventions could be improved by knowing the psychological characteristics of consumers of healthy/unhealthy diets. Second, animal studies indicate that diet can impair cognition, stress responsiveness, and affective processing, but it is unclear whether this also happens in humans. Third, certain psychological traits are associated with obesity, but it is not known whether these precede and thus contribute to weight gain. Although many psychological correlates of diet have been identified, the literature is highly dispersed, and there has been no previous comprehensive narrative review. Organized here by psychological domain, studies linking diet with individual differences in perception, cognition, impulsivity, personality, affective processing, mental health, and attitudes, beliefs and values-in healthy adults-are reviewed. Although there is a growing literature on the psychological correlates of fruit/vegetable intake-the core of a healthy diet-consumers of unhealthy diets have characteristics that probably make them less responsive to education-based interventions. Diet may be a causal contributor to depression, and diet is consistently linked to impulsivity and certain personality traits. There are inconsistent and less explored links to perceptual, affective and cognitive processes, with several emerging parallels to the animal literature. Impulsivity and personality traits common to obese individuals also occur in lean consumers of unhealthy diets, suggesting these may contribute to weight gain. Diet-psychology correlates remain understudied even though this could significantly benefit human health. (PsycINFO Database Record
Studer, Regina Katharina; Danuser, Brigitta; Wild, Pascal; Hildebrandt, Horst; Gomez, Patrick
The present study provides a comprehensive view of (a) the time dynamics of the psychophysiological responding in performing music students (n = 66) before, during, and after a private and a public performance and (b) the moderating effect of music performance anxiety (MPA). Heart rate (HR), minute ventilation (VE), and all affective and somatic self-report variables increased in the public session compared to the private session. Furthermore, the activation of all variables was stronger during the performances than before or after. Differences between phases were larger in the public than in the private session for HR, VE, total breath duration, anxiety, and trembling. Furthermore, while higher MPA scores were associated with higher scores and with larger changes between sessions and phases for self-reports, this association was less coherent for physiological variables. Finally, self-reported intra-individual performance improvements or deteriorations were not associated with MPA. This study makes a novel contribution by showing how the presence of an audience influences low- and high-anxious musicians' psychophysiological responding before, during and after performing. Overall, the findings are more consistent with models of anxiety that emphasize the importance of cognitive rather than physiological factors in MPA.
Rapp, Paul E; Rosenberg, Brenna M; Keyser, David O; Nathan, Dominic; Toruno, Kevin M; Cellucci, Christopher J; Albano, Alfonso M; Wylie, Scott A; Gibson, Douglas; Gilpin, Adele M K; Bashore, Theodore R
Psychophysiological investigations of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are being conducted for several reasons, including the objective of learning more about the underlying physiological mechanisms of the pathological processes that can be initiated by a head injury. Additional goals include the development of objective physiologically based measures that can be used to monitor the response to treatment and to identify minimally symptomatic individuals who are at risk of delayed-onset neuropsychiatric disorders following injury. Research programs studying TBI search for relationships between psychophysiological measures, particularly ERP (event-related potential) component properties (e.g., timing, amplitude, scalp distribution), and a participant's clinical condition. Moreover, the complex relationships between brain injury and psychiatric disorders are receiving increased research attention, and ERP technologies are making contributions to this effort. This review has two objectives supporting such research efforts. The first is to review evidence indicating that TBI is a significant risk factor for post-injury neuropsychiatric disorders. The second objective is to introduce ERP researchers who are not familiar with neuropsychiatric assessment to the instruments that are available for characterizing TBI, post-concussion syndrome, and psychiatric disorders. Specific recommendations within this very large literature are made. We have proceeded on the assumption that, as is typically the case in an ERP laboratory, the investigators are not clinically qualified and that they will not have access to participant medical records.
Full Text Available The features of functioning of organism of sportswomen are studied in the dynamics of menstrual cycle and the changes of the psychophysiological state of sportswomen are investigational in each of phases of menstrual cycle. In research took part 35 highly skilled sportswomen - fighters in age 18-29 years. The questionnaire of sportswomen is conducted with the purpose of determination of age, sporting qualification, terms and state of flowing of menstrual cycle on the questionnaire of N.V. Svechnikova in modification of L.G. Shakhlina. The results of own researches of the psychophysiological state of sportswomen of high qualification are presented. Recommendations are resulted for trainers on application of pedagogical influences, which are directed on the increase of psychical firmness, overcoming of the physical and emotional loadings of sportswomen in the premenstrual, menstrual and ovarian phases of cycle. It is recommended to pick up the adequate loadings taking into account the phase of menstrual cycle, because of decline of capacity and change in the psychoemotional state of sportswomen.
Janssen, Erick; Goodrich, David; Petrocelli, John V; Bancroft, John
The past few years have seen an increased awareness of the relevance of studying the role of sexual response, emotion, and traits such as sensation seeking and the propensity for sexual inhibition in risky sexual behavior. The current study examined the association between self-reported sexual risk taking and psychophysiological response patterns in 76 heterosexual and homosexual men. Measures included genital, electrodermal, startle eyeblink, and cardiovascular responses, and stimuli included threatening (depicting coercive sexual interactions) and nonthreatening (depicting consensual sexual interactions) sexual film excerpts. Sexual risk taking was hypothesized to be associated with decreased inhibition of sexual arousal and hyporeactive affective and autonomic responses to threatening sexual stimuli. Controlling for age and number of sexual partners in the past year, sexual risk taking (number of partners during the past 3 years with whom no condoms were used) was found to be associated with stronger genital responses and smaller eyeblink responses to both threatening and nonthreatening sexual stimuli. Correlations between genital and subjective sexual arousal were relatively low. Sexual risk taking was related to sensation seeking but not to the propensity for sexual inhibition. The findings suggest that risky sexual behavior may involve a role for psychophysiological mechanisms that are specific to sex as well as for ones that are associated with more general approach/avoidance response tendencies.
Full Text Available Subjective and psychophysiological emotional responses to music from two different cultures were compared within these two cultures. Two identical experiments were conducted: the first in the Congolese rainforest with an isolated population of Mbenzélé Pygmies without any exposure to Western music and culture, the second with a group of Western music listeners, with no experience with Congolese music. Forty Pygmies and 40 Canadians listened in pairs to 19 music excerpts of 29 to 99 seconds in duration in random order (8 from the Pygmy population and 11 Western instrumental excerpts. For both groups, emotion components were continuously measured: subjective feeling (using a two- dimensional valence and arousal rating interface, peripheral physiological activation, and facial expression. While Pygmy music was rated as positive and arousing by Pygmies, ratings of Western music by Westerners covered the range from arousing to calming and from positive to negative. Comparing psychophysiological responses to emotional qualities of Pygmy music across participant groups showed no similarities. However, Western stimuli, rated as high and low arousing by Canadians, created similar responses in both participant groups (with high arousal associated with increases in subjective and physiological activation. Several low-level acoustical features of the music presented (tempo, pitch, and timbre were shown to affect subjective and physiological arousal similarly in both cultures. Results suggest that while the subjective dimension of emotional valence might be mediated by cultural learning, changes in arousal might involve a more basic, universal response to low-level acoustical characteristics of music.
van Hedger, Kathryne; Necka, Elizabeth A; Barakzai, Anam K; Norman, Greg J
Time perception is a fundamental component of everyday life. Although time can be measured using standard units, the relationship between an individual's experience of perceived time and a standard unit is highly sensitive to context. Stressful and threatening stimuli have been previously shown to produce time distortion effects, such that individuals perceive the stimuli as lasting for different amounts of time as compared to a standard unit. As a highly social species, humans are acutely sensitive to social stressors; however, time distortion effects have not been studied in the context of social stress. We collected psychophysiological (electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography) and time perception data before, during, and after a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test for 42 participants. Based on prior theories and evidence from the time perception literature, we hypothesized that experiencing a stressful event would result in time distortion. This hypothesis was supported by the data, with individuals on average reproducing short and long duration negative and positive stimuli as lasting longer after experiencing social stress, t(41) = -3.55, p = .001, and t(41) = -4.12, p social stress. These findings are in line with some other studies of time distortion, and provide evidence for the interoceptive salience model of time perception. Implications for mechanisms of time distortion are discussed. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.
Joussain, Pauline; Ferdenzi, Camille; Djordjevic, Jelena; Bensafi, Moustafa
Psychophysiological responses to disgusting and pleasant smells are one of the most important aspects of olfaction. These emotional signals can constitute an alert against toxic substances, and they may play a major role in food selection and nutritional intake. The aim of this study was to test this hypothesis by examining whether individual physiological responses to odors could predict the subject's nutritional status. Because aging is associated with changes in emotional response to smells, we also examined how aging affects the relationship between olfaction and nutrition. Twenty young and 20 old participants perceived a series of odorants while their psychophysiological responses were simultaneously measured, and completed the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire. Regression between individual correlation coefficients (r-values between odor perceptual ratings and physiological parameters) and individual MNA scores revealed that appropriateness of the physiological responses to aversive odors predicted nutritional status (R2 = 0.22, P nutritional status. Furthermore, this relationship was significant in old (R2 = 0.45, P 0.44). Taken together, preserved functioning of somatic markers in response to odors during normal aging is associated with better nutritional status, and may facilitate healthier food selection. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: email@example.com.
Paul E. Rapp
Full Text Available Psychophysiological investigations of traumatic brain injury (TBI are being conducted for several reasons, including the objective of learning more about the underlying physiological mechanisms of the pathological processes that can be initiated by a head injury. Additional goals include the development of objective physiologically based measures that can be used to monitor the response to treatment and to identify minimally symptomatic individuals who are at risk of delayed onset neuropsychiatric disorders following injury. Research programs studying TBI search for relationships between psychophysiological measures, particularly ERP component properties (e.g. timing, amplitude, scalp distribution, and a participant’s clinical condition. Moreover, the complex relationships between brain injury and psychiatric disorders are receiving increased research attention, and ERP technologies are making contributions to this effort. This review has two objectives supporting such research efforts. The first is to review evidence indicating that traumatic brain injury is a significant risk factor for post-injury neuropsychiatric disorders. The second objective is to introduce ERP researchers who are not familiar with neuropsychiatric assessment to the instruments that are available for characterizing traumatic brain injury, post-concussion syndrome, and psychiatric disorders. Specific recommendations within this very large literature are made. We have proceeded on the assumption that, as is typically the case in an ERP laboratory, the investigators are not clinically qualified and that they will not have access to participant medical records.
Gonzalez-Gadea, Maria Luz; Scheres, Anouk; Tobon, Carlos Andres; Damm, Juliane; Baez, Sandra; Huepe, David; Marino, Julian; Marder, Sandra; Manes, Facundo; Abrevaya, Sofia; Ibanez, Agustin
Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children's main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children's avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old) with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C) which included options with varying long-term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children's preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control.
Full Text Available The research goal is to determine risk factors of periodontal disease development, psychophysiological personal types and their interrelations in clinically healthy persons. 47 first-year cadets of St.-Petersburg Military School of radio electronics have been examined. This group of respondents has been chosen by presence of such social stressor as change of place of living (97,9% cadets have arrived in St.-Petersburg from other cities and republics of the Russian Federation and strict disciplinary conditions. The research has revealed a low level of oral hygiene, cases of mild gingivitis in most respondents. The general mental state of group under study is characterized by raised level of personal anxiety and low indices of reactive anxiety. The examined group has demonstrated anxiety, tension, indecision and lowered stress stability. Clinically healthy persons are more liable to develop inflammatory and inflammatory-destructive periodontal diseases. It was possible to determine psychophysiological features correlated with physiological parameters of risk degree of periodontal diseases. It may have a great significance in defining of periodontal disease etiology and pathogenesis
Egermann, Hauke; Fernando, Nathalie; Chuen, Lorraine; McAdams, Stephen
Subjective and psychophysiological emotional responses to music from two different cultures were compared within these two cultures. Two identical experiments were conducted: the first in the Congolese rainforest with an isolated population of Mebenzélé Pygmies without any exposure to Western music and culture, the second with a group of Western music listeners, with no experience with Congolese music. Forty Pygmies and 40 Canadians listened in pairs to 19 music excerpts of 29–99 s in duration in random order (eight from the Pygmy population and 11 Western instrumental excerpts). For both groups, emotion components were continuously measured: subjective feeling (using a two- dimensional valence and arousal rating interface), peripheral physiological activation, and facial expression. While Pygmy music was rated as positive and arousing by Pygmies, ratings of Western music by Westerners covered the range from arousing to calming and from positive to negative. Comparing psychophysiological responses to emotional qualities of Pygmy music across participant groups showed no similarities. However, Western stimuli, rated as high and low arousing by Canadians, created similar responses in both participant groups (with high arousal associated with increases in subjective and physiological activation). Several low-level acoustical features of the music presented (tempo, pitch, and timbre) were shown to affect subjective and physiological arousal similarly in both cultures. Results suggest that while the subjective dimension of emotional valence might be mediated by cultural learning, changes in arousal might involve a more basic, universal response to low-level acoustical characteristics of music. PMID:25620935
Maria Luz Gonzalez-Gadea
Full Text Available Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children's main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children's avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C which included options with varying long-term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children's preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control.
Lee, Nick; Chamberlain, Laura
Although organizational research has made tremendous strides in the last century, recent advances in neuroscience and the imaging of functional brain activity remain underused. In fact, even the use of well-established psychophysiological measurement tools is comparatively rare. Following the lead of social cognitive neuroscience, in this review, we conceptualize organizational cognitive neuroscience as a field dedicated to exploring the processes within the brain that underlie or influence human decisions, behaviors, and interactions either (a) within organizations or (b) in response to organizational manifestations or institutions. We discuss organizational cognitive neuroscience, bringing together work that may previously have been characterized rather atomistically, and provide a brief overview of individual methods that may be of use. Subsequently, we discuss the possible convergence and integration of the different neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement modalities. A brief review of prior work in the field shows a significant need for a more coherent and theory-driven approach to organizational cognitive neuroscience. In response, we discuss a recent example of such work, along with three hypothetical case studies that exemplify the link between organizational and psychological theory and neuroscientific methods.
Full Text Available Purpose : The style of the fight is one of the important factors that affect the quality of the arts in boxing. Particularly important factor in the modern boxing are the mental processes that are involved in forecasting and analyzing the situation that arises in the ring and are associated with cognitive functions. Purpose - to examine the psychophysiological state and a special performance for skilled boxers with different styles of input match. Material : 22 highly qualification boxer aged 18-23 years were studies. The absolute and the relative strength of serial and single strikes were studied. Definition of special performance and power strokes performed on a special simulator. Recorded the absolute and relative strength of serial and single strikes. Results : The results show that the attacking style of the fight in boxing is accompanied by the presence of a high level of efficiency, reduction of fatigue, anxiety, and depending on the condition of vegetative functions. Showed a reduction in the growth of autonomy and heteronomy in the structure of psycho-physiological state of boxers with the attacking style of the fight, which indicates the presence of compromise and avoidance of external failures. Conclusions : Boxers with attacking style of fight characterized by high values of the left side impact forces and reduce the values of the right direct strike force, compared with boxers protective style of fight.
Javier Carrascosa González
Full Text Available International successions have often raised controversies for Private International Law. This paper deals with the general ground of jurisdiction of the deceased’s last habitual residence. In this field, the flexible, fluid and changing concept of the last “habitual residence” of the deceased needs an appropriate interpretation both for academics and for the practitioners of Private International Law. However, this essay holds that the liquidity of the concept “habitual residence” of the deceased may be an advantage to grant international jurisdiction on the courts which are best placed to rule on the merits of the case. Moreover, this paper sustains that a careful and holistic interpretation of the text of the Regulation and a proper analysis of the function of this ground of international jurisdiction leads to a surprising conclusion, i.e., the concept of the “habitual residence” is not as complex and difficult to specify as, at first glance, it might appear.
de Jonge, Peter; Rosmalen, Judith G. M.; Kema, Ido P.; Doornbos, Bennard; van Melle, Joost P.; Pouwer, Francois; Kupper, Nina
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of affairs on psychophysiological factors that may explain the link between depression and adverse outcome in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Factors discussed include heart rate variability, inflammation, platelet function,
Wijker, W.; van der Molen, M.W.; Molenaar, P.C.M.; Maarsse, F.J.; Mulder, L.J.M.
Discusses an experimental psychophysiological set-up using the Keithley System 570 Data Acquisition Workstation. Keithley System consists of hardware and software components which are capable of dealing with most of the demands required in experimental psychology. Reviews the hardware and software o
Laar, M. van de; Pevernagie, D.; Mierlo, P. van; Overeem, S.
Cognitive behavioral treatment is the gold standard treatment for insomnia, although a substantial group does not respond. We examined possible predictors for treatment outcome in psychophysiological insomniacs, with a focus on the presence of clearly defined psychiatric comorbidity. This was a long
de Jonge, Peter; Rosmalen, Judith G. M.; Kema, Ido P.; Doornbos, Bennard; van Melle, Joost P.; Pouwer, Francois; Kupper, Nina
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of affairs on psychophysiological factors that may explain the link between depression and adverse outcome in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Factors discussed include heart rate variability, inflammation, platelet function, hypotha
T. Ya. Abramova
Full Text Available Abstract. Possible interactions between psychophysiological and immunological parameters are documented in healthy persons and bronchial asthma patients, as based on our own data and other sources. A role of functional asymmetry of brain is regarded as a basic phenomenon determining main features of psychical activity, as well as functions of autonomous nervous system and immunological activity.
Laar, M. van de; Pevernagie, D.; Mierlo, P. van; Overeem, S.
Cognitive behavioral treatment is the gold standard treatment for insomnia, although a substantial group does not respond. We examined possible predictors for treatment outcome in psychophysiological insomniacs, with a focus on the presence of clearly defined psychiatric comorbidity. This was a long
Brez, Caitlin C.; Colombo, John
Behavioral indices (e.g., infant looking) are predominantly used in studies of infant cognition, but psychophysiological measures have been increasingly integrated into common infant paradigms. The current study reports a result in which behavioral measures and physiological measures were both incorporated in a task designed to study infant number…
Aerenhouts, Dirk; Zinzen, Evert; Clarys, Peter
This study aimed to assess total energy expenditure (TEE) and specific habitual physical activities in adolescent sprint athletes. Two methods used to estimate TEE, an activity diary (AD) and SenseWear armband (SWA), were compared. Sixteen athletes (6 girls, 10 boys, mean age 16.5 ± 1.6 yr) simultaneously wore a SWA and completed an AD and food diary during one week. Basal energy expenditure as given by the SWA when taken off was corrected for the appropriate MET value using the AD. TEE as estimated by the AD and SWA was comparable (3196 ± 590 kcal and 3012 ± 518 kcal, p = 0.113) without day-to-day variations in TEE and energy expended in activities of high intensity. Daily energy intake (2569 ± 508 kcal) did not match TEE according to both the AD and SWA (respectively p < 0.001 and p = 0.007). Athletes were in a supine position for a longer time on weekend days than on week days and slept longer on Sundays. Athletes reported a longer time of high-intensive physical activities in the AD than registered by the SWA on 4 out of 7 days. In addition to specific sprint activities on 3 to 7 days per week, 11 out of 16 athletes actively commuted to school where they participated in sports once or twice per week. The AD and the SWA are comparable in the estimation of TEE, which appears realistic and sustainable. The SWA offers an appropriate and objective method in the assessment of TEE, sleeping and resting in adolescent athletes on the condition that detailed information is given for the times the armband is not worn. The AD offers activity specific information but relies on the motivation, compliance and subjectivity of the individual, especially considering high-intensive intermittent training. Key pointsThe activity diary and Sensewear armband provide comparable estimates of TEE in adolescent sprint athletes.A high inter-individual variation was observed in time spent in high-intensity physical activities, advocating an individual based assessment when coaching
Grippo, Karen P; Hill, Melanie S
This study examined the influence of feminist attitudes on self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in middle age and older women. The participants were 138 European American heterosexual women ranging in age from 40 to 87 years old. Consistent with previous research, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring were positively correlated with body dissatisfaction and, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring remained stable across the lifespan. While age did not moderate the relationship between self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, age was found to moderate the relationship between habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction such that the relationship was smaller for older women than for middle-aged women. Interestingly, feminist attitudes were not significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, or habitual body monitoring, and endorsement of feminist attitudes was not found to moderate the relationship between self-objectification or habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction. Potential implications for older women are discussed.
Pace-Schott, Edward F; Tracy, Lauren E; Rubin, Zoe; Mollica, Adrian G; Ellenbogen, Jeffrey M; Bianchi, Matt T; Milad, Mohammed R; Pitman, Roger K; Orr, Scott P
Within-session habituation and extinction learning co-occur as do subsequent consolidation of habituation (i.e., between-session habituation) and extinction memory. We sought to determine whether, as we predicted: (1) between-session habituation is greater across a night of sleep versus a day awake; (2) time-of-day accounts for differences; (3) between-session habituation predicts consolidation of extinction memory; (4) sleep predicts between-session habituation and/or extinction memory. Participants (N = 28) completed 4-5 sessions alternating between mornings and evenings over 3 successive days (2 nights) with session 1 in either the morning (N = 13) or evening (N = 15). Twelve participants underwent laboratory polysomnography. During 4 sessions, participants completed a loud-tone habituation protocol, while skin conductance response (SCR), blink startle electromyography (EMG), heart-rate acceleration and heart-rate deceleration (HRD) were recorded. For sessions 1 and 2, between-session habituation of EMG, SCR and HRD was greater across sleep. SCR and HRD were generally lower in the morning. Between-session habituation of SCR for sessions 1 and 2 was positively related to intervening (first night) slow wave sleep. In the evening before night 2, participants also underwent fear conditioning and extinction learning phases of a second protocol. Extinction recall was tested the following morning. Extinction recall was predicted only by between-session habituation of SCR across the same night (second night) and by intervening REM. We conclude that: (1) sleep augments between-session habituation, as does morning testing; (2) extinction recall is predicted by concurrent between-session habituation; and (3) both phenomena may be influenced by sleep.
Baglan, Hugo; Lazzari, Claudio; Guerrieri, Fernando
In spite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti being a vector of several infectious diseases, a limited number of studies has been undertaken on learning in this species. Moreover, larval stages have been neglected as model organisms, although they are active, aquatic and perform stereotyped behavioural responses, e.g. the escape response when disturbed. To study the learning abilities of mosquito larvae, we focused on habituation, a form of non-associative learning widely studied in vertebrates and invertebrates. Habituation was defined as the progressive and reversible decrease in response to a reiterative stimulus. We first aimed at confirming habituation of the escape response in mosquito larvae (4th instar). Then, we determined whether a mnesic trace was established. Larvae were individually stimulated with a visual danger stimulus inducing the escape response. We set up a protocol for testing larvae individually, allowing the control of different parameters that are crucial for the study of cognitive abilities. After 15 trials, the escape response of mosquitoes was significantly lower. A disturbance stimulus presented after the 15th trial, induced the escape response and reversed habituation. Retention was confirmed up to 1h after the last habituation trial. This original bioassay can be adapted for studying the physiology of learning and memory in mosquito larvae, for analysing the effects of chemicals in the water, the characterisation of the cognitive abilities related to the life history of different mosquito species across preimaginal stages. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chen, Yang; Kimelman, Mikael D Z; Micco, Katie
This study is designed to compare the habitual pitch measured in two different speech activities (free play activity and traditionally used structured speech activity) for normally developing preschool-aged children to explore to what extent preschoolers vary their vocal pitch among different speech environments. Habitual pitch measurements were conducted for 10 normally developing children (2 boys, 8 girls) between the ages of 31 months and 71 months during two different activities: (1) free play; and (2) structured speech. Speech samples were recorded using a throat microphone connected with a wireless transmitter in both activities. The habitual pitch (in Hz) was measured for all collected speech samples by using voice analysis software (Real-Time Pitch). Significantly higher habitual pitch is found during free play in contrast to structured speech activities. In addition, there is no showing of significant difference of habitual pitch elicited across a variety of structured speech activities. Findings suggest that the vocal usage of preschoolers appears to be more effortful during free play than during structured activities. It is recommended that a comprehensive evaluation for young children's voice needs to be based on the speech/voice samples collected from both free play and structured activities.
Sanderson, David J; Bannerman, David M
Exposure to a spatial location leads to habituation of exploration such that, in a novelty preference test, rodents subsequently prefer exploring a novel location to the familiar location. According to Wagner's (1981) theory of memory, short-term and long-term habituation are caused by separate and sometimes opponent processes. In the present study, this dual-process account of memory was tested. Mice received a series of exposure training trials to a location before receiving a novelty preference test. The novelty preference was greater when tested after a short, rather than a long, interval. In contrast, the novelty preference was weaker when exposure training trials were separated by a short, rather than a long interval. Furthermore, it was found that long-term habituation was determined by the independent effects of the amount of exposure training and the number of exposure training trials when factors such as the intertrial interval and the cumulative intertrial interval were controlled. A final experiment demonstrated that a long-term reduction of exploration could be caused by a negative priming effect due to associations formed during exploration. These results provide evidence against a single-process account of habituation and suggest that spatial habituation is determined by both short-term, recency-based memory and long-term, incrementally strengthened memory.
Full Text Available One investigated application of intuitive thinking, depending on the physiological status of skilled fighters in their competitive activity. In research members of the team of Ukraine in Greco-Roman wrestling participated. 29 effective throws were analysed reverse a capture from position orchestra. One analyzed the effectiveness of intuitive thinking in athletes of different weight categories and the distribution coefficients of correlation of psychophysiological functions of athletes directly in competition during championships of Ukraine, World and Europe. One found that expression of intuitive thinking is associated with weight category of skilled fighters. It is shown that the effectiveness of intuitive thinking in terms of competitive activity is related to physiological state, and, above all qualified wrestlers' neurodynamic functions.
Full Text Available Set the level of neural development, psycho-physiological functions in highly skilled volleyball players. Defined technical and tactical preparedness highly skilled volleyball players in the competitive period of the annual cycle of training. The study involved six masters of sport and 8 candidates for the master of sports. That the quality of play activities and the successful execution of technical elements depend on functional mobility, strength and reactivity of nerve processes, associative thinking, memory and attention. The results, which may have a prognostic value. It is shown that the neurodynamic functions are genetically determined. It is recommended to use them for the initial recruitment and selection stages for sports improvement. The necessity influence the types of thinking, memory and attention in the training process of volleyball players.
Miu, Andrei C; Balteş, Felicia Rodica
This study investigated the effects of voluntarily empathizing with a musical performer (i.e., cognitive empathy) on music-induced emotions and their underlying physiological activity. N = 56 participants watched video-clips of two operatic compositions performed in concerts, with low or high empathy instructions. Heart rate and heart rate variability, skin conductance level (SCL), and respiration rate (RR) were measured during music listening, and music-induced emotions were quantified using the Geneva Emotional Music Scale immediately after music listening. Listening to the aria with sad content in a high empathy condition facilitated the emotion of nostalgia and decreased SCL, in comparison to the low empathy condition. Listening to the song with happy content in a high empathy condition also facilitated the emotion of power and increased RR, in comparison to the low empathy condition. To our knowledge, this study offers the first experimental evidence that cognitive empathy influences emotion psychophysiology during music listening.
Sorokoumov, P. S.; Khabibullin, T. R.; Tolstaya, A. M.
The existing psychological theories associate the movement of a human eye with its reactions to external change: what we see, hear and feel. By analyzing the glance, we can compare the external human response (which shows the behavior of a person), and the natural reaction (that they actually feels). This article describes the complex for detection of visual activity and its application for evaluation of the psycho-physiological state of a person. The glasses with a camera capture all the movements of the human eye in real time. The data recorded by the camera are transmitted to the computer for processing implemented with the help of the software developed by the authors. The result is given in an informative and an understandable report, which can be used for further analysis. The complex shows a high efficiency and stable operation and can be used both, for the pedagogic personnel recruitment and for testing students during the educational process.
expressions show that present facial expression recognition systems are not reliable for recognizing patients’ emotional states especially when they have difficulties with controlling their facial muscles. Regarding future research, the authors believe that the approaches proposed in this thesis may......Recently, computer vision technologies have been used for analysis of human facial video in order to provide a remotely indicator of some crucial psychophysiological parameters such as fatigue, pain, stress and hearthbeat rate. Available contact-based technologies are inconvenient for monitoring...... patients’ physiological signals due to irritating skin and require huge amount of wires to collect and transmitting the signals. While contact-free computer vision techniques not only can be an easy and economical way to overcome this issue, they provide an automatic recognition of the patients’ emotions...
Lopes-Silva, Joao P; Lima-Silva, Adriano E; Bertuzzi, Romulo; Silva-Cavalcante, Marcos D
We examined the effects of listening to music on time to exhaustion and psychophysiological responses during moderate-intensity exercise performed in fatigued and non-fatigued conditions. Fourteen healthy men performed moderate-intensity exercise (60% Wmax) until exhaustion under four different conditions: with and without pre-fatigue (induced by 100 drop jumps) and listening and not listening to music. Time to exhaustion was lower in the fatigued than the non-fatigued condition regardless listening to music. Similarly, RPE was higher in the fatigued than the non-fatigued condition, but music had no effect. On the other hand, listening to music decreased the associative thoughts regardless of fatigue status. Heart rate was not influenced by any treatment. These results suggest that listening to music changes attentional focus but is not able to reverse fatigue-derived alteration of performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Nozawa, Akio; Takei, Yuya
The aim of study was to quantitatively evaluate the effects of self-administered facial massage, which was done by hand or facial roller. In this study, the psychophysiological effects of facial massage were evaluated. The central nerves system and the autonomic nervous system were administered to evaluate physiological system. The central nerves system was assessed by Electroencephalogram (EEG). The autonomic nervous system were assessed by peripheral skin temperature(PST) and heart rate variability (HRV) with spectral analysis. In the spectral analysis of HRV, the high-frequency components (HF) were evaluated. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Profile of Mood Status (POMS) and subjective sensory amount with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were administered to evaluate psychological status. These results suggest that kept brain activity and had strong effects on stress alleviation.
Krivolapchuk, I A; Chernova, M B
Research was spent according to principles of biomedical ethics. Healthy children of 6 years have taken part in him (n = 120). In the course of research the psychophysiological factors defining readiness of children of 6 years to education at school are identified: "selectivity of voluntary attention" (the factor I); "the general working capacity" (the factor II); "a physiological maturity" (the factor III); "sensorimotor coordination of voluntary movement" (the factor IV). Factors I, II, IV correspond with activity of three blocks of the brain allocated with A.R. Lurija within the limits of structurally functional model of work of a brain as a substratum of mental activity. The carried out research has revealed interrelation of some indicators of readiness for education at school with parametres of physical working capacity.
Full Text Available The features of the psychophysiology state of students under influence of employments a physical culture and sport are considered. 50 students took part in research. From them 25 are students of sporting separation. For research of perception tests were utillized on reproducing of muscular efforts and temporal intervals. For research of memory are methods «visual memory» and «auditory memory». For research of attention is a method «proof-reading test with the rings of Landolt». For research thoughts are a method «arithmetic account». The favourable affecting of employments is exposed perception, attention and thought of students. It is set that students-sportsmen have a high level of development of attention, above average level of development of perception and memory, middle level of development of thought.
Full Text Available Psychomotor abilities of the musician are implemented in performing technique and include muscle strength, endurance, speed of movements, coordination, motor memory. The article presents the materials of a theoretical study aimed to identify the level character of the coordination component of psychomotor abilities of musicians formation, to define the psychophysiological mechanisms that contribute to the effective development of musical-performing technique. The process of coordination component of psychomotor abilities of musicians formation reviewed in the light of N.. Bernstein theory on construction of movements, which most fully represents the interrelation of physiological and psychological mechanisms of a man motor activity. On the example of musical- performing activity of trained pianists the processes of intermuscular, spatial, sensory-motor (visual-motor, auditory-motor, tactile-motor coordination formation are reviewed and in general – psychomotor coordination processes involved in musicians performing technique development.
Verney, Steven P; Granholm, Eric; Marshall, Sandra P; Malcarne, Vanessa L; Saccuzzo, Dennis P
Valid assessment with diverse populations requires tools that are not influenced by cultural elements. This study investigated the relationships between culture, information processing efficiency, and general cognitive capacities in samples of Caucasian and Mexican American college students. Consistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis, pupillary responses (indexing mental effort) and detection accuracy scores on a visual backward-masking task were both significantly related to the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Full Scale scores. These measures of information processing efficiency were similar in the two groups. However, they were related only to Caucasian American, but not to a comparable sample of Mexican American, students' WAIS-R scores. Therefore, the differential validity in prediction suggests that the WAIS-R test may contain cultural influences that reduce the validity of the WAIS-R as a measure of cognitive ability for Mexican American students. Information processing and psychophysiological approaches may be helpful in developing culture-fair cognitive ability measures.
A. V. Starkov
Full Text Available The essence of medical and psychological support is a continuous monitoring of functional and mental state of specialists and the system of mental health interventions aimed at maintaining the optimal level of occupational performance. The scientific basis of this direction is the idea of an integrated system of professional psychological and physiological adaptation in normal conditions, in condition of pre-pathology and pathology. Psychophysiological (professional and psychological examination of specialists is an integral part of medical and psychological support, and presents a set of measures aimed at in-depth study of individual psychological characteristics of personality and evaluation of the specialists' organism functional reserves in the process of their occupational duties implementation to determine the conformity of their professionally important qualities to the requirements of specific occupational activity.
Belfi, Amy M; Chen, Kuan-Hua; Schneider, Brett; Tranel, Daniel
Men and women often display different physiological responses to emotional stimuli, and these responses can be affected by brain damage. Here, we investigated how brain damage differentially affects electrodermal responses based on sex. We studied neurologically normal, healthy adults and a sample of neurological patients. Participants listened to music, an emotional stimulus that reliably elicits skin conductance responses (SCRs). Electrodermal activity was recorded while participants listened to musical clips. When analyzing the data without regard to sex, there were no differences between healthy and brain-damaged participants in their SCRs. However, we found a significant interaction between brain injury status and sex. For men, brain damage significantly reduced SCRs. For women, there were no differences between brain-damaged participants and neurologically healthy participants. These findings illustrate the importance of including demographic variables, such as sex, when investigating brain-behavior relationships with a psychophysiological dependent variable.
Full Text Available We provide an overview of foreign and Russian psychophysiological research on the problem of musical abilities of newborns. We discuss aspects of formation of the musical ear (pitch, harmonic, timbre, dynamic and rhythm. As a result, we identified the following auditory abilities of infants: 1. The ability to detect and decay of sound; 2. The ability to automatically detect repetitive sound sequences; 3. The categorization of surrounding sound; and 4. The semantic aspects of musical perception that receive intensive development in the first months of life. The state-of-the-art diagnostic methods, such as optical tomography and magnetoencephalography, allow direct approach to solving the problem of how the musical abilities are formed in early ontogeny
Н. А. Киселева
Full Text Available The article analyzes the psychological and psychophy-siological characteristics of children living in the Children’s Village-SOS and in the Children’s Home. Particular emotional and cognitive areas, self image, creativity, mental stress and neurotic tendencies in orphans and children without parental care are characterized in the article. Age and gender differences in the parameters studied are detected.Purpose. The purpose is to discoverage and gender aspects of the psychological and psychophysiological characteristics of children of orphans and children without parental care living in the Children’s Village-SOS and in the Children’s Home.Methodology. Empirical research of gender particular features of psychic state of alarmness of adopted children with the help of testing.Results. The significant gender differences in terms of phobias and fears were revealed; the significant gender differences on the scale of the emotional content of images were revealed; the study revealed the trends toward significant difference by gender in the manifestation of sleep disorders and autonomic dysfunction;the significant age-related differences in terms of increased anxiety, autonomic dysfunction, eating disorders were revealed.Practical implications. The results are of interest to the science workers of age psychology, gender psychology, social psychology, to the workers of the children’s institutions and to the organizations occupied with medical-social-psychological-pedagogycal maintenance of orphans and children without parental care.Purchase on Elibrary.ru > Buy now
putation of both shins at level in top / 3, late beam buttock, right hip ulcers, a beam cataract of the III degree of both eyes, stabilized. The assessment of the efficiency of psychophysiological adaptation in dynamics with 2009 indicates emergence of prevalence of hypochondriac tendencies over a demonstration with accession of high uneasiness and autistic lines at preservation of the leading role of an hypochondriac somatization of alarm with considerable decrease in an emotionality, an integration, a freedom of behavior. The changes revealed in dynamics correspond to the specific increase weight of violations of mental adaptation, characteristic for the period of adaptation exhaustion. The high intelligence, good figurative and logical thinking, well-mannered forms of behavior, high control over the emotional sphere, restraint of emotions, independence, self-sufficiency, organization, behavior taking into account environment requirements provided the patient M. firmness before a heavy illness, promoted good adaptation to an environment with confidence in myself, high social adaptability, opportunity successfully to carry out duties, hold the work account (worked 39 years after accident. Comparative assessment of operator ability of the patient M. showed good average time of common and difficult sensorimotor reactions with 2 mistakes, high time of reaction for moving object, however decrease in accuracy of reaction from 10-13% to 2% testifies to manifestation in dynamics of insufficiency of real functional reserves of nervous system. Conclusions. Efficiency of psychophysiological adaptation depends not only on a dose of radiation and weight of the transferred disease, but, mostly, on premorbid properties of the identity of the victim and his social and labor installation.
Fiacconi, Chris M; Owen, Adrian M
Despite its pervasiveness in popular culture, there remains much to be learned about the psychological and physiological processes that underlie our experience of humor. In the present study, we examined the temporal profile of verbal humor elicitation using psychophysiological measures of heart rate (HR) and facial electromyography (EMG). Consistent with recent prior research on cardiovascular changes to perceived humor, we found that HR acceleration was greater for jokes relative to non-jokes, and was positively related to the level of perceived humor elicited by these jokes. In addition, activity recorded from the zygomaticus major muscle that controls smiling was found to be greater for jokes relative to non-jokes. To link these physiological changes to the psychological processes that govern humor comprehension, we took the initial inflection point of the zygomatic EMG response as a marker for the onset of humor comprehension, and used this marker to probe the pattern of cardiovascular activity at this time-point. We estimated the onset of the humor response to occur during the initial HR deceleration phase, and found that jokes relative to non-jokes elicited a decreased HR response at this time-point. This result questions the previously forwarded notion that the psychological "moment of insight" that signals the start of the humor response is always associated with heightened cardiovascular activity. This discrepancy is discussed in relation to possible differences in the cognitive processes required to comprehend different forms of humor. At a broader level, our results also demonstrate the advantages of combining different psychophysiological measures to examine psychological phenomena, and illustrate how one such measure can constrain the interpretation of others.
Full Text Available The influence of fragrances such as perfumes and room fresheners on the psychophysiological activities of humans has been known for a long time, and its significance is gradually increasing in the medicinal and cosmetic industries. A fragrance consists of volatile chemicals with a molecular weight of less than 300 Da that humans perceive through the olfactory system. In humans, about 300 active olfactory receptor genes are devoted to detecting thousands of different fragrance molecules through a large family of olfactory receptors of a diverse protein sequence. The sense of smell plays an important role in the physiological effects of mood, stress, and working capacity. Electrophysiological studies have revealed that various fragrances affected spontaneous brain activities and cognitive functions, which are measured by an electroencephalograph (EEG. The EEG is a good temporal measure of responses in the central nervous system and it provides information about the physiological state of the brain both in health and disease. The EEG power spectrum is classified into different frequency bands such as delta (0.5–4 Hz, theta (4–8 Hz, alpha (8–13 Hz, beta (13–30 Hz and gamma (30–50 Hz, and each band is correlated with different features of brain states. A quantitative EEG uses computer software to provide the topographic mapping of the brain activity in frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital brain regions. It is well known that decreases of alpha and beta activities and increases of delta and theta activities are associated with brain pathology and general cognitive decline. In the last few decades, many scientific studies were conducted to investigate the effect of inhalation of aroma on human brain functions. The studies have suggested a significant role for olfactory stimulation in the alteration of cognition, mood, and social behavior. This review aims to evaluate the available literature regarding the influence of fragrances on the
Ong, Jason C; Gramling, Sandra E; Vrana, Scott R; Nicholson, Robert A; Buenaver, Luis F
Despite the advancement of the biopsychosocial model, the interrelationship between behavioral, emotional, and physiological factors in tension-type headache (TTH) remains unclear. Using a picture-viewing paradigm, the present study investigated differences between females with TTH and controls on physiological reactivity, affective valence and arousal, and oral motor habits. In addition, the concordance between EMG activity and self-reported oral habits (i.e., proprioceptive awareness) and EMG activity and self-reported affect (i.e., affective coherence) were measured using within-subject correlations per individual and then compared between groups. Data were analyzed for 27 TTH sufferers and 27 controls who completed a questionnaire packet followed by a psychophysiological assessment consisting of 3 phases (adaptation, scheduled-viewing, recovery) with EMG activity recorded continuously at 3 sites (frontalis, corrugator, zygomatic). During the scheduled-viewing phase, participants were presented with 24 pictures designed to elicit positive, neutral, and negative affect. Compared to controls, the headache group reported elevations in pain, oral habits, and stress across the 3 phases of the assessment, along with elevations in arousal while viewing the pictures. There were no significant differences between the groups in EMG activity while viewing the pictures. Analyses on concordance revealed partial evidence for poor proprioceptive awareness and affective coherence among the headache group, although the correlations were not significantly different than the control group. These findings suggest that arousal, stress perception, and oral habits may play a role in the pathophysiology of TTH and that within-subject designs should be tested further against group designs when measuring psychophysiological concordance.
Full Text Available The main prediction of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH is that observation of humanlike characters that are difficult to distinguish from the human counterpart will evoke a state of negative affect. Well-established electrophysiological (late positive potential [LPP] and facial electromyography [EMG] and self-report (Self-Assessment Manikin; SAM indices of valence and arousal, i.e., the primary orthogonal dimensions of affective experience, were used to test this prediction by examining affective experience in response to categorically ambiguous compared with unambiguous avatar and human faces (N=30. LPP and EMG provided direct psychophysiological indices of affective state during passive observation and the SAM provided self-reported indices of affective state during explicit cognitive evaluation of static facial stimuli. The faces were drawn from well-controlled morph continua representing the UVH’ dimension of human likeness (DHL. The results provide no support for the notion that category ambiguity along the DHL is specifically associated with enhanced experience of negative affect. On the contrary, the LPP and SAM-based measures of arousal and valence indicated a general increase in negative affective state (i.e., enhanced arousal and negative valence with greater morph distance from the human end of the DHL. A second sample (N=30 produced the same finding, using an ad hoc self-rating scale of feelings of familiarity, i.e., an oft-used measure of affective experience along the UVH' familiarity dimension. In conclusion, this multi-method approach using well-validated psychophysiological and self-rating indices of arousal and valence rejects - for passive observation and for explicit affective evaluation of static faces - the main prediction of the UVH.
Raghuveer K Reddy
Full Text Available Habitual dislocation of the patella (HDP is a common presentation in pediatric age unlike adults. Many surgical procedures using proximal realignment and distal realignment have been reported to treat HDP in children with satisfactory results. However, late presentation of habitual patellar dislocation with osteoarthritis is rare and treatment plan has not yet been established. We present a case of neglected iatrogenic habitual patellar dislocation with osteoarthritis in a 50-year-old woman. Two-staged procedure was planned, first with patellar realignment and later with definitive total knee arthroplasty. Quadricepsplasty, medial patello-femoral ligament reconstruction, lateral release and tibial tuberosity transfer was done as primary procedure and total knee arthroplasty, which was planned as secondary procedure, was deferred as the patient improved functionally.
Ciuciu, Ph.; Sockeel, S.; Vincent, T. [NeuroSpin/CEA, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Idier, J. [IRCCyN/CNRS, 1 rue de la Noe 44300 Nantes (France)
In this paper, a novel non-stationary model of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) time series is proposed. It allows us to account for some putative habituation effect arising in event-related fMRI paradigms that involves the so-called repetition-suppression phenomenon and induces decreasing magnitude responses over successive trials. Akin, this model is defined over functionally homogeneous regions-of-interest (ROIs) and embedded in a joint detection-estimation approach of brain activity. Importantly, its non-stationarity character is embodied in the trial-varying nature of the BOLD response magnitude. Habituation and activation maps are then estimated within the Bayesian framework in a fully unsupervised MCMC procedure. On artificial fMRI datasets, we show that habituation effects can be accurately recovered in activating voxels. (authors)
Ardiel, Evan L; Giles, Andrew C; Yu, Alex J; Lindsay, Theodore H; Lockery, Shawn R; Rankin, Catharine H
Habituation is a highly conserved phenomenon that remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Invertebrate model systems, like Caenorhabditis elegans, can be a powerful tool for investigating this fundamental process. Here we established a high-throughput learning assay that used real-time computer vision software for behavioral tracking and optogenetics for stimulation of the C. elegans polymodal nociceptor, ASH. Photoactivation of ASH with ChR2 elicited backward locomotion and repetitive stimulation altered aspects of the response in a manner consistent with habituation. Recording photocurrents in ASH, we observed no evidence for light adaptation of ChR2. Furthermore, we ruled out fatigue by demonstrating that sensory input from the touch cells could dishabituate the ASH avoidance circuit. Food and dopamine signaling slowed habituation downstream from ASH excitation via D1-like dopamine receptor, DOP-4. This assay allows for large-scale genetic and drug screens investigating mechanisms of nociception modulation.
Krahé, Barbara; Möller, Ingrid; Huesmann, L Rowell; Kirwil, Lucyna; Felber, Juliane; Berger, Anja
This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content.
Mira A Preis
Full Text Available Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the actual experience of pain and the perception of another person in pain share common neural substrates, including the bilateral anterior insular cortex and the anterior midcingulate cortex. As many fMRI studies include the exposure of participants to repeated, similar stimuli, we examined whether empathic neural responses were affected by habituation and whether the participants' prior pain experience influenced these habituation effects.In 128 trials (four runs, 62 participants (31 women, 23.0 ± 4.2 years were shown pictures of hands exposed to painful pressure (pain pictures and unexposed (neutral pictures. After each trial, the participants rated the pain of the model. Prior to the experiment, participants were either exposed to the same pain stimulus (pain exposure group or not (touch exposure group. In order to assess possible habituation effects, linear changes in the strength of the BOLD response to the pain pictures (relative to the neutral pictures and in the ratings of the model's pain were evaluated across the four runs.Although the ratings of the model's pain remained constant over time, we found neural habituation in the bilateral anterior/midinsular cortex, the posterior midcingulate extending to dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, the supplementary motor area, the cerebellum, the right inferior parietal lobule, and the left superior frontal gyrus, stretching to the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. The participant's prior pain experience did neither affect their ratings of the model's pain nor their maintenance of BOLD activity in areas associated with empathy. Interestingly, participants with high trait personal distress and fantasy tended to show less habituation in the anterior insula.Neural structures showed a decrease of the BOLD signal, indicating habituation over the course of 45 minutes. This can be interpreted as a neuronal mechanism responding to the repeated exposure to
Mattson, David J.; Blanchard, Bonnie M.; Knight, Richard R.
The Yellowstone grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) population may be extirpated during the next 100-200 years unless mortality rates stabilize and remain at acceptable low levels. Consequently, we analyzed relationships between Yellowstone grizzly bear mortality and frequency of human habituation among bears and size of the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) seed crop. During years of large seed crops, bears used areas within 5 km of roads and 8 km of developments half as intensively as during years of small seed crops because whitebark pine's high elevation distribution is typically remote from human facilities. On average, management trappings of bears were 6.2 times higher, mortality of adult females 2.3 times higher, and mortality of subadult males 3.3 times higher during years of small seed crops. We hypothesize that high mortality of adult females and subadult males during small seed crop years was a consequence of their tendency to range closest (of all sex-age cohorts) to human facilities; they also had a higher frequency of human habituation compared with adult males. We also hypothesize that low morality among subadult females during small seed crop years was a result of fewer energetic stressors compared with adult females and greater familiarity with their range compared with subadult males; mortality was low even though they ranged close to humans and exhibited a high frequency of human habituation. Human-habituated and food-conditioned bears were 2.9 times as likely to range within 4 km of developments and 3.1 times as often killed by humans compared with nonhabituated bears. We argue that destruction of habituated bears that use native foods near humans results in a decline in the overall ability of bears to use available habitat; and that the number and extent of human facilities in occupied grizzly bear habitat needs to be minimized unless habituated bears are preserved and successful ways to manage the associated risks to humans are developed.
Twick, Isabell; Lee, John Anthony; Ramaswami, Mani
A ubiquitous feature of an animal's response to an odorant is that it declines when the odorant is frequently or continuously encountered. This decline in olfactory response, termed olfactory habituation, can have temporally or mechanistically different forms. The neural circuitry of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster's olfactory system is well defined in terms of component cells, which are readily accessible to functional studies and genetic manipulation. This makes it a particularly useful preparation for the investigation of olfactory habituation. In addition, the insect olfactory system shares many architectural and functional similarities with mammalian olfactory systems, suggesting that olfactory mechanisms in insects may be broadly relevant. In this chapter, we discuss the likely mechanisms of olfactory habituation in context of the participating cell types, their connectivity, and their roles in sensory processing. We overview the structure and function of key cell types, the mechanisms that stimulate them, and how they transduce and process odor signals. We then consider how each stage of olfactory processing could potentially contribute to behavioral habituation. After this, we overview a variety of recent mechanistic studies that point to an important role for potentiation of inhibitory synapses in the primary olfactory processing center, the antennal lobe, in driving the reduced response to familiar odorants. Following the discussion of mechanisms for short- and long-term olfactory habituation, we end by considering how these mechanisms may be regulated by neuromodulators, which likely play key roles in the induction, gating, or suppression of habituated behavior, and speculate on the relevance of these processes for other forms of learning and memory.
Cervato Ana Maria; Mazzilli Rosa Nilda; Martins Ignez S.; Marucci Maria de Fátima N.
INTRODUÇÃO: Estudo descritivo por amostragem em munícípio do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, em 1990, com objetivo de analisar, mediante entrevistas domiciliares, a dieta habitual e fatores de risco para doenças cardiovasculares em indivíduos maiores de 20 anos. METODOLOGIA: Foram entrevistados 557 indivíduos, de idade entre 20 e 88 anos, que fazem parte de subamostra de um estudo global na região. A dieta habitual, identificada pelo histórico alimentar foi comparada às recomendações da OMS e os...
Kanehira, Takashi; Takehara, Junji; Takahashi, Dairo; Honda, Okahito; Morita, Manabu
The prevalence of oral malodor and association of habitual mouth breathing with oral malodor were investigated in children residing in rural areas. One hundred and nineteen children participated in this study. A sulfide monitor and organoleptic method were used to evaluate oral malodor. About 8% of children had a sulfide level in mouth air above the socially acceptable limit (75 ppb). Habitual mouth breathing was a factor contributing to oral malodor. Oral malodor was not significantly correlated with plaque index, history of caries or frequency of toothbrushing.
Background Previous studies have demonstrated a profound lack of habituation in 129P3 mice compared to the habituating, but initially more anxious, BALB/c mice. The present study investigated whether this non-adaptive phenotype of 129P3 mice is primarily based on anxiety-related characteristics. Methods To test this hypothesis and extend our knowledge on the behavioural profile of 129P3 mice, the effects of the anxiolyticdiazepam (1, 3 and 5 mg/kg) and the putative anxiolytic metabotropic glu...
Abstract Background Previous studies have demonstrated a profound lack of habituation in 129P3 mice compared to the habituating, but initially more anxious, BALB/c mice. The present study investigated whether this non-adaptive phenotype of 129P3 mice is primarily based on anxiety-related characteristics. Methods To test this hypothesis and extend our knowledge on the behavioural profile of 129P3 mice, the effects of the anxiolyticdiazepam (1, 3 and 5 mg/kg) and the putative anxiolytic metabot...
Full Text Available Purpose: to study dynamic of psycho-physiological indicators of pedagogic higher educational establishments’ girl students. Material: in the research 510 girl students participated. We assessed: responsive abilities, static and dynamic balance, orientation in space, quickness of operational thinking, volume of rote memorization, distribution of attention, accuracy level, quickness and re-switching of attention, accuracy of fulfillment of task. Results: we have found weakening of accuracy of movement’s amplitude and pre-set value of force reproduction; reduction of indicators of response to vertically falling object, static and dynamic balance. We also registered improvement of indicators of nervous processes’ dynamic and ability to constructive praxis. Conclusions: uneven reduction of most of psycho-physiological indicators negatively reflects in girl students’ motor fitness level and professional abilities.
Full Text Available Purpose: study of many years’ power lifting trainings influence on psycho-physiological and other characteristics of students, who have affections of muscular skeletal apparatus. Material: the research covered 73 students of 18-22 yrs. Age, who have different training experience. To exclude influence of previous training on experiment’s results, researches were conducted after 2-3 days of rest. The author studied personality’s features (by T. Elers. Psychological diagnostic was conducted by methodic of M.V. Makarenko. Results: different psycho-physiological characteristics, indicators of psychological state and personality’s features were found in students, depending on their power lifting training experience. Improvement of functional and nervous power indicators under influence of systemic power lifting trainings was detected. Conclusions: it was determined that improvement of students’ sportsmanship is accompanied by noticeable improvement of practically all tested indicators.
Cooke, Andrew; Kavussanu, Maria; Gallicchio, Germano; Willoughby, Adrian; McIntyre, David; Ring, Christopher
Knowledge of the psychophysiological responses that characterize optimal motor performance is required to inform biofeedback interventions. This experiment compared cortical, cardiac, muscular, and kinematic activity in 10 experts and 10 novices as they performed golf putts in low- and high-pressure conditions. Results revealed that in the final seconds preceding movement, experts displayed a greater reduction in heart rate and EEG theta, high-alpha, and beta power, when compared to novices. EEG high-alpha power also predicted success, with participants producing less high-alpha power in the seconds preceding putts that were holed compared to those that were missed. Increased pressure had little impact on psychophysiological activity. It was concluded that greater reductions in EEG high-alpha power during preparation for action reflect more resources being devoted to response programming, and could underlie successful accuracy-based performance.
Kondo, Hiroyo; Fujino, Hidemi; Nagatomo, Fumiko; Ishihara, Akihiko
Estrogen receptor α (ER α) is one of candidate genes for osteoporosis. This study examined the influence of ER α gene, PvuII, and XbaI genotypes on bone density of calcaneus in response to habitual exercise. ER α polymorphisms were detected using PvuII and XbaI restriction enzymes in 316 Japanese postmenopausal women. The bone density was significantly lower in the women carrying PP, pp, or xx genotype without habitual exercise than in the age-matched women without those genotypes. The women carrying Pp genotype without habitual exercise had normal bone density compared to those without Pp genotype. The women carrying PPxx or ppxx polymorphism without habitual exercise had low bone density compared to those with habitual exercise. Thus, the reduction of bone density was attenuated in the women carrying PPxx or ppxx with habitual exercise. In addition, habitual exercise was highly effective for the bone density in the women carrying xx homozygote. These findings indicate that analyses of XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms of ER α may be useful to predict the effect of exercise on bone density, and habitual exercise attenuates the reduction of bone density in women with some genotypes.
Full Text Available Estrogen receptor α (ERα is one of candidate genes for osteoporosis. This study examined the influence of ERα gene, PvuII, and XbaI genotypes on bone density of calcaneus in response to habitual exercise. ERα polymorphisms were detected using PvuII and XbaI restriction enzymes in 316 Japanese postmenopausal women. The bone density was significantly lower in the women carrying PP, pp, or xx genotype without habitual exercise than in the age-matched women without those genotypes. The women carrying Pp genotype without habitual exercise had normal bone density compared to those without Pp genotype. The women carrying PPxx or ppxx polymorphism without habitual exercise had low bone density compared to those with habitual exercise. Thus, the reduction of bone density was attenuated in the women carrying PPxx or ppxx with habitual exercise. In addition, habitual exercise was highly effective for the bone density in the women carrying xx homozygote. These findings indicate that analyses of XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms of ERα may be useful to predict the effect of exercise on bone density, and habitual exercise attenuates the reduction of bone density in women with some genotypes.
Full Text Available This study is aimed to describe the technology of making xenoncontaining drinking water and its impact on health and psychophysiological characteristics of 26 volunteers after regular admission. Testing conducted after 2 months of daily use such water showed significant improvement of emotional state and health of volunteers. This technology allows obtaining a large amount of drinking water saturated with xenon, which can be used in therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.
Laborde, Sylvain; Mosley, Emma; Thayer, Julian F.
Psychophysiological research integrating heart rate variability (HRV) has increased during the last two decades, particularly given the fact that HRV is able to index cardiac vagal tone. Cardiac vagal tone, which represents the contribution of the parasympathetic nervous system to cardiac regulation, is acknowledged to be linked with many phenomena relevant for psychophysiological research, including self-regulation at the cognitive, emotional, social, and health levels. The ease of HRV collection and measurement coupled with the fact it is relatively affordable, non-invasive and pain free makes it widely accessible to many researchers. This ease of access should not obscure the difficulty of interpretation of HRV findings that can be easily misconstrued, however, this can be controlled to some extent through correct methodological processes. Standards of measurement were developed two decades ago by a Task Force within HRV research, and recent reviews updated several aspects of the Task Force paper. However, many methodological aspects related to HRV in psychophysiological research have to be considered if one aims to be able to draw sound conclusions, which makes it difficult to interpret findings and to compare results across laboratories. Those methodological issues have mainly been discussed in separate outlets, making difficult to get a grasp on them, and thus this paper aims to address this issue. It will help to provide psychophysiological researchers with recommendations and practical advice concerning experimental designs, data analysis, and data reporting. This will ensure that researchers starting a project with HRV and cardiac vagal tone are well informed regarding methodological considerations in order for their findings to contribute to knowledge advancement in their field.
Heathers, James A J
Heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used to assess autonomic nervous system (ANS) function. It is traditionally collected from a dedicated laboratory electrocardiograph (ECG). This presents a barrier to collecting the large samples necessary to maintain the statistical power of between-subject psychophysiological comparisons. An alternative to ECG involves an optical pulse sensor or photoplethysmograph run from a smartphone or similar portable device: smartphone pulse rate variability (SPRV). Experiment 1 determined the simultaneous accuracy between ECG and SPRV systems in n = 10 participants at rest. Raw SPRV values showed a consistent positive bias, which was successfully attenuated with correction. Experiment 2 tested an additional n = 10 participants at rest, during attentional load, and during mild stress (exercise). Accuracy was maintained, but slightly attenuated during exercise. The best correction method maintained an accuracy of +/-2% for low-frequency spectral power, and +/-5% for high-frequency spectral power over all points. Thus, the SPRV system records a pulse-to-pulse approximation of an ECG-derived heart rate series that is sufficiently accurate to perform time- and frequency-domain analysis of its variability, as well as accurately reflecting change in autonomic output provided by typical psychophysiological stimuli. This represents a novel method by which an accurate approximation of HRV may be collected for large-sample or naturalistic cardiac psychophysiological research.
Johannes, Bernd; Salnitski, Vyacheslav; Soll, Henning; Rauch, Melina; Hoermann, Hans-Juergen
For the evaluation of an operator's skill reliability indicators of work quality as well as of psychophysiological states during the work have to be considered. The herein presented methodology and measurement equipment were developed and tested in numerous terrestrial and space experiments using a simulation of a spacecraft docking on a space station. However, in this study the method was applied to a comparable terrestrial task—the flight simulator test (FST) used in the DLR selection procedure for ab initio pilot applicants for passenger airlines. This provided a large amount of data for a statistical verification of the space methodology. For the evaluation of the strain level of applicants during the FST psychophysiological measurements were used to construct a "psychophysiological arousal vector" (PAV) which is sensitive to various individual reaction patterns of the autonomic nervous system to mental load. Its changes and increases will be interpreted as "strain". In the first evaluation study, 614 subjects were analyzed. The subjects first underwent a calibration procedure for the assessment of their autonomic outlet type (AOT) and on the following day they performed the FST, which included three tasks and was evaluated by instructors applying well-established and standardized rating scales. This new method will possibly promote a wide range of other future applications in aviation and space psychology.
Lieberman, Daniel E; Castillo, Eric R; Otarola-Castillo, Erik; Sang, Meshack K; Sigei, Timothy K; Ojiambo, Robert; Okutoyi, Paul; Pitsiladis, Yannis
Runners are often categorized as forefoot, midfoot or rearfoot strikers, but how much and why do individuals vary in foot strike patterns when running on level terrain? This study used general linear mixed-effects models to explore both intra- and inter-individual variations in foot strike pattern among 48 Kalenjin-speaking participants from Kenya who varied in age, sex, body mass, height, running history, and habitual use of footwear. High speed video was used to measure lower extremity kinematics at ground contact in the sagittal plane while participants ran down 13 meter-long tracks with three variables independently controlled: speed, track stiffness, and step frequency. 72% of the habitually barefoot and 32% of the habitually shod participants used multiple strike types, with significantly higher levels of foot strike variation among individuals who ran less frequently and who used lower step frequencies. There was no effect of sex, age, height or weight on foot strike angle, but individuals were more likely to midfoot or forefoot strike when they ran on a stiff surface, had a high preferred stride frequency, were habitually barefoot, and had more experience running. It is hypothesized that strike type variation during running, including a more frequent use of forefoot and midfoot strikes, used to be greater before the introduction of cushioned shoes and paved surfaces.
Daniel E Lieberman
Full Text Available Runners are often categorized as forefoot, midfoot or rearfoot strikers, but how much and why do individuals vary in foot strike patterns when running on level terrain? This study used general linear mixed-effects models to explore both intra- and inter-individual variations in foot strike pattern among 48 Kalenjin-speaking participants from Kenya who varied in age, sex, body mass, height, running history, and habitual use of footwear. High speed video was used to measure lower extremity kinematics at ground contact in the sagittal plane while participants ran down 13 meter-long tracks with three variables independently controlled: speed, track stiffness, and step frequency. 72% of the habitually barefoot and 32% of the habitually shod participants used multiple strike types, with significantly higher levels of foot strike variation among individuals who ran less frequently and who used lower step frequencies. There was no effect of sex, age, height or weight on foot strike angle, but individuals were more likely to midfoot or forefoot strike when they ran on a stiff surface, had a high preferred stride frequency, were habitually barefoot, and had more experience running. It is hypothesized that strike type variation during running, including a more frequent use of forefoot and midfoot strikes, used to be greater before the introduction of cushioned shoes and paved surfaces.
Clanchy, Kelly M.; Tweedy, Sean M.; Boyd, Roslyn
Aim: This systematic review compares the validity, reliability, and clinical use of habitual physical activity (HPA) performance measures in adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Measures of HPA across Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-V for adolescents (10-18y) with CP were included if at least 60% of items…
Intake of added sugars, mainly fructose and sucrose, has been associated with risk factors for cognitive impairment, such as obesity, the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. The objective of this analysis was to examine whether habitual intakes of total sugars, added sugars, sugar-sweetened bev...
VOORRIPS, LE; LEMMINK, KAPM; VANHEUVELEN, MJG; BULT, P; VANSTAVEREN, WA
In a cross-sectional study, 50 elderly women (age 71.5 +/- 4.2 yr, mean +/-SD) participated in a battery of tests assessing several aspects of physical fitness. The women were selected based on tertiles of habitual physical activity as determined by a validated questionnaire 10 months ago. The tests
Nasser M. Taha
Conclusion: Many acute changes occur following one cigarette smoking even in habitual smokers. Persistence of endothelial dysfunction parameters after smoking indicates the failure of circulation adaptation in response to such offense that might contribute to the precipitation of acute events in vulnerable patients.
Full Text Available This paper investigates price and quality competition in a market where consumers seek variety and habit formation. Variety seeking is modeled as a decrease in the willingness to pay for product purchased on the previous occasion while habitual consumption may increase future marginal utility. We compare two competing strategies: price commitment and quality commitment. With a three-stage Hotelling-type model, we show that variety seeking intensifies while habitual consumption softens the competition. With price commitment, firms supply lower quality levels in period 1 and higher quality levels in period 2, while, with quality commitment, firms charge higher prices in period 1 and lower prices in period 2. However, the habitual consumption brings the opposite effect. In addition, with quality commitment variety seeking leads to a lower profit and a higher consumer surplus, while habitual consumption leads to the opposite results. On the other side, with price commitment these behaviors have no effect on the consumer surplus, although they still lower down the firm profits. Finally, we also identify conditions under which one strategy outperforms the other.
McCall, Robert B.
Function of attention in infants is explored. Assuming (1) that infants respond differently to novel situations than to familiar ones; (2) that the infant's pattern of response is a partial reflection of the process of acquiring a perceptual memory of the stimulus, and (3) that sex differences may occur in the rate of habituation, 120 infants…
Yzer, MC; Siero, FW; Buunk, BP
A prospective study of 94 Dutch adults who have casual sexual partners examined whether two important aspects of safe sex. namely bringing up condom use (BCU) and actual condom use (ACU) are intentional or habitual. For each of these aspects, a model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB: Aj
Paranjpe, Pushkar; Rodrigues, Veronica; VijayRaghavan, K.; Ramaswami, Mani
In some situations, animals seem to ignore stimuli which in other contexts elicit a robust response. This attenuation in behavior, which enables animals to ignore a familiar, unreinforced stimulus, is called habituation. Despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon, it is generally poorly understood in terms of the underlying neural circuitry. Hungry…
Yzer, M.C; Siero, F.W.; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)
A prospective study of 94 Dutch adults who have casual sexual partners examined whether two important aspects of safe sex. namely bringing up condom use (BCU) and actual condom use (ACU) are intentional or habitual. For each of these aspects, a model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB:
This study investigates how habitual entrepreneurs (i.e. serial and portfolio entrepreneurs) discover and exploit opportunities, deal with risk and uncertainty, predict or control the future, and plan their businesses based on a causation and effectuation perspective. This study thereby uncovered...
Toval, Angel; Baños, Raúl; De la Cruz, Ernesto; Morales-Delgado, Nicanor; Pallarés, Jesús G.; Ayad, Abdelmalik; Tseng, Kuei Y.; Ferran, Jose L.
Increasing evidence supports that physical activity promotes mental health; and regular exercise may confer positive effects in neurological disorders. There is growing number of reports that requires the analysis of the impact of physical activity in animal models. Exercise in rodents can be performed under voluntary or forced conditions. The former presents the disadvantage that the volume and intensity of exercise varies from subject to subject. On the other hand, a major challenge of the forced training protocol is the low level of performance typically achieved within a given session. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of gradual increasing of the volume and intensity (training habituation protocol) to improve the locomotor performance in a forced running-wheel system in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to either a group that received an exercise training habituation protocol, or a control group. The locomotor performance during forced running was assessed by an incremental exercise test. The experimental results reveal that the total running time and the distance covered by habituated rats was significantly higher than in control ones. We conclude that the exercise habituation protocol improves the locomotor performance in forced running wheels. PMID:28337132
Tam, Nicholas; Astephen Wilson, Janie L; Coetzee, Devon R; van Pletsen, Leanri; Tucker, Ross
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of barefoot running on initial loading rate (LR), lower extremity joint kinematics and kinetics, and neuromuscular control in habitually shod runners with an emphasis on the individual response to this unfamiliar condition. Kinematics and ground reaction force data were collected from 51 habitually shod runners during overground running in a barefoot and shod condition. Joint kinetics and stiffness were calculated with inverse dynamics. Inter-individual initial LR variability was explored by separating individuals by a barefoot/shod ratio to determine acute responders/non-responders. Mean initial LR was 54.1% greater in the barefoot when compared to the shod condition. Differences between acute responders/non-responders were found at peak and initial contact sagittal ankle angle and at initial ground contact. Correlations were found between barefoot sagittal ankle angle at initial ground contact and barefoot initial LR. A large variability in biomechanical responses to an acute exposure to barefoot running was found. A large intra-individual variability was found in initial LR but not ankle plantar-dorsiflexion between footwear conditions. A majority of habitually shod runners do not exhibit previously reported benefits in terms of reduced initial LRs when barefoot. Lastly, runners who increased LR when barefoot reduced LRs when wearing shoes to levels similar seen in habitually barefoot runners who do adopt a forefoot-landing pattern, despite increased dorsiflexion.
Green, Lisa; Roeper, Thomas
This article considers the comprehension of tense-aspect markers remote past BIN and habitual be by 3- to 5-year-old developing African American English (AAE)-speaking children and their Southwest Louisiana Vernacular English (SwLVE)-speaking peers. Overall both groups of children associated BIN with the distant past; however, the AAE-speaking…
Röer, Jan P; Bell, Raoul; Buchner, Axel
Working memory theories make opposing predictions as to whether the disruptive effect of task-irrelevant sound on serial recall should be attenuated after repeated exposure to the auditory distractors. Although evidence of habituation has emerged after a passive listening phase, previous attempts to observe habituation to to-be ignored distractors on a trial-by-trial basis have proven to be fruitless. With the present study, we suggest that habituation to auditory distractors occurs, but has often been overlooked because past attempts to measure habituation in the irrelevant-sound paradigm were not sensitive enough. In a series of four experiments, the disruptive effects of to-be-ignored speech and music relative to a quiet control condition were markedly reduced after eight repetitions, regardless of whether trials were presented in blocks (Exp. 1) or in a random order (Exp. 2). The auditory distractor's playback direction (forward, backward) had no effect (Exp. 3). The same results were obtained when the auditory distractors were only presented in a retention interval after the presentation of the to-be-remembered items (Exp. 4). This pattern is only consistent with theoretical accounts that allow for attentional processes to interfere with the maintenance of information in working memory.
Ardiel, Evan L.; Giles, Andrew C.; Yu, Alex J.; Lindsay, Theodore H.; Lockery, Shawn R.; Rankin, Catharine H.
Habituation is a highly conserved phenomenon that remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Invertebrate model systems, like "Caenorhabditis elegans," can be a powerful tool for investigating this fundamental process. Here we established a high-throughput learning assay that used real-time computer vision software for behavioral…
Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, E; Heekeren, K; Thelen, B; Lindenblatt, H; Kovar, K A; Sass, H; Geyer, M A
Schizophrenic patients exhibit deficits in indices of sensorimotor gating, such as habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. Hallucinogenic drug-induced states are putative models for the early and acute stages of schizophrenic and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Hallucinogenic drugs have been shown to disrupt PPI and/or retard habituation of the startle reflex in animal models of schizophrenia, consistent with the view of hallucinogen-induced states as 'model psychoses'. We evaluated the effects of the hallucinogen psilocybin on PPI and habituation of the startle reflex in a double-blind, placebo-controlled human study with 12 healthy subjects. In contrast to animal studies, in our small human sample, psilocybin increased PPI, while having no clear effect on habituation (n = 6). These findings must be considered preliminary because several factors, including dose regimens and experimental parameters, may influence the results of studies on startle plasticity. Further investigations both with psychotic patients in different stages of the disease and with human and animal models of schizophrenia are needed in order to explore the effects of hallucinogens on sensorimotor gating and the relationship between information processing in hallucinogenic drug-induced states and the naturally occurring psychoses.
The aim of this study is to compare the online game addiction in high school students with the habitual computer use and online gaming. The sample selected through the criterion sampling method, consists of 61.8% (n = 81) female, 38.2% (n = 50) male, 131 high school students. The "Online Game Addiction Scale" developed by Kaya and Basol…
Garcia-Angulo, P.; Willats, W. G. T.; Encina, A. E.
analysed showed calcofluor-stained appositions. However, in habituated and dehabituated cells, appositions were not recognized by an anticallose antibody. This finding suggested the accumulation of an extracellular polysaccharide different to callose, probably a 1,4-ß-glucan in these cell lines...
VOORRIPS, LE; LEMMINK, KAPM; VANHEUVELEN, MJG; BULT, P; VANSTAVEREN, WA
In a cross-sectional study, 50 elderly women (age 71.5 +/- 4.2 yr, mean +/-SD) participated in a battery of tests assessing several aspects of physical fitness. The women were selected based on tertiles of habitual physical activity as determined by a validated questionnaire 10 months ago. The tests
Paranjpe, Pushkar; Rodrigues, Veronica; VijayRaghavan, K.; Ramaswami, Mani
In some situations, animals seem to ignore stimuli which in other contexts elicit a robust response. This attenuation in behavior, which enables animals to ignore a familiar, unreinforced stimulus, is called habituation. Despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon, it is generally poorly understood in terms of the underlying neural circuitry. Hungry…
TANGPei-Zhong; WUJin-Zhi; BAOChun-De; CHENShun-Le
The antibodies to cardiolipin (aCL), double stranded DNA (aDNA) and to nuclear axttigcns(Sm, SSA, SSB, Ribonucleoprotein) were prospe, ctivcly investigated in 86 patients of habitual abortion without abilormaiity in their reprodutive system and karyotypes. All
Janicki, Andrzej; -Bogumila Pecyna, S. Maria
The proposal for development of synthetic indicators of the individuals psychophysiological status as well as measurements methodology which are responsible for decision making process, is discussed. The interdisciplinary of principles methods and tools (instruments) which was created out of a specific inter-section of multiply domains of science and technology belonging to the common domain of scientific information systems with specific utility objectives and measures of quality assessment of solutions is presented. As it is well-known, the development directions of the space technology in contemporary terms are increasingly associated with the system approach to solving the problems that are defined in a holistic way, with the emphasis on the aspects to their usefulness. This results in the necessity to create solutions, which are in fact decisions of a negotiating nature, taken in the systems of incomplete information with blurs as well as social and psychological contexts on the grounds of the importance of the human factor (human-centric approach). For the sake of one thing - explicitness in operating with contents, we find support in ontology, and the human factor in the system complexes is treated by us in accordance with the principles of the “human being ecology”. Hence, a key role is played here by so-called “three-factor utility function” proposed by the author [Janicki, 1991], both as an objective function and as a measure of the quality assessment of solutions, where the first factor is interpreted as the will of striving for the objective, the second one - as the fear of the consequences, and the third one - as the internal consistency of the decision-maker (intelligent agent coherence). It reflects in fact a trans-disciplinary union of the problem-solving approaches proposed earlier [Minsky, Antonovsky and Kulikowski, 1987-1993]. The solutions to these problems themselves come down to the calculations of a heuristic nature, which are often
collection is completed for 25 healthy controls, 33 IC/BPS ± MPP, eight MPP, and three family members. Recruitment rate is accelerating and strategies emphasize maintaining and encouraging investigator participation in study science, internet advertising, and presentations to pelvic pain support groups.Conclusion: The study represents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to sampling autonomic and psychophysiologic characteristics of women with IC/BPS. Despite divergent opinions on study methodologies based on specialty experiences, the study has proven feasible to date and different perspectives have proved to be one of the greatest study strengths.Keywords: interstitial cystitis, bladder pain syndrome, autonomic nervous system, psychophysiology, pelvic pain, myofascial pain
Nechaev, A. P.; Myasnikov, V. I.; Stepanova, S. I.; Isaev, G. F.; Bronnikov, S. V.
The history of cosmonautics demonstrates many instances in which only crewmembers' intervention allowed critical situations to be resolved, or catastrophes to be prevented. However, during "crew-spacecraft" system operation human is exposed by influence of numerous flight factors, and beforehand it is very difficult to predict their effects on his functional state and work capacity. So, the incidents are known when unfavorable alterations of crewmember's psychophysiological state (PPS) provoked errors in task performance. The objective of the present investigation was to substantiate the methodological approach directed to increase reliability of a crewmember performance (human error prevention) by means of management of his/her PPS. The specific aims of the investigation were: 1) to evaluate the statistical significance of the interrelation between crew errors (CE) and crewmember's PPS, and 2) to develop the way of PPS management. At present, there is no conventional method to assess combined effect of flight conditions (microgravity, confinement, psychosocial factors, etc.) on crewmembers' PPS. For this purpose experts of the Medical Support Group (psychoneurologists and psychologists) at the Moscow Mission Control Center analyze information received during radio and TV contacts with crew. Peculiarities of behavior, motor activity, sleep, speech, mood, emotional reactions, well-being and sensory sphere, trend of dominant interests and volitional acts, signs of deprivation phenomena are considered as separate indicators of crewmember's PPS. The set of qualitative symptoms reflecting PPS alterations and corresponding to them ratings (in arbitrary units) was empirically stated for each indicator. It is important to emphasize that symptoms characterizing more powerful PPS alterations have higher ratings. Quantitative value of PPS integral parameter is calculating by adding up the ratings of all separate indicators over a day, a week, or other temporal interval (in
Kevin G Hatala
Full Text Available Endurance running may have a long evolutionary history in the hominin clade but it was not until very recently that humans ran wearing shoes. Research on modern habitually unshod runners has suggested that they utilize a different biomechanical strategy than runners who wear shoes, namely that barefoot runners typically use a forefoot strike in order to avoid generating the high impact forces that would be experienced if they were to strike the ground with their heels first. This finding suggests that our habitually unshod ancestors may have run in a similar way. However, this research was conducted on a single population and we know little about variation in running form among habitually barefoot people, including the effects of running speed, which has been shown to affect strike patterns in shod runners. Here, we present the results of our investigation into the selection of running foot strike patterns among another modern habitually unshod group, the Daasanach of northern Kenya. Data were collected from 38 consenting adults as they ran along a trackway with a plantar pressure pad placed midway along its length. Subjects ran at self-selected endurance running and sprinting speeds. Our data support the hypothesis that a forefoot strike reduces the magnitude of impact loading, but the majority of subjects instead used a rearfoot strike at endurance running speeds. Their percentages of midfoot and forefoot strikes increased significantly with speed. These results indicate that not all habitually barefoot people prefer running with a forefoot strike, and suggest that other factors such as running speed, training level, substrate mechanical properties, running distance, and running frequency, influence the selection of foot strike patterns.
O'Byrne, Michael L; Mercer-Rosa, Laura; Ingall, Eitan; McBride, Michael G; Paridon, Stephen; Goldmuntz, Elizabeth
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), particularly maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), has been used to assess the outcome for patients with palliated congenital heart disease (CHD). Small studies correlating VO2max with noninvasive imaging measures of ventricular function have led to the hypothesis that VO2max reflects cardiac performance. In other settings, physical training is associated with increased VO2max. The authors hypothesized that habitual exercise correlates with VO2max to a greater degree than ventricular function in a relatively healthy cohort of patients with palliated CHD. The habitual exercise behavior of 208 subjects with conotruncal abnormalities (tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus, and interrupted aortic arch) at the time of previously performed, study-based CPET and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) were retrospectively assessed via questionnaire. The association of VO2max with habitual exercise duration and CMR measures of ventricular function was tested. Of 208 subjects, 89 (43 %) completed questionnaires, and 78 % of the 89 patients had a concurrent CMR. The mean VO2max was 76 ± 21 % of that predicted. The CMR-assessed left ventricular ejection fraction was 67.6 ± 7.4 %. The hours of habitual exercise per week correlated with VO2max (p VO2max. In this study, VO2max correlated with habitual exercise to a greater degree than CMR measurements of ventricular function. These findings highlight the importance of considering the contribution of noncardiac factors when exercise data in both clinical and research settings are interpreted. The contribution of these factors to clinical outcomes deserves further study.
Full Text Available A male-specific component, 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA works as an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone in Drosophila melanogaster. The presence of cVA on a male suppresses the courtship motivation of other males and contributes to suppression of male-male homosexual courtship, while the absence of cVA on a female stimulates the sexual motivation of nearby males and enhances the male-female interaction. However, little is known how a male distinguishes the presence or absence of cVA on a target fly from either self-produced cVA or secondhand cVA from other males in the vicinity. In this study, we demonstrate that male flies have keen sensitivity to cVA; therefore, the presence of another male in the area reduces courtship toward a female. This reduced level of sexual motivation, however, could be overcome by pretest odor exposure via olfactory habituation to cVA. Real-time imaging of cVA-responsive sensory neurons using the neural activity sensor revealed that prolonged exposure to cVA decreased the levels of cVA responses in the primary olfactory center. Pharmacological and genetic screening revealed that signal transduction via GABAA receptors contributed to this olfactory habituation. We also found that the habituation experience increased the copulation success of wild-type males in a group. In contrast, transgenic males, in which GABA input in a small subset of local neurons was blocked by RNAi, failed to acquire the sexual advantage conferred by habituation. Thus, we illustrate a novel phenomenon in which olfactory habituation positively affects sexual capability in a competitive environment.
Muller, Matthew D.; Seo, Yongsuk; Kim, Chul-Ho; Ryan, Edward J.; Pollock, Brandon S.; Burns, Keith J.; Glickman, Ellen L.
When exposed to a cold environment, a barehanded person experiences pain, cold sensation, and reduced manual dexterity. Both acute (e.g. exercise) and chronic (e.g. cold acclimatization or habituation) processes might lessen these negative effects. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of cold habituation on physiology, perception, and manual dexterity during rest, exercise, and recovery in 5 °C. Six cold weather athletes (CWA) and eight non habituated men (NON) volunteered to participate in a repeated measures cross-over design. The protocol was conducted in 5 °C and was 90 min of resting cold exposure, 30 min of cycle ergometry exercise (50 % VO2 peak), and 60 min of seated recovery. Core and finger skin temperature, metabolic rate, Purdue Pegboard dexterity performance, hand pain, thermal sensation, and mood were quantified. Exercise-induced finger rewarming (EIFRW) was calculated for each hand. During 90 min of resting exposure to 5 °C, the CWA had a smaller reduction in finger temperature, a lower metabolic rate, less hand pain, and less negative mood. Despite this cold habituation, dexterity performance was not different between groups. In response to cycle ergometry, EIFRW was greater in CWA (~12 versus 7 °C) and occurred at lower core temperatures (37.02 versus 37.31 °C) relative to NON but dexterity was not greater during post-exercise recovery. The current data indicate that cold habituated men (i.e., CWA) do not perform better on the Purdue Pegboard during acute cold exposure. Furthermore, despite augmented EIFRW in CWA, dexterity during post-exercise recovery was similar between groups.
Hatala, Kevin G; Dingwall, Heather L; Wunderlich, Roshna E; Richmond, Brian G
Endurance running may have a long evolutionary history in the hominin clade but it was not until very recently that humans ran wearing shoes. Research on modern habitually unshod runners has suggested that they utilize a different biomechanical strategy than runners who wear shoes, namely that barefoot runners typically use a forefoot strike in order to avoid generating the high impact forces that would be experienced if they were to strike the ground with their heels first. This finding suggests that our habitually unshod ancestors may have run in a similar way. However, this research was conducted on a single population and we know little about variation in running form among habitually barefoot people, including the effects of running speed, which has been shown to affect strike patterns in shod runners. Here, we present the results of our investigation into the selection of running foot strike patterns among another modern habitually unshod group, the Daasanach of northern Kenya. Data were collected from 38 consenting adults as they ran along a trackway with a plantar pressure pad placed midway along its length. Subjects ran at self-selected endurance running and sprinting speeds. Our data support the hypothesis that a forefoot strike reduces the magnitude of impact loading, but the majority of subjects instead used a rearfoot strike at endurance running speeds. Their percentages of midfoot and forefoot strikes increased significantly with speed. These results indicate that not all habitually barefoot people prefer running with a forefoot strike, and suggest that other factors such as running speed, training level, substrate mechanical properties, running distance, and running frequency, influence the selection of foot strike patterns.
Cheung, Roy T H; Rainbow, Michael J
There is evidence supporting that habitual barefoot runners are able to disperse impact loading rates by landing pattern modification. Yet, case studies suggested that barefoot running may result in severe running injuries, such as metatarsal and calcaneal stress fractures. Injuries may be due to a difference in biomechanical response between habitual and novice barefoot runners. This study investigated the initial effects of barefoot running in habitual shod runners in terms of landing pattern modification and vertical loading rates. Thirty habitual shod runners (mean age 25.5±5.2years; 18 men; with a minimum running mileage of 30km per week for at least one year) ran on an instrumented treadmill at 10km/h shod and barefoot in a randomized order. Vertical average (VALR) and instantaneous loading rates (VILR) were obtained by established methods. Landing pattern was presented as a ratio between the number of footfalls with a heelstrike and the total step number. Twenty participants demonstrated an automatic transition to a non-heelstrike landing during barefoot running, whereas a mixed landing pattern was observed in 10 participants. Compared to shod running, both VALR and VILR were significantly reduced during barefoot running (pbarefoot running, regardless of the landing pattern. VALR for the non-heelstrike pattern during barefoot running was significantly lower than participants with a mixed landing pattern. Conversely, we observed two participants who completely altered their landing patterns, presented high VALR and VILR values. Habitual shod runners presented lower loading rates during barefoot running but their landing pattern transitions were not uniform. Novice barefoot runners with a mixed landing pattern may sustain higher loading rates, compared with those who completely avoided heelstrike pattern. However, a complete landing pattern modification may not guarantee lower loading rates.
Riley, Elizabeth; Kopotiyenko, Konstantin; Zhdanova, Irina
Psychostimulants have many effects on visual function, from adverse following acute and prenatal exposure to therapeutic on attention deficit. To determine the impact of prenatal and acute cocaine exposure on visual processing, we studied neuronal responses to visual stimuli in two brain regions of a transgenic larval zebrafish expressing the calcium indicator GCaMP-HS. We found that both red light (LF) and dark (DF) flashes elicited similar responses in the optic tectum neuropil (TOn), while the dorsal telencephalon (dTe) responded only to LF. Acute cocaine (0.5 μM) reduced neuronal responses to LF in both brain regions but did not affect responses to DF. Repeated stimulus presentation (RSP) led to habituation of dTe neurons to LF. Acute cocaine prevented habituation. TOn habituated to DF, but not LF, and DF habituation was not modified by cocaine. Remarkably, prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) prevented the effects of acute cocaine on LF response amplitude and habituation later in development in both brain regions, but did not affect DF responses. We discovered that, in spite of similar neural responses to LF and DF in the TO (superior colliculus in mammals), responses to LF are more complex, involving dTe (homologous to the cerebral cortex), and are more vulnerable to cocaine. Our results demonstrate that acute cocaine exposure affects visual processing differentially by brain region, and that PCE modifies zebrafish visual processing in multiple structures in a stimulus-dependent manner. These findings are in accordance with the major role that the optic tectum and cerebral cortex play in sustaining visual attention, and support the hypothesis that modification of these areas by PCE may be responsible for visual deficits noted in humans. This model offers new methodological approaches for studying the adverse and therapeutic effects of psychostimulants on attention, and for the development of new pharmacological interventions.
Elizabeth Brooke Riley
Full Text Available Psychostimulants have many effects on visual function, from adverse, following acute and prenatal exposure to therapeutic, on attention deficit. To determine the impact of prenatal and acute cocaine exposure on visual processing, we studied neuronal responses to visual stimuli in two brain regions of a transgenic larval zebrafish expressing the calcium indicator GCaMP-HS. We found that both red light (LF and dark (DF flashes elicited similar responses in the optic tectum neuropil (TOn, while the dorsal telencephalon (dTe responded only to LF. Acute cocaine (0.5 μM reduced neuronal responses to LF in both brain regions but did not affect responses to DF. Repeated stimulus presentation led to habituation of dTe neurons to LF. Acute cocaine prevented habituation. TOn habituated to DF, but not LF, and DF habituation was not modified by cocaine. Remarkably, prenatal cocaine exposure prevented the effects of acute cocaine on LF response amplitude and habituation later in development in both brain regions, but did not affect DF responses. We discovered that, in spite of similar neural responses to LF and DF in the TO (superior colliculus in mammals, responses to LF are more complex, involving dTe (homologous to the cerebral cortex, and are more vulnerable to cocaine. Our results demonstrate that acute cocaine exposure affects visual processing differentially by brain region, and that prenatal cocaine exposure modifies zebrafish visual processing in multiple structures in a stimulus-dependent manner. These findings are in accordance with the major role that the optic tectum and cerebral cortex play in sustaining visual attention, and support the hypothesis that modification of these areas by prenatal cocaine exposure may be responsible for visual deficits noted in humans. This model offers new methodological approaches for studying the adverse and therapeutic effects of psychostimulants on attention, and for the development of new pharmacological
Salomons Amber R
Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have demonstrated a profound lack of habituation in 129P3 mice compared to the habituating, but initially more anxious, BALB/c mice. The present study investigated whether this non-adaptive phenotype of 129P3 mice is primarily based on anxiety-related characteristics. Methods To test this hypothesis and extend our knowledge on the behavioural profile of 129P3 mice, the effects of the anxiolyticdiazepam (1, 3 and 5 mg/kg and the putative anxiolytic metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5R antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynylpyridine (MPEP, 3, 10 and 30 mg/kg treatment on within-trial (intrasession habituation, object recognition (diazepam: 1 mg/kg; MPEP 10 mg/kg and on the central-nervous expression of the immediate early gene c-Fos (diazepam: 1 mg/kg; MPEP 10 mg/kg were investigated. Results Behavioural findings validated the initially high, but habituating phenotype of BALB/c mice, while 129P3 mice were characterized by impaired intrasession habituation. Diazepam had an anxiolytic effect in BALB/c mice, while in higher doses caused behavioural inactivity in 129P3 mice. MPEP revealed almost no anxiolytic effects on behaviour in both strains, but reduced stress-induced corticosterone responses only in 129P3 mice. These results were complemented by reduced expression of c-Fos after MPEP treatment in brain areas related to emotional processes, and increased c-Fos expression in higher integrating brain areas such as the prelimbic cortex compared to vehicle-treated 129P3 mice. Conclusions These results suggest that the strain differences observed in (nonadaptive anxiety behaviour are at least in part mediated by differences in gamma-aminobutyric acid- A and mGluR5 mediated transmission.
Tachibana, Shin-Ichiro; Touhara, Kazushige; Ejima, Aki
A male-specific component, 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) works as an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone in Drosophila melanogaster. The presence of cVA on a male suppresses the courtship motivation of other males and contributes to suppression of male-male homosexual courtship, while the absence of cVA on a female stimulates the sexual motivation of nearby males and enhances the male-female interaction. However, little is known how a male distinguishes the presence or absence of cVA on a target fly from either self-produced cVA or secondhand cVA from other males in the vicinity. In this study, we demonstrate that male flies have keen sensitivity to cVA; therefore, the presence of another male in the area reduces courtship toward a female. This reduced level of sexual motivation, however, could be overcome by pretest odor exposure via olfactory habituation to cVA. Real-time imaging of cVA-responsive sensory neurons using the neural activity sensor revealed that prolonged exposure to cVA decreased the levels of cVA responses in the primary olfactory center. Pharmacological and genetic screening revealed that signal transduction via GABAA receptors contributed to this olfactory habituation. We also found that the habituation experience increased the copulation success of wild-type males in a group. In contrast, transgenic males, in which GABA input in a small subset of local neurons was blocked by RNAi, failed to acquire the sexual advantage conferred by habituation. Thus, we illustrate a novel phenomenon in which olfactory habituation positively affects sexual capability in a competitive environment. PMID:26252206
Full Text Available Adult bear individuals live solitary and haveprolonged parent–offspring relationships, therefore the share of learned skills compared to the inherited ones is much larger than in other carnivores. This promotes acquisition of deviated behavior and simultaneously establishment of a kinship structure. However, deviated bear behavior and human food conditioning are the symptoms of habituation. The aim of this paper is to test the genetic structuring of habituated and non-habituated individuals located in the central region of Romania (Braşov and Prahova districts, a hotspot in terms of human-bear conflicts. Seven microsatellites were used to genotype 145 samples (ear clips and tissue, out of which 82 were classified as habituated and 63 as wild individuals, respectively. Our results suggest the presence of kinship structures in habituated bear group and a reduction of genetic diversity (He = 0.75, while the group located in the wild registered a higher genetic diversity (He = 0.78 and more private alleles. The genetic differentiation suggested by the Neighbor joining cluster analysis has been strengthened by the two percent (AMOVA differences between the two groups and highlights the negative impact of brown bear kinship structure, caused by the human expansion on wilderness. The genetic analyses indicated that the two groups share genetic variants due to the dispersal and breeding patterns of male adult bears. The emergence of genetic differences between the two groups can be avoided by preventing bears to become human-food conditioned; over time, kinship structure can pose a threat to genetic diversity.
Götz, Thomas; Janik, Vincent M
Aversiveness of sounds and its underlying physiological mechanisms in mammals are poorly understood. In this study we tested the influence of psychophysical parameters, motivation and learning processes on the aversiveness of anthropogenic underwater noise in phocid seals (Halichoerus grypus and Phoca vitulina). We compared behavioural responses of seals to playbacks of sounds based on a model of sensory unpleasantness for humans, sounds from acoustic deterrent devices and sounds with assumed neutral properties in different contexts of food motivation. In a captive experiment with food presentation, seals habituated quickly to all sound types presented at normalised received levels of 146 dB re. 1 microPa (r.m.s., root mean square). However, the fast habituation of avoidance behaviour was also accompanied by a weak sensitisation process affecting dive times and place preference in the pool. Experiments in the wild testing animals without food presentation revealed differential responses of seals to different sound types. We observed avoidance behaviour at received levels of 135-144 dB re. 1 microPa (sensation levels of 59-79 dB). In this experiment, sounds maximised for 'roughness' perceived as unpleasant by humans also caused the strongest avoidance responses in seals, suggesting that sensory pleasantness may be the result of auditory processing that is not restricted to humans. Our results highlight the importance of considering the effects of acoustic parameters other than the received level as well as animal motivation and previous experience when assessing the impacts of anthropogenic noise on animals.
Nichiporuk, I A
Interdependence of temperament, hormonal and psychophysiological status was investigated in 8 young volunteers for 7-d dry immersion (DI). Blood levels of insulin, sex, steroid, thyroid hormones and psychomotor parameters were determined on DI days 3 and 7, and on day 7 of recovery. Before DI, the volunteers filled in the Kettelle personality questionnaire. During DI, anxious subjects spent less time to compare visual patterns demonstrating high and stable speed of reactions but made a bit more errors. Extraverts showed high speed of reactions and stability of psychomotor parameters and did not increase the number of errors. Easy-tempered and introvert subjects preserved inherently high insulin concentrations in DI. Support deprivation was attended by drop of the levels of triiodothyronine and cortisol and rise of prolactin and thyroxin. Results of multiple correlation analysis led to the conclusion that DI accentuates the role of original extra-introversion and dampens origin anxiety. Successfulness can be attained by adequate alteration of the levels of steroid and thyroid hormones with effectively balanced vagoinsulin-sympathoadrenal neuroendocrine control and monoaminergic CNV activity.
Shamoo, Adil E
In the past three decades, there has been an explosion in research to understand the mechanisms of brain function. Recent advances in psychophysiology and neuroscience, while still limited, have sparked great interest in developing technologies that could peer into the brain and be used to identify or indicate certain behaviors. The polygraph (lie detector) represents an old technology used for discerning clues to the human brain; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) represents one of the newest efforts. The use of these technologies in intelligence and counterintelligence in the field without validation represents a major concern about its usefulness. Both research on this new technology and subsequent use on public raise ethical challenges. This article will address the overall ethical issues associated with these new technologies. The report identifies the ethical and cultural challenges in conducting research on these new tools, explores the possibility of using current U.S. regulatory requirements regarding drugs and devices as a model for regulating these new technologies, and suggests approaches for the future.
Full Text Available During the last decade it has become more widely accepted that pet-ownership and animal-assistance in therapy and education may have a multitude of positive effects on humans. Here, we review the evidence from 67 original studies on human-animal interactions (HAI which met our inclusion criteria with regard to sample size, peer-review and standard scientific research design. Among the well-documented effects of HAI in humans of different ages, with and without special medical or mental health conditions are benefits for: social attention, social behavior, interpersonal interactions and mood; stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure; self-reported fear and anxiety; and mental and physical health, especially cardiovascular diseases. Limited evidence exists for positive effects of HAI on: reduction of stress-related parameters such as epinephrine and norepinephrine; improvement of immune system functioning and pain management; increased trustworthiness of and trust towards other persons; reduced aggression; enhanced empathy and improved learning. We propose that the activation of the oxytocin system plays a key role in the majority of these reported psychological and psychophysiological effects of HAI. Oxytocin and HAI effects largely overlap, as documented by research in both, humans and animals, and first studies found that HAI affects the oxytocin system. As a common underlying mechanism, the activation of the oxytocin system does not only provide an explanation, but also allows an integrative view of the different effects of HAI.
Climov, Daniela; Lysy, Camille; Berteau, Sylvain; Dutrannois, Jacques; Dereppe, Hubert; Brohet, Christian; Melin, Jacques
Biofeedback is a self-regulation therapy by which the patient learns how to optimize the functioning of his autonomic nervous system. It has been applied to patients with various cardiovascular disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the practical feasibility and the psychophysiological effects of biofeedback applied to heart rate variability (HRV biofeedback) in order to increase cardiac coherence in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients participating in a cardiac rehabilitation programme. In this randomised and controlled study, 31 CAD patients were randomly assigned to an experimental or to a control group. The experimental group participated in a programme of 10 sessions of cardiac coherence biofeedback training, in addition to the rehabilitation programme. The control group participated in the usual cardiac rehabilitation programme only. Physiological variables (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, SDNN) and psychosocial variables (anxiety, depression, type D personality) were measured at the start and at the end of the programme in both groups. Statistical comparisons assessed the inter and intra group differences. The small sample size precludes any firm conclusions concerning the effect of cardiac coherence biofeedback on physiological or psychological variables. However, we observed a significant increase of the percentage of cardiac coherence, in relation with an increased SDNN index. Our study demonstrated the practical feasibility of cardiac coherence biofeedback training in CAD patients. Further research is desirable to investigate the potential benefit of cardiac coherence biofeedback as an adjunct to stress management in cardiac rehabilitation.
Full Text Available Indices of heart rate variability are reliable and objective indicators of autonomic nervous systemtonus (of its sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions which in its turn reflect the changes in psycho-emotional state of a person, development of stress or any kind of tension. The purpose of this article was to describethe contemporary methods of objective study of a person’s functional state by the definition of autonomic regulation of heart rate and also the review of foreign studies which discuss the possibility of utilizing this method in psychology and psychophysiology. The review describes two approaches to the analysis of heart rate variability: temporal and frequency-response analyses. The indices used for temporal analysis include average duration of RR-intervalsand percentage of couples of RR-intervals, differing in more than 50ms(рNN50. The indices of frequency-response analysis included intensity of HF component, reflecting influences of parasympathetic outflow; intensity of LF component, reflecting sympathetic influences; intensity of VLF components; correlation of LF and HF waves, reflecting vegetal balance.
Bigliassi, Marcelo; Silva, Vinícius B; Karageorghis, Costas I; Bird, Jonathan M; Santos, Priscila C; Altimari, Leandro R
Motivational audiovisual stimuli such as music and video have been widely used in the realm of exercise and sport as a means by which to increase situational motivation and enhance performance. The present study addressed the mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational stimuli on psychophysiological responses and exercise performance. Twenty-two participants completed fatiguing isometric handgrip-squeezing tasks under two experimental conditions (motivational audiovisual condition and neutral audiovisual condition) and a control condition. Electrical activity in the brain and working muscles was analyzed by use of electroencephalography and electromyography, respectively. Participants were asked to squeeze the dynamometer maximally for 30s. A single-item motivation scale was administered after each squeeze. Results indicated that task performance and situational motivational were superior under the influence of motivational stimuli when compared to the other two conditions (~20% and ~25%, respectively). The motivational stimulus downregulated the predominance of low-frequency waves (theta) in the right frontal regions of the cortex (F8), and upregulated high-frequency waves (beta) in the central areas (C3 and C4). It is suggested that motivational sensory cues serve to readjust electrical activity in the brain; a mechanism by which the detrimental effects of fatigue on the efferent control of working muscles is ameliorated.
Egermann, Hauke; Pearce, Marcus T; Wiggins, Geraint A; McAdams, Stephen
We present the results of a study testing the often-theorized role of musical expectations in inducing listeners' emotions in a live flute concert experiment with 50 participants. Using an audience response system developed for this purpose, we measured subjective experience and peripheral psychophysiological changes continuously. To confirm the existence of the link between expectation and emotion, we used a threefold approach. (1) On the basis of an information-theoretic cognitive model, melodic pitch expectations were predicted by analyzing the musical stimuli used (six pieces of solo flute music). (2) A continuous rating scale was used by half of the audience to measure their experience of unexpectedness toward the music heard. (3) Emotional reactions were measured using a multicomponent approach: subjective feeling (valence and arousal rated continuously by the other half of the audience members), expressive behavior (facial EMG), and peripheral arousal (the latter two being measured in all 50 participants). Results confirmed the predicted relationship between high-information-content musical events, the violation of musical expectations (in corresponding ratings), and emotional reactions (psychologically and physiologically). Musical structures leading to expectation reactions were manifested in emotional reactions at different emotion component levels (increases in subjective arousal and autonomic nervous system activations). These results emphasize the role of musical structure in emotion induction, leading to a further understanding of the frequently experienced emotional effects of music.
Kabardov M. K.,
Full Text Available The article shows the background and specifics of application of differential psychological and psychophysiological approach to learning in modern school. The revealed problems of the use of the process of individualization and differentiation of teaching, the necessity of taking into account the individual learning opportunities, individual style of pedagogical activity, as well as features the method used by the teacher during training at the modern stage of education development. Presents the advantages and disadvantages of the 3 paradigms of providing training and education of students in modern school in terms of educational and personal needs of the participants in the learning process. The study showed which may have the effect of environmental factors (primarily representations of teachers about the abilities of their wards, i.e., the performance assessment by teachers on the results of the exam. And that is not unimportant, skills and abilities of teachers play an important role in the learning process. According to the authors, the effectiveness of the learning process depends on "valence" the following three factors against each other and their variability: styles of teaching; learning styles (types of teaching techniques or learning technologies; individual strategies to acquire knowledge, skills, skills. This work was supported by grant RFH № 16-06-00887а
Diano, Matteo; Tamietto, Marco; Celeghin, Alessia; Weiskrantz, Lawrence; Tatu, Mona-Karina; Bagnis, Arianna; Duca, Sergio; Geminiani, Giuliano; Cauda, Franco; Costa, Tommaso
The quest to characterize the neural signature distinctive of different basic emotions has recently come under renewed scrutiny. Here we investigated whether facial expressions of different basic emotions modulate the functional connectivity of the amygdala with the rest of the brain. To this end, we presented seventeen healthy participants (8 females) with facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and emotional neutrality and analyzed amygdala’s psychophysiological interaction (PPI). In fact, PPI can reveal how inter-regional amygdala communications change dynamically depending on perception of various emotional expressions to recruit different brain networks, compared to the functional interactions it entertains during perception of neutral expressions. We found that for each emotion the amygdala recruited a distinctive and spatially distributed set of structures to interact with. These changes in amygdala connectional patters characterize the dynamic signature prototypical of individual emotion processing, and seemingly represent a neural mechanism that serves to implement the distinctive influence that each emotion exerts on perceptual, cognitive, and motor responses. Besides these differences, all emotions enhanced amygdala functional integration with premotor cortices compared to neutral faces. The present findings thus concur to reconceptualise the structure-function relation between brain-emotion from the traditional one-to-one mapping toward a network-based and dynamic perspective. PMID:28345642
Full Text Available Background. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of insomnia in chronic tinnitus and the association of tinnitus distress and sleep disturbance. Methods. We retrospectively analysed data of 182 patients with chronic tinnitus who completed the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ and the Regensburg Insomnia Scale (RIS. Descriptive comparisons with the validation sample of the RIS including exclusively patients with primary/psychophysiological insomnia, correlation analyses of the RIS with TQ scales, and principal component analyses (PCA in the tinnitus sample were performed. TQ total score was corrected for the TQ sleep items. Results. Prevalence of insomnia was high in tinnitus patients (76% and tinnitus distress correlated with sleep disturbance (r=0.558. TQ sleep subscore correlated with the RIS sum score (r=0.690. PCA with all TQ and RIS items showed one sleep factor consisting of all RIS and the TQ sleep items. PCA with only TQ sleep and RIS items showed sleep- and tinnitus-specific factors. The sleep factors (only RIS items were sleep depth and fearful focusing. The TQ sleep items represented tinnitus-related sleep problems. Discussion. Chronic tinnitus and primary insomnia are highly related and might share similar psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms leading to impaired sleep quality.
Côté, Sophie; Bouchard, Stéphane
Many outcome studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of virtual reality in the treatment of specific phobias. However, most studies used self-report data. The addition of objective measures of arousal and information processing mechanisms would be a valuable contribution in order to validate the usefulness of virtual reality in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The goal of this study was to document the impact of virtual reality exposure (VRE) on cardiac response and automatic processing of threatening stimuli. Twenty-eight adults suffering from arachnophobia were assessed and received an exposure-based treatment using virtual reality. General outcome and specific processes measures included a battery of standardized questionnaires, a pictorial emotional Stroop task, a behavioral avoidance test and a measure of participants' inter-beat intervals (IBI) while they were looking at a live tarantula. Assessment was conducted before and after treatment. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that therapy had a positive impact on questionnaire data, as well as on the behavioral avoidance test. Analyses made on the pictorial Stroop task showed that information processing of spider-related stimuli changed after treatment, which also indicates therapeutic success. Psychophysiological data also showed a positive change after treatment, suggesting a decrease in anxiety. In sum, VRE led to significant therapeutic improvements on objective measures as well as on self-report instruments.
Full Text Available Recent research suggests that bodily signals and interoception are strongly related to our sense of time. Mindfulness meditators train to be aware of their body states and therefore could be more accurate at interval timing. In this study, n = 22 experienced mindfulness meditators and n = 22 matched controls performed both, an acoustic and a visual duration reproduction task of 8 s, 14s and 20s intervals, while heart rate and skin conductance were continuously assessed. In addition, participants accomplished a heart-beat perception task and two selective attention tasks. Results revealed no differences between meditators and controls with respect to performance in duration reproduction or attentional capacities. Additionally no group difference in heart beat perception scores was found. Across all subjects, correlational analyses revealed several associations between performance in the duration reproduction tasks and psychophysiological changes, the latter being also related to heart beat perception scores. Furthermore, former findings of linearly increasing cardiac periods and decreasing skin conductance levels during the auditory duration estimation task (Meissner and Wittmann, 2011 could be replicated, and these changes could also be observed during a visual duration reproduction task. In contrast to our earlier findings, the heart-beat perception test was not related with timing performance. Overall, although experienced meditators did not differ from matched controls with respect to duration reproduction and interoceptive awareness, this study adds significantly to the emerging view that time perception is related to autonomic regulation and awareness of body states.
Perrone-McGovern, Kristin M; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia; Simon-Dack, Stephanie; Lefdahl-Davis, Erin; Adams, David; McConnell, John; Howell, Desiree; Hess, Ryan; Davis, Andrew; Gonçalves, Oscar F
The present research builds upon the extant literature as it assesses psychophysiological factors in relation to empathy, conflict resolution, and romantic relationship satisfaction. In this study, we examined physiological reactivity of individuals in the context of emotionally laden interactions with their romantic partners. Participants (N = 31) completed self-report measures and attended in-person data collection sessions with their romantic partners. Participants were guided through discussions of problems and strengths of their relationships in vivo with their partners while we measured participants' skin conductance level (SCL) and interbeat interval (IBI) of the heart. We hypothesized that participants' level of empathy towards their partners would be reflected by physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) and relationship satisfaction, such that higher levels of empathy would be linked to changes in physiological arousal and higher relationship satisfaction. Further, we hypothesized that differences would be found in physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) based on the type of conflict resolution strategy used by participants. Finally, we hypothesized that differences would be found in empathy towards partner and relationship satisfaction based on the type of conflict resolution strategies used by participants. Results partially supported hypotheses and were discussed in light of existing knowledge based on empirical and theoretical sources.
Irina A. Mironenko
Full Text Available Russian psychology has brought into the world science at least two great ideas: the conditioned reflex (Pavlov and the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky. These concepts were formulated before “iron curtain” fell. Since then Russian science dropped out from the view of western colleagues for decades. Now it is challenged to re-join international mainstream. Are we in a position to contribute?A key concept for Russian psychology is personality impact on psycho-physiological functions and causal approach to self-determination. The concept of selfdetermination appeared in Western theories in 1980-es and since then it has been developed in the context of teleological humanitarian approach. In Russian science the concept of self-determination dates back to 1934, when it was defined by Rubinstein as “sub’ekt”. Self-determination of ontogenesis of psycho physiological functions resulting from confluence of ontogenesis and social development was explicated by Russian scientists whose theoretical reasoning and empirical results are compared to Western counterparts.
Shvil, Erel; Rusch, Heather L; Sullivan, Gregory M; Neria, Yuval
As presently defined, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an amalgam of symptoms falling into: re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of reminders of it, emotional numbing and hyperarousal. PTSD has a well-known proximate cause, commonly occurring after a life-threatening event that induces a response of intense fear, horror, and helplessness. Much of the advancement in understanding of the neurobiology of PTSD has emerged from conceptualizing the disorder as one that involves substantial dysfunction in fear processing. This article reviews recent knowledge of fear processing markers in PTSD. A systematic search was performed of reports within the specific three-year publication time period of January 2010 to December 2012. We identified a total of 31 studies reporting fear processing markers in PTSD. We further categorized them according to the following classification: (1) neural-activation markers (n=10), (2) psychophysiological markers (n=14), and (3) behavioral markers (n=7). Across most studies reviewed here, significant differences between individuals with PTSD and healthy controls were shown. Methodological, theoretical and clinical implications were discussed.
Whang, Min Cheol; Lim, Joa Sang; Boucsein, Wolfram
Despite rapid advances in technology, computers remain incapable of responding to human emotions. An exploratory study was conducted to find out what physiological parameters might be useful to differentiate among 4 emotional states, based on 2 dimensions: pleasantness versus unpleasantness and arousal versus relaxation. The 4 emotions were induced by exposing 26 undergraduate students to different combinations of olfactory and auditory stimuli, selected in a pretest from 12 stimuli by subjective ratings of arousal and valence. Changes in electroencephalographic (EEG), heart rate variability, and electrodermal measures were used to differentiate the 4 emotions. EEG activity separates pleasantness from unpleasantness only in the aroused but not in the relaxed domain, where electrodermal parameters are the differentiating ones. All three classes of parameters contribute to a separation between arousal and relaxation in the positive valence domain, whereas the latency of the electrodermal response is the only differentiating parameter in the negative domain. We discuss how such a psychophysiological approach may be incorporated into a systemic model of a computer responsive to affective communication from the user.
Jensen, Kristian S; Oranje, Bob; Wienberg, Malene
modulation is currently inconsistent. In a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design, 18 healthy male volunteers received either placebo or a dose of 10 mg of escitalopram (SSRI), after which they were tested in both PPI and habituation of the startle reflex paradigms. No significant differences...... between the two treatments were observed on PPI, although escitalopram was found to significantly delay habituation of the ASR. In the current study, escitalopram was found to delay habituation, but it did not affect PPI in healthy male volunteers. As escitalopram is a highly specific SSRI, the results...
Scholderer, Joachim; Olsen, Svein Ottar; Brunsø, Karen
(total N = 4800). Extended theory of planned behaviour specifications were estimated that included habit as an exogenous variable. The results indicated that habit predicted attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control far better than these could in turn predict intention and behaviour, apparently......Rational-choice approaches to consumer behaviour neglect the influence of habitual factors. Previous research outside the food choice area has found that habitual factors tend to dominate when the target behaviour is performed often and in stable contexts, whilst deliberative factors tend...... to dominate when the target behaviour is performed rarely and in unstable contexts. In the food choice area, only little research exists that would allow a similar assessment. As part of the SEAFOODplus project, representative surveys were conducted in Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland...
Candler, P D; Li, J C; Tipler, B J
Responses to simulated cross-country skiing were measured using the V-Scope, a new telemetric ultrasound motion monitor. Ten young male adults performed a total of 45 minutes of distributed practice on a Nordic-Track ski simulator. Over a period of three 15-minute sessions cadence and velocity were unchanged. Step and stride lengths decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after the first 15-minute session and then remained unchanged. There were no left-right limb differences across all sessions indicating a normal gait. Response variability in velocity, step lengths and stride length was dramatically reduced after the first exposure period. This study demonstrates that the V-Scope system is a useful motion analysing device and, on the basis of the data presented in this preliminary investigation, at least two 15-minute habituation sessions are required for initial habituation to simulated cross-country skiing.
Stiles, Bryan W.; Ghosh, Joydeep
A novel neural network is proposed for the dynamic classification of spatio-temporal signals. The network is designed to classify signals of different durations, taking into account correlations among different signal segments. Such a network is applicable to SONAR and speech signal classification problems, among others. Network parameters are adapted based on the biologically observed habituation mechanism. This allows the storage of contextual information, without a substantial increase in network complexity. Experiments on classification of high dimensional feature vectors obtained from Banzhaf sonograms, demonstrate that the proposed network performs better than time delay neural networks while using a less complex structure. A mathematical justification of the capabilities of the habituation based mechanism is also provided.
Hansen, Jakob Møller; Bolla, M; Magis, D
Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is a rare, dominantly inherited subtype of migraine with transient hemiplegia during the aura phase. Mutations in at least three different genes can produce the FHM phenotype. The mutated FHM genes code for ion transport proteins that animal and cellular studies...... have associated with disturbed ion homeostasis, altered cellular excitability, neurotransmitter release, and decreased threshold for cortical spreading depression. The common forms of migraine are characterized interictally by a habituation deficit of cortical and subcortical evoked responses that has...... been attributed to neuronal dysexcitability. FHM and the common forms of migraine are thought to belong to a spectrum of migraine phenotypes with similar pathophysiology, and we therefore examined whether an abnormal habituation pattern would also be found in FHM patients....
Hoffmann, Sascha W; Tug, Suzan; Simon, Perikles
The aim of this study was to examine whether child-caregivers', both parents and kindergarten teachers, health parameters (age, weight status, habitual physical activity score) are significantly associated with the risk of overweight in young children. We assessed the individual body mass index standard deviation score in a regional cross-sectional health study and matched a representative sample of 434 kindergartners aged 3 to 6-years with their caregivers' weight and habitual physical activity status. Furthermore, we identified factors associated with the general ability of child-caregivers to identify overweight in children, and the awareness to classify a child within the correct weight category. Our study confirmed most of the known associations between parental anthropometrics and psychosocial factors with childhood overweight and obesity. A significantly higher proportion of boys tended to be overweight or obese (p = 0.027) and parents were more likely to misclassified boys overweight as normal weight (OR: 1.86; 95% CI 1.21-2.86). Adjusted for confounders, logistic regression analysis revealed that kindergarten teachers' weight status (OR: 1.97; 95%-CI: 1.01-3.83) and habitual physical activity scores (OR: 2.32; 95%-CI: 1.10-4.92) were associated with children's weight status. Kindergarten teachers' weight and habitual physical activity score seem to be new independent risk factors for overweight in kindergartners 3 to 6-years of age. Our results suggest that the psychosocial, non-genetic association of non-parental child-caregivers on children's weight is relatively high and that the association of non-parental child-caregivers warrants further investigation.
Adolphus, K; Lawton, CL; Dye, L.
Breakfast has been shown to be beneficial for cognitive and academic performance in school children. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance and a complete absence of studies in UK school children. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between habitual breakfast consumption frequency and Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) performance, a reasoning test routinely used in UK schools. Adole...
Blouin, Jean-Sébastien; Siegmund, Gunter P; Timothy Inglis, J
Postural and startle responses rapidly habituate with repeated exposures to the same stimulus, and the first exposure to a seated forward acceleration elicits a startle response in the neck muscles. Our goal was to examine how the acoustic startle response is integrated with the habituated neck postural response elicited by forward accelerations of seated subjects. In experiment 1, 14 subjects underwent 11 sequential forward accelerations followed by 5 additional sled accelerations combined with a startling tone (124-dB sound pressure level) initiated 18 ms after sled acceleration onset. During the acceleration-only trials, changes consistent with habituation occurred in the root-mean-square amplitude of the neck muscles and in the peak amplitude of five head and torso kinematic variables. The subsequent addition of the startling tone restored the amplitude of the neck muscles and four of the five kinematic variables but shortened onset of muscle activity by 9-12 ms. These shortened onset times were further explored in experiment 2, wherein 16 subjects underwent 11 acceleration-only trials followed by 15 combined acceleration-tone trials with interstimulus delays of 0, 13, 18, 23, and 28 ms. Onset times shortened further for the 0- and 13-ms delays but did not lengthen for the 23- and 28-ms delays. These temporal and spatial changes in EMG can be explained by a summation of the excitatory drive converging at or before the neck muscle motoneurons. The present observations suggest that habituation to repeated sled accelerations involves extinguishing the startle response and tuning the postural response to the whole body disturbance.
Full Text Available A type of heritable cellular change, known as habituation, occurs spontaneously in plant tissue and cell culture. It is the acquired ability of a population of cells to grow and divide independently of exogenously supplied growth regulators. An imbalance in phytohormones in the media, particularly auxins and cytokinins, is an important source of stress and has been linked to hyperhydricity, somaclonal variation, recalcitrance and habituation. All of these abnormalities are potentially very costly to the plant breeding industry. Moreover, habituation as a tumorous and/or neoplastic transformation state that is interchangeable with a normal state in plant cell. This requires a better understanding of factors that contribute to these phenomena. Here we used a computational prediction method based on the known protein structural interactions to analyze grapevine large-scale protein-protein interaction rules within and among complete genomes such as yeast, fly, worm, Arabidopsis, and human and their HTP (high-throughput method maps. These studies may help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of neoplastic phenomena in plants and perhaps in animals. We found fundamental differences among eukaryotic interactomes. We confirmed that all the predicted protein family interactomes (the full set of protein family interactions within a proteome of 6 species are scale-free networks, and they share a small core network comprising 16 protein families related to indispensable cellular functions involved predominantly in the pathogenesis, apoptosis and plant tumorigenesis, as well. Molecular evidence is presented that suggests that grapevine cells that have become habituated for one or more essential factors results from heritable alterations in the pattern of gene expression and that it can, therefore, be used as a model for study of cell differentiation. Moreover, the overall significance of these findings to the plant and in a some instantion also the animal
Shuyan Liu; Schad, Daniel J; Kuschpel, Maxim S.; Rapp, Michael A.; Andreas Heinz
Different systems for habitual versus goal-directed control are thought to underlie human decision-making. Working memory is known to shape these decision-making systems and their interplay, and is known to support goal-directed decision making even under stress. Here, we investigated if and how decision systems are differentially influenced by breaks filled with diverse everyday life activities known to modulate working memory performance. We used a within-subject design where young adults l...
Adolphus, Katie; Lawton, Clare L; Dye, Louise
Breakfast has been shown to be beneficial for cognitive and academic performance in school children. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance and a complete absence of studies in UK school children. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between habitual breakfast consumption frequency and Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) performance, a reasoning test routinely used in UK schools. Adolescents aged 11-13 years (n = 292; males: 53.8%) completed a questionnaire to report usual weekly breakfast intake frequency. Breakfast was subjectively defined by the participants. Habitual weekly breakfast consumption frequency was categorized as rare (0-2 days), occasional (3-4 days), or frequent (5-7 days). Participants' CAT performance was used as a proxy measure of academic performance. The CAT has three components: verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative reasoning. Normative standard age scores (SAS) for verbal, non-verbal, quantitative reasoning, and overall mean SAS were obtained from school records and hierarchical linear regression models were applied, adjusting for the confounders: gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, English as an Additional Language, and body mass index. Habitual breakfast consumption frequency did not significantly predict any CAT SAS in all models (crude and adjusted). However, methodological considerations which could account for this disagreement with previous research, were identified. These included the isolation of school-day breakfast consumption, use of a standard definition of breakfast, and measurement of actual academic performance. The findings of the current study suggest more comprehensive ways in which future studies might investigate the relationship between habitual breakfast consumption and academic performance.
Wickelgren, W O
1. Synaptic potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of cranial nerves were recorded in giant reticulospinal neurones (Müller cells) of lamprey. A variety of patterns of stimulation was employed to explore further the functional properties of the pathways intervening between the cranial nerve fibres and Müller cells.2. Simultaneous low intensity stimulation of two different cranial nerves produced excitatory short-latency synaptic potentials whose amplitudes summed linearly.3. Tetanic (10/sec) stimulation of a cranial nerve depressed the evoked short-latency synaptic response, but following the tetanus the synaptic response was potentiated above control amplitude for several minutes. Tetanic stimulation of one cranial nerve had no effect upon the synaptic responses evoked by stimulation of other cranial nerves.4. Low-frequency stimulation (1/sec to 1/20 sec) of a cranial nerve produced a progressive decrease in the amplitude of the evoked short-latency synaptic response. This phenomenon was termed synaptic habituation because its characteristics were functionally similar to behavioural habituation in animals.5. Habituation of the synaptic response to stimulation of one cranial nerve had no effect on the synaptic responses produced by stimulation of other cranial nerves.6. Synaptic afterdischarges lasting from several seconds to several minutes were recorded in Müller cells. They occurred both spontaneously and in response to strong electrical stimulation of cranial nerves. For several minutes following an afterdischarge the amplitudes of short-latency synaptic potentials produced by stimulation of any one of the cranial nerves were increased as much as twofold. This facilitation occurred equally well whether the short-latency synaptic responses had been habituated or not.7. A theoretical cell-wiring diagram is proposed to account for the properties of short-latency evoked synaptic responses and synaptic afterdischarges and for the facilitation of short
Lim, Woo-Hyun; Kim, Hack-Lyoung; Kim, Ki-Hwan; Na, Sang Hoon; Lee, Hyun-Jung; Kang, Eun Gyu; Seo, Jae-Bin; Chung, Woo-Young; Zo, Joo-Hee; Hong, Jung Ae; Kim, Kwangyoun; Kim, Myung-A
A 68-year-old woman visited the emergency department twice with symptoms of acute heart failure including shortness of breath, general weakness, and abdominal distension. Laboratory findings showed extremely low level of serum hemoglobin at 1.4 g/dL. Echocardiographic examination demonstrated dilated left ventricular cavity with systolic dysfunction and moderate amount of pericardial effusion. In this patient, acute heart failure due to severe iron deficiency anemia was caused by inappropriate habitual bloodletting. PMID:26755934
Stocker, Andrea; Mosler, Hans-Joachim
Recontamination of drinking water occurring between water collection at the source and the point of consumption is a current problem in developing countries. The household drinking water storage container is one source of contamination and should therefore be cleaned regularly. First, the present study investigated contextual factors that stimulate or inhibit the development of habitual cleaning of drinking water storage containers with soap and water. Second, based on the Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, and Self-regulation (RANAS) Model of behavior, the study aimed to determine which sociopsychological factors should be influenced by an intervention to promote habitual cleaning. In a cross-sectional study, 905 households in rural Benin were interviewed by structured face-to-face interviews. A forced-entry regression analysis was used to determine potential contextual factors related to habitual cleaning. Subsequently, a hierarchical regression was conducted with the only relevant contextual factor entered in the first step (R2 = 6.7%) and the sociopsychological factors added in the second step (R2 = 62.5%). Results showed that households using a clay container for drinking water storage had a significantly weaker habit of cleaning their water storage containers with soap and water than did households using other types of containers (β = -0.10). The most important sociopsychological predictors of habitual cleaning were commitment (β = 0.35), forgetting (β = -0.22), and self-efficacy (β = 0.14). The combined investigation of contextual and sociopsychological factors proved beneficial in terms of developing intervention strategies. Possible interventions based on these findings are recommended.
Tine A Biedenweg
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Animals typically show less habituation to biologically meaningful sounds than to novel signals. We might therefore expect that acoustic deterrents should be based on natural sounds. METHODOLOGY: We investigated responses by western grey kangaroos (Macropus fulignosus towards playback of natural sounds (alarm foot stomps and Australian raven (Corvus coronoides calls and artificial sounds (faux snake hiss and bull whip crack. We then increased rate of presentation to examine whether animals would habituate. Finally, we varied frequency of playback to investigate optimal rates of delivery. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nine behaviors clustered into five Principal Components. PC factors 1 and 2 (animals alert or looking, or hopping and moving out of area accounted for 36% of variance. PC factor 3 (eating cessation, taking flight, movement out of area accounted for 13% of variance. Factors 4 and 5 (relaxing, grooming and walking; 12 and 11% of variation, respectively discontinued upon playback. The whip crack was most evocative; eating was reduced from 75% of time spent prior to playback to 6% following playback (post alarm stomp: 32%, raven call: 49%, hiss: 75%. Additionally, 24% of individuals took flight and moved out of area (50 m radius in response to the whip crack (foot stomp: 0%, raven call: 8% and 4%, hiss: 6%. Increasing rate of presentation (12x/min ×2 min caused 71% of animals to move out of the area. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The bull whip crack, an artificial sound, was as effective as the alarm stomp at eliciting aversive behaviors. Kangaroos did not fully habituate despite hearing the signal up to 20x/min. Highest rates of playback did not elicit the greatest responses, suggesting that 'more is not always better'. Ultimately, by utilizing both artificial and biological sounds, predictability may be masked or offset, so that habituation is delayed and more effective deterrents may be produced.
Full Text Available The effects of scopolamine on memory consolidation are controversial and depend on several factors (i.e. site of administration, time of administration and testing, dose, cognitive task, experimental protocol, specie, strain, etc.. Generally, the range dose of systemic administered scopolamine, used in memory consolidation studies, has varied from 0.05 to 50 mg/kg. However, according to the literature, the most frequently used doses of scopolamine efficient on memory consolidation, are 1 and 30 mg/kg, low and high doses, respectively. In open field habituation studies only lower doses of scopolamine were used to test memory consolidation. Therefore, in the present study we compared the effects of low (1 mg/kg and high (30 mg/kg scopolamine dose, on the open field habituation task, in male Wistar rats. Scopolamine was administered immediately after the acquisition task and animals were retested 48 h later on. On the retested day, the ambulation and rearing in the open field decreased in the same manner in all tested groups. In saline- and 1 mg/kg scopolamine-treated animals, the time spent in grooming significantly decreased in the habituation task, while the same parameter significantly increased in animals treated with 30 mg/kg of scopolamine. The defecation rate significantly decreased (control group, maintained (1 mg/kg of scopolamine treated animals or significantly increased (30 mg/kg of scopolamine treated group on retention test. In conclusion, the present data suggest that post-training scopolamine administration does not affect locomotion neither exploration in the habituation to a novel environment, but increases defecation and grooming, two behaviours associated with fearful and stressful situations.
Full Text Available Breakfast has been shown to be beneficial for cognitive and academic performance in school children. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance and a complete absence of studies in UK school children. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between habitual breakfast consumption frequency and Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT performance, a reasoning test routinely used in UK schools. Adolescents aged 11-13 years (n=292; males: 53.8% completed a questionnaire to report usual weekly breakfast intake frequency. Breakfast was subjectively defined by the participants. Habitual weekly breakfast consumption frequency was categorized as rare (0-2 days, occasional (3-4 days or frequent (5-7 days. Participants’ CAT performance was used as a proxy measure of academic performance. The CAT has three components: verbal, non-verbal and quantitative reasoning. Normative standard age scores (SAS for verbal, nonverbal, quantitative reasoning and overall mean SAS were obtained from school records and hierarchical linear regression models were applied, adjusting for the confounders: gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, English as an Additional Language and body mass index. Habitual breakfast consumption frequency did not significantly predict any CAT SAS in all models (crude and adjusted. However, methodological considerations which could account for this disagreement with previous research were identified. These included the isolation of school-day breakfast consumption, use of a standard definition of breakfast, and measurement of actual academic performance. The findings of the current study suggest more comprehensive ways in which future studies might investigate the relationship between habitual breakfast consumption and academic performance.
The field of applied psychophysiology overlaps a number of others, from behavioral and psychosomatic medicine to Eastern disciplines and complementary medicine. Although the proliferation of societies and professional identities across these fields emphasizes this diversity, it also may hinder growth. The history of our field is one of innovation, often at odds with conventional wisdom and practice. It is important that this innovativeness not be sacrificed in a justified quest for professional respectability. This paper reviews the earliest research in biofeedback and applied psychophysiology, and modern applications and interpretations in the areas of muscular and autonomic control, including progressive relaxation and heart rate variability biofeedback, and draws parallels to disciplines of Yoga, QiGong, and Zen practices and their psychophysiological effects.
Full Text Available Physically active older adults have reduced risk of functional restrictions and role limitations. Several aspects may interrelate and influence habitual physical activity (PA. However, older adults’ own perspectives towards their PA need to be addressed. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of habitual physical activity in maintaining roles and functioning among older adult Palestinians ≥60 years. Data were collected through in-depth interviews based on a narrative approach. Seventeen participants were recruited (aged 64–84 years. Data were analyzed using a narrative interpretative method. Findings. Three central narratives were identified, “keep moving, stay healthy,” “social connectedness, a motive to stay active,” and “adapting strategies to age-related changes.” Conclusion. Habitual physical activity was perceived as an important factor to maintain functioning and to preserve active roles in older adults. Walking was the most prominent pattern of physical activity and it was viewed as a vital tool to maintain functioning among the older adults. Social connectedness was considered as a contributing factor to the status of staying active. To adapt the process of age-related changes in a context to stay active, the participants have used different adapting strategies, including protective strategy, awareness of own capabilities, and modifying or adopting new roles.
Full Text Available Safeguarding the welfare of animals is an important aim when defining housing and management standards in animal based, experimental research. While such standards are usually defined per animal species, it is known that considerable differences between laboratory mouse strains exist, for example with regard to their emotional traits. Following earlier experiments, in which we found that 129P3 mice show a lack of habituation of anxiety related behaviour after repeated exposure to an initially novel environment (non-adaptive profile, we here investigated four other 129 inbred mouse substrains (129S2/SvPas, 129S2/SvHsd (exp 1; 129P2 and 129X1 (exp 2 on habituation of anxiety related behaviour. Male mice of each strain were repeatedly placed in the modified hole board test, measuring anxiety-related behaviour, exploratory and locomotor behaviour. The results reveal that all four substrains show a lack of habituation behaviour throughout the period of testing. Although not in all of the substrains a possible confounding effect of general activity can be excluded, our findings suggest that the genetic background of the 129 substrains may increase their vulnerability to cope with environmental challenges, such as exposure to novelty. This vulnerability might negatively affect the welfare of these mice under standard laboratory conditions when compared with other strains. Based on our findings we suggest to consider (substrain-specific guidelines and protocols, taking the (substrain-specific adaptive capabilities into account.
Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Painful peripheral electrical stimulation to acupuncture points was found to cause sensitization if delivered randomly (EStim, but induced habituation if triggered by voluntary breathing (BreEStim. The objective was to systematically compare the effectiveness of BreEStim and EStim and to investigate the possible mechanisms mediating the habituation effect of BreEStim. METHODS: Eleven pain-free, healthy subjects (6 males, 5 females participated in the study. Each subject received the BreEStim and EStim treatments in a random order at least three days apart. Both treatments consisted of 120 painful but tolerable stimuli to the ulnar nerve at the elbow on the dominant arm. BreEStim was triggered by voluntary breathing while EStim was delivered randomly. Electrical sensation threshold (EST and electrical pain threshold (EPT were measured from the thenar and hypothenar eminences on both hands at pre-intervention and 10-minutes post-intervention. RESULTS: There was no difference in the pre-intervention baseline measurement of EST and EPT between BreEStim and EStim. BreEStim increased EPT in all tested sites on both hands, while EStim increased EPT in the dominant hypothenar eminence distal to the stimulating site and had no effect on EPT in other sites. There was no difference in the intensity of electrical stimulation between EStim and BreEStim. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the important role human voluntary breathing plays in the systemic habituation effect of BreEStim to peripheral painful electrical stimulation.
Nizeyi, J B; Innocent, R B; Erume, J; Kalema, G R; Cranfield, M R; Graczyk, T K
For conservation purposes and due to growing ecotourism, free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) have been habituated to humans. Fecal specimens (n = 62) collected in January 1999 from mountain gorillas of the Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks, Uganda, were tested for Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp., and the overall prevalence of infection was 19%, 13%, and 6%, respectively. The prevalence of positive specimens was not related to the year of habituation of a gorilla group to humans. Campylobacter spp., Salmonella, and Shigella spp. infections were not distributed equally among the age classes of gorillas; most of the enteropathogens (80%), and all Shigella spp. organisms, S. sonnei, S. boydii, and S. flexneri, were isolated from subadults and adult gorillas with ages ranging from 6.0 to 11.9 yr. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. infections among human-habituated gorillas has doubled during the last 4 yr, and isolation of Shigella spp. for the first time from mountain gorillas, may indicate enhanced anthropozoonotic transmission of these enteropathogens.
Namba, S.; Kuwano, S.
Using "the method of continuous judgment by category", we examined the noisiness of sounds from public loudspeakers, and habituation to them. Subjects judged the noisiness of the sound at any moment of their choice by touching one of seven numbered keys on a computer keyboard, each corresponding to a noisiness category. At the same time, the subjects were required to complete a task as carefully and rapidly as possible. The duration of "no response" to sounds was an index of habituation. Both personality factors and physical factors were analyzed. It was found that the duration of "no response" is a good index to habituation to noise, and that there were wide differences in the "no response" time of different subjects. The reactions of individual subjects in sessions 1 and 2 and the questionnaire survey were, however, consistent. This suggests that there is a group that is relatively sensitive to noise and a group that is less sensitive to noise. It was also found that subjects had difficulty in becoming accustomed to intense noise.
Fernanda Karina dos Santos
Full Text Available Social and economic changes occurring in the last two decades in Mozambique may have induced lifestyle changes among youth. This study aimed to document secular changes in habitual physical activities of Mozambican youth between 1992, 1999 and 2012. A total of 3393 youth (eight–15 years, were measured in three different time periods (1992, 1999, 2012. Habitual physical activity (PA was estimated with a questionnaire, including items related to household chores, sport participation, traditional games and walking activities. Biological maturation was assessed. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA was used to compare mean differences in PA across the years. Significant decreases between 1992–1999 and 1992–2012 were observed for boys in household chores, games and walking, and a significant decline between 1999 and 2012 was found in sport participation. Among girls, a significant and consistent decline (1992 > 1999 > 2012 was observed for household chores, a decline between 1992–1999 and 1992–2012 for games and walking, and a significant increase between 1992 and 1999 in sport participation. In general, a negative secular trend was found in habitual PA among Mozambican youth. Interventions aimed at increasing PA represent important educational and public health opportunities.
Choi, Hongyoon; Seo, Minseok; Lee, Hoyoung; Kim, Youngsoo; Yun, Changho; Kim, Sangeun; Park, Sungho [Seoul National Univ. Bundang Hospital, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)
Self-induced hypoxia has been reported particularly in adolescents, and it can result in neurological injury. Here, we present a case of electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities induced by habitual neck compression differentiated from epileptic seizures by Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT. A 19-year-old male was admitted for evaluation of recurrent generalized tonic-clonic seizures. No interictal EEG abnormality was detected; however, abnormal slow delta waves were found immediately after habitual right neck compression. To differentiate EEG abnormalities due to a hemodynamic deficit induced by habitual neck compression from an epileptic seizure, Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT was performed immediately after right carotid artery compression. Abnormal delta waves were triggered, and cerebral hypoperfusion in the right internal carotid artery territory was detected on Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT. The slow delta wave detected on the EEG resulted from the cerebral hypoperfusion because of the habitual neck compression.
Smith, David V; Gseir, Mouad; Speer, Megan E; Delgado, Mauricio R
Much of the work in cognitive neuroscience is shifting from a focus on single brain regions to a focus on the connectivity between multiple brain regions. These inter-regional connectivity patterns contribute to a wide range of behaviors and are studied with models of functional integration. The rapid expansion of the literature on functional integration offers an opportunity to scrutinize the consistency and specificity of one of the most popular approaches for quantifying connectivity: psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. We performed coordinate-based meta-analyses on 284 PPI studies, which allowed us to test (a) whether those studies consistently converge on similar target regions and (b) whether the identified target regions are specific to the chosen seed region and psychological context. Our analyses revealed two key results. First, we found that different types of PPI studies-e.g., those using seeds such as amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and contexts such as emotion and cognitive control, respectively-each consistently converge on similar target regions, thus supporting the reliability of PPI as a tool for studying functional integration. Second, we also found target regions that were specific to the chosen seed region and psychological context, indicating distinct patterns of brain connectivity. For example, the DLPFC seed reliably contributed to a posterior cingulate cortex target during cognitive control but contributed to an amygdala target in other contexts. Our results point to the robustness of PPI while highlighting common and distinct patterns of functional integration, potentially advancing models of brain connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2904-2917, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lindsay, Angus; Lewis, John; Gill, Nicholas; Gieseg, Steven P; Draper, Nick
Rugby union is a physical demanding sport that requires optimum recovery between games to maintain performance levels. Analysis of four unique biochemical markers of stress is measured here to determine which recovery strategy currently in use by a professional team provides the necessary requirements for sustained performance. Urine and saliva samples were collected from 37 professional rugby players before, immediately after and 36 hours after five home games, and analysed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and high performance liquid chromatography for urinary myoglobin, total neopterin (NP; NP + 7,8-dihydroneopterin), salivary cortisol and immunoglobulin A. Subjects completed a cold water immersion (CWI) or pool session (PS), donned compression garments, consumed protein and carbohydrate food and fluid, and slept for 8 hours post-game. The following day subjects choose from one or a combination of CWI, PS or active recovery/stretching to complete. There was no difference between the recovery protocols for cortisol, total NP, immunoglobulin A concentration or myoglobin at 36 hours post-game. Immunoglobulin A secretion rate significantly increased above pre-game levels at 36 hours post-game for all protocols; however, protocol three did not increase as much (p = 0.038). Total NP was also significantly increased above pre-game levels at 36 hours post-game for all protocols. This study provides evidence that the immediate post-game recovery intervention following a game of professional rugby union may be the most important aspect of psychophysiological player recovery, irrespective of the "next-day" intervention. The concentrations of total NP and immunoglobulin A suggest these professional rugby players are still in a state of recovery 36 hours post-game.
Full Text Available Alexander Drozdovski,1 Irina Gromova,2 Konstantin Korotkov,1 Oleg Shelkov,1 Femi Akinnagbe31Saint Petersburg Federal Research Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, St Petersburg, Russia; 2Paralympic Team of Russia, Moscow, Russia; 3Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USAObjective: Evaluation of elite athletes’ psycho-physiological condition at various stages of preparation and in international competition.Design: Athletes were tested during training and participation in international competition using methods of galvanic skin response (GSR and gas discharge visualization (GDV.Setting: Saint Petersburg Federal Research Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, Russia and Paralympic athletic training camp, Norway.Participants: Eighteen athletes from Russia’s Skiing and Biathlon Paralympic Team. All athletes had some level of damage to their musculoskeletal system.Main outcome measures: Stress level (SL, energy potential (EP, and psycho-emotional tension (PET.Results: It was found that the higher the level of EP achieved by the athlete in the training period, the lower the SL in the competition time. The SL of an athlete recorded in the training period significantly correlates with the SL both before and at the time of competition. The PET and SL before the World Cup was negatively correlated to the results of skiing competitions.Conclusion: Evaluation of PET, EP, and SL through GSR and GDV offers a fast, highly precise, non-invasive method to assess an athlete’s level of readiness during both training and at the time of competition.Keywords: paralympic sport, express-analysis, galvanic skin response (GSR, gas discharge visualization (GDV
Aydın, Serap; Tunga, M Alper; Yetkin, Sinan
The primary goal of this study is to state the clear changes in functional brain connectivity during all night sleep in psycho-physiological insomnia (PPI). The secondary goal is to investigate the usefulness of Mutual Information (MI) analysis in estimating cortical sleep EEG arousals for detection of PPI. For these purposes, healthy controls and patients were compared to each other with respect to both linear (Pearson correlation coefficient and coherence) and nonlinear quantifiers (MI) in addition to phase locking quantification for six sleep stages (stage.1-4, rem, wake) by means of interhemispheric dependency between two central sleep EEG derivations. In test, each connectivity estimation calculated for each couple of epoches (C3-A2 and C4-A1) was identified by the vector norm of estimation. Then, patients and controls were classified by using 10 different types of data mining classifiers for five error criteria such as accuracy, root mean squared error, sensitivity, specificity and precision. High performance in a classification through a measure will validate high contribution of that measure to detecting PPI. The MI was found to be the best method in detecting PPI. In particular, the patients had lower MI, higher PCC for all sleep stages. In other words, the lower sleep EEG synchronization suffering from PPI was observed. These results probably stand for the loss of neurons that then contribute to less complex dynamical processing within the neural networks in sleep disorders an the functional central brain connectivity is nonlinear during night sleep. In conclusion, the level of cortical hemispheric connectivity is strongly associated with sleep disorder. Thus, cortical communication quantified in all existence sleep stages might be a potential marker for sleep disorder induced by PPI.
Full Text Available To evaluate the patients of Parkinson’s disease in the Indian tertiary setup it was necessary to weigh the multivaried presentation of PD for the motor disorders as well as neurocognitive and various grades of psychophysiological inadequacies with emphasis on cognitive deficits. Two groups of patients consisting of 41 subjects in each of case and control group were analyzed for the psycho - neurophysiological functions using AIIMS battery (in Hindi and MMSE scoring system. The case and controls had appreciab le difference in MMSE scoring with almost 2.5% of patients having very low score (<10 compared to none in control scoring less than 10. 80% of cases presented with disease in upper or lower limbs. Disability scoring on Hoehn & Yahr scoring was stage 2(34% or stage 3(27% for most of the patients in the study. 85.4% patients presented with tremors, 13% patients had history of early falls and 63% patients had urinary bladder involvement at the time of presentation. 20% (6/35 of the cases categorized as Idi opathic Parkinson’s disease presented with conspicuous gaze abnormality. The different lobes were evaluated categorically for dysfunction in both the hemispheres and an estimate of dysfunction distribution was obtained. Right frontal lobe had the highest p sychocognitive score while the right parietoccipital had the least score of all the lobar regions evaluated on AIIMS neuropsychiatric battery scoring. The score differences of cases with controls the RSM - right sensorimotor and LT - left temporal were the maximum. In overall hemispherical comparison, right lobe scored 335.50 as compared to 315.90 of left lobe. All four subdomains of MMSE were subnormal in cases as compared to controls with remarkable impairment of execution functions and memory. The AIIMS t est battery was more sensitive for cognitive evaluation in this study with 70% cases of impaired patient had scored normal on MMSE scoring system.
Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier
Many studies have researched the psychophysiological response and energy balance of athletes in numerous ultraendurance probes, but none has investigated an ultraendurance mountain running event. The current study aims to analyze changes in blood lactate concentration, rating of perceived exertion, heart rate, heart rate variability, and energy balance after the performance of an ultraendurance mountain running event. The parameters in the 6 participants who finished the event were analyzed (age, 30.8 ± 3.1 years; height, 176.2 ± 8.6 cm; body mass, 69.2 ± 3.7 kg). The race covered 54 km, with 6441 m of altitude change, 3556 m downhill and 2885 m uphill. The athletes completed together the race in 14 h and 6 min. After the ultraendurance event, the athletes presented a negative energy balance of 4732 kcal, a blood lactate concentration of 2.8 ± 0.3 mmol/L, a heart rate mean/heart rate maximum ratio of 0.64, a heart rate mean of 111.4 ± 5.9 beats/min, a decrease in vagal modulation, and an increase in sympathetic modulation, and recorded 19.5 ± 1.5 points on the 6-20 rating of perceived exertion scale. The event was a stressful stimulus for the athletes despite the low intensity measured by blood lactate concentration and heart rate. The results obtained may be used by coaches as a reference parameter of heart rate, heart rate variability, rating of perceived exertion, and lactate concentration to develop specific training programs. In addition, the energy balance data obtained in this research may improve nutritional intake strategies.
HAN Jiang-na 韩江娜; ZHU Yuan-jue 朱元珏; LI Shun-wei 李舜伟; LUO Dong-mei 雒冬梅; HU Zheng 胡征; Van Diest I; De Peuter S; Van de Woestijne KP; Van den Bergh O
Background Medically unexplained dyspnea occurs commonly in medical settings and remains poorly understood. This study was conducted to investigate the psychophysiological characteristics of medically unexplained dyspnea and the efficacy of breathing retraining for these patients.Methods A group of patients with medically unexplained dyspnea were compared to patients with a variety of organic lung diseases and healthy subjects. In another group of patients, the influence of breathing therapy on complaints, anxiety, and breath-holding was evaluated for an average of 1.5 years. Results Patients with medically unexplained dyspnea reported more intense dyspnea than patients with a variety of organic lung diseases. Additionally, they were anxious and presented a broad range of symptoms in daily life and under challenge, for instance voluntary hyperventilation. More than one third of them qualified for panic disorder. They had shorter breath-holding time at rest, less increase in breath-holding time and higher chances of showing a "paradoxical" decrease of breath-holding time after hyperventilation. A combination of PaO2, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and anxiety measures distinguished them from organic dyspnea. Breathing retraining profoundly improved their symptoms and decreased the level of state and trait anxiety. Moreover, they better tolerated the voluntary hyperventilation and the symptoms induced were also markedly decreased after therapy. Breath-holding time was prolonged and PetCO2 in a representative group of patients increased. Conclusions Patients with medically unexplained dyspnea appear to have the feature of a "psychosomatic" patient: an anxious patient with a wide variety of symptoms of different organ systems that do not have an organic basis. They can be distinguished from organic dyspnea using a small set of physiological and psychological measures. Breathing retraining turns out to be an effective therapy for those "difficult to
Harrivel, Angela R.; Liles, Charles; Stephens, Chad L.; Ellis, Kyle K.; Prinzel, Lawrence J.; Pope, Alan T.
Attention-related human performance limiting states (AHPLS) can cause pilots to lose airplane state awareness (ASA), and their detection is important to improving commercial aviation safety. The Commercial Aviation Safety Team found that the majority of recent international commercial aviation accidents attributable to loss of control inflight involved flight crew loss of airplane state awareness, and that distraction of various forms was involved in all of them. Research on AHPLS, including channelized attention, diverted attention, startle / surprise, and confirmation bias, has been recommended in a Safety Enhancement (SE) entitled "Training for Attention Management." To accomplish the detection of such cognitive and psychophysiological states, a broad suite of sensors has been implemented to simultaneously measure their physiological markers during high fidelity flight simulation human subject studies. Pilot participants were asked to perform benchmark tasks and experimental flight scenarios designed to induce AHPLS. Pattern classification was employed to distinguish the AHPLS induced by the benchmark tasks. Unimodal classification using pre-processed electroencephalography (EEG) signals as input features to extreme gradient boosting, random forest and deep neural network multiclass classifiers was implemented. Multi-modal classification using galvanic skin response (GSR) in addition to the same EEG signals and using the same types of classifiers produced increased accuracy with respect to the unimodal case (90 percent vs. 86 percent), although only via the deep neural network classifier. These initial results are a first step toward the goal of demonstrating simultaneous real time classification of multiple states using multiple sensing modalities in high-fidelity flight simulators. This detection is intended to support and inform training methods under development to mitigate the loss of ASA and thus reduce accidents and incidents.
Harrivel, Angela R.; Stephens, Chad L.; Milletich, Robert J.; Heinich, Christina M.; Last, Mary Carolyn; Napoli, Nicholas J.; Abraham, Nijo A.; Prinzel, Lawrence J.; Motter, Mark A.; Pope, Alan T.
The Commercial Aviation Safety Team found the majority of recent international commercial aviation accidents attributable to loss of control inflight involved flight crew loss of airplane state awareness (ASA), and distraction was involved in all of them. Research on attention-related human performance limiting states (AHPLS) such as channelized attention, diverted attention, startle/surprise, and confirmation bias, has been recommended in a Safety Enhancement (SE) entitled "Training for Attention Management." To accomplish the detection of such cognitive and psychophysiological states, a broad suite of sensors was implemented to simultaneously measure their physiological markers during a high fidelity flight simulation human subject study. Twenty-four pilot participants were asked to wear the sensors while they performed benchmark tasks and motion-based flight scenarios designed to induce AHPLS. Pattern classification was employed to predict the occurrence of AHPLS during flight simulation also designed to induce those states. Classifier training data were collected during performance of the benchmark tasks. Multimodal classification was performed, using pre-processed electroencephalography, galvanic skin response, electrocardiogram, and respiration signals as input features. A combination of one, some or all modalities were used. Extreme gradient boosting, random forest and two support vector machine classifiers were implemented. The best accuracy for each modality-classifier combination is reported. Results using a select set of features and using the full set of available features are presented. Further, results are presented for training one classifier with the combined features and for training multiple classifiers with features from each modality separately. Using the select set of features and combined training, multistate prediction accuracy averaged 0.64 +/- 0.14 across thirteen participants and was significantly higher than that for the separate training
Jones, Leighton; Tiller, Nicholas B; Karageorghis, Costas I
Numerous studies have examined the multifarious effects of music applied during exercise but few have assessed the efficacy of music as an aid to recovery. Music might facilitate physiological recovery via the entrainment of respiratory rhythms with music tempo. High-intensity exercise training is not typically associated with positive affective responses, and thus ways of assuaging negative affect warrant further exploration. This study assessed the psychophysiological effects of music on acute recovery and prevalence of entrainment in between bouts of high-intensity exercise. Thirteen male runners (Mage=20.2±1.9years; BMI=21.7±1.7; V̇O2 max=61.6±6.1mL·kg·min(-1)) completed three exercise sessions comprising 5×5-min bouts of high-intensity intervals interspersed with 3-min periods of passive recovery. During recovery, participants were administered positively-valenced music of a slow-tempo (55-65bpm), fast-tempo (125-135bpm), or a no-music control. A range of measures including affective responses, RPE, cardiorespiratory indices (gas exchange and pulmonary ventilation), and music tempo-respiratory entrainment were recorded during exercise and recovery. Fast-tempo, positively-valenced music resulted in higher Feeling Scale scores throughout recovery periods (p<0.01, ηp(2)=0.38). There were significant differences in HR during initial recovery periods (p<0.05, ηp(2)=0.16), but no other music-moderated differences in cardiorespiratory responses. In conclusion, fast-tempo, positively-valenced music applied during recovery periods engenders a more pleasant experience. However, there is limited evidence that music expedites cardiorespiratory recovery in between bouts of high-intensity exercise. These findings have implications for athletic training strategies and individuals seeking to make high-intensity exercise sessions more pleasant.
Bezrukikh, M M; Loginova, E S
Wechsler test revealed the peculiarities of intellectual development of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is shown that the psychophysiological structure of intelligence in 6-7 year old children without any signs of ADHD is characterized by a high level of development and close interaction between verbal and nonverbal components. Their peers with ADHD demonstrate an insufficient level of development of visual-spatial perception, voluntary activity organization and regulation, and a lower level of interaction between verbal and nonverbal components. Significant differences between verbal and nonverbal integral indices are the evidence of the deficit in voluntary attention and voluntary regulation and in the integrity of operational cognitive structures.
Pilz Peter KD; Plappert Claudia F; Weber Maruschka; Simons-Weidenmaier Nadine S; Schmid Susanne
Abstract Background Short-term habituation of the startle response represents an elementary form of learning in mammals. The underlying mechanism is located within the primary startle pathway, presumably at sensory synapses on giant neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC). Short trains of action potentials in sensory afferent fibers induce depression of synaptic responses in PnC giant neurons, a phenomenon that has been proposed to be the cellular correlate for short-term habitu...
Soichi Kitano; Hisashi Hisatomi; Nozomu Hibi; Katsumi Kawano; Shoji Harada
AIM: To develop a simple and accurate method for quantifying 8-isoprostane in plasma by employing a combination of two-step solid-phase extraction of samples and a commercially available ELISA kit, and by this method to examine the effects of drinking and smoking habits against the levels of plasma 8-isoprostane in healthy Japanese volunteers.METHODS: Plasma 8-isoprostane was extracted with ODS gel suspension followed by NH2 Sep-Pak column.The 8-isoprostane fractions were assayed using a commercially available ELISA kit. We measured plasma 8-isoprostane levels in 157 healthy Japanese volunteers divided into three groups (64 non-habitual drinkers, 56moderate drinkers and 37 habitual drinkers) according to their alcohol consumption per week. Genotypes of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) were also determined to investigate the plasma 8-isoprostane levels with reference to drinking habits. In addition, the plasma 8-isoprostane levels of 96 non-smokers and 61 smokers from the same subjects were compared.RESULTS: Our method fulfilled all the requirements for use in routine clinical assays with respect to sensitivity,intra- and inter-assay reproducibility, accuracy and dynamic assay range. Significant increases of plasma 8-isoprostane levels were observed in female habitual drinkers when compared with those of non-habitual drinkers (t = 5.494, P ＜ 0.0001) as well as moderate drinkers (t = 3.542, P ＜ 0.005), and 8-isoprostane levels were also significantly different between ALDH2*2/1 and ALDH2*1/1 in the female habitual drinkers (t = 6.930, P ＜ 0.0001), suggesting that excessive drinking of alcohol may increase oxidization stress, especially in females.On the contrary, no significant difference of the plasma 8-isoprostane levels.was observed between non-smokers and smokers.CONCLUSION: Our present method was proved to be a simple and accurate tool for measuring plasma 8-isoprostane. However, the clinical utility of plasma 8-isoprostane for drinking and smoking habits
Ceacero, F; Landete-Castillejos, T; Bartošová, J; García, A J; Bartoš, L; Komárková, M; Gallego, L
The preorbital gland plays not only an olfactory role in cervids but also a visual one. Opening this gland is an easy way for the calf to communicate with the mother, indicating hunger/satiety, stress, pain, fear, or excitement. This information can be also useful for farm operators to assess how fast the calves habituate to handling routines and to detect those calves that do not habituate and may suffer chronic stress in the future. Thirty-one calves were subjected to 2 consecutive experiments to clarify if observing preorbital gland opening is related to habituation to handling in red deer calves (Cervus elaphus). Calves were born in 3 different paddocks, handled as newborns (Exp. 1), and then subjected to the same routine handling but with different periodicity: every 1, 2, or 3 wk (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1, preorbital gland opening was recorded in newborns during an initial handling (including weighing, ear tagging, and sex determination). Preorbital gland opening occurred in 93% of calves during this procedure and was not affected by sex, time since birth, or birth weight. Experiment 2 consisted of measuring preorbital opening during the same routine handling (weighing, blood sampling, and rump touching to assess body condition) when calves were 1, 3, and 5 mo old. Binary logistic regression showed that gland opening was associated with habituation to handling, since at 1 and 3 mo the probability of opening the gland decreased with the number of handlings that a calf experienced before (P = 0.008 and P = 0.028, respectively). However, there were no further changes in preorbital gland opening rate in the 5-mo-old calves (P = 0.182). The significant influence of the number of previous handlings on the probability of opening the preorbital gland was confirmed through generalized linear model with repeated measures (P = 0.007). Preorbital gland opening decreased along the phases of the study. Nevertheless, we found a significant trend in individuals to keep similar
Patrick, Christopher J
This chapter reviews the existing literature on physiological correlates of psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and persistent violence/aggression. Coverage is provided of findings from studies utilizing peripheral, electrocortical, and neuroimaging measures. The review begins with a discussion of how psychopathy and antisocial personality are defined, and how these conditions relate to one another and to violent behavior. A case is made that the relationships psychopathy and ASPD show with violent and aggressive behavior, and similarities and differences in associations of each with physiological measures of various types can be understood in terms of symptomatic features these conditions have in common versus features that distinguish them. Following this, an overview is provided of major lines of evidence emerging from psychophysiological and neuroimaging studies conducted to date on these conditions. The final section of the chapter summarizes what has been learned from these existing studies and discusses implications and directions for future research.
Mazzetto de Menezes, Keyla S; Master, Suely; Guzman, Marco; Bortnem, Cori; Ramos, Luiz Roberto
The present study aimed to compare elderly and young female voices in habitual and high intensity. The effect of increased intensity on the acoustic and perceptual parameters was assessed. Sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and harmonic to noise ratio were obtained at habitual and high intensity voice in a group of 30 elderly women and 30 young women. Perceptual assessment was also performed. Both groups demonstrated an increase in sound pressure level and fundamental frequency from habitual voice to high intensity voice. No differences were found between groups in any acoustic variables on samples recorded with habitual intensity level. No significant differences between groups were found in habitual intensity level for pitch, hoarseness, roughness, and breathiness. Asthenia and instability obtained significant higher values in elderly than young participants, whereas, the elderly demonstrated lower values for perceived tension and loudness than young subjects. Acoustic and perceptual measures do not demonstrate evident differences between elderly and young speakers in habitual intensity level. The parameters analyzed may lack the sensitivity necessary to detect differences in subjects with normal voices. Phonation with high intensity highlights differences between groups, especially in perceptual parameters. Therefore, high intensity should be included to compare elderly and young voice. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.
Oranje, Bob; Wienberg, Malene; Glenthøj, Birte Yding
Early mechanisms to limit the input of sensory information to higher brain areas are important for a healthy individual. In previous studies, we found that a low dose of 10mg escitalopram (SSRI) disrupts habituation, without affecting sensory and sensorimotor gating in healthy volunteers. In the ......Early mechanisms to limit the input of sensory information to higher brain areas are important for a healthy individual. In previous studies, we found that a low dose of 10mg escitalopram (SSRI) disrupts habituation, without affecting sensory and sensorimotor gating in healthy volunteers....... In the current study a higher dose of 15mg was used. The hypothesis was that this higher dose of escitalopram would not only disrupt habituation, but also sensory and sensorimotor gating. Twenty healthy male volunteers received either placebo or 15mg escitalopram, after which they were tested in a P50...... suppression, and a habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex paradigm. Escitalopram significantly decreased P50 suppression and habituation, but had no effect on PPI. The results indicate that habituation and sensory gating are disrupted by increased serotonergic activity, while...
Clément, Gilles; Tilikete, Caroline; Courjon, Jean-Hubert
Previous studies in cats revealed that vestibular habituation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) only occurs when velocity steps are delivered during the secondary phase nystagmus, suggesting that the presence of anti-compensatory slow phases may trigger the habituation process. We verified this property in humans by comparing vestibular habituation of VOR and sensation of rotation when steps were delivered either immediately after the perception of self-rotation had stopped, which is shortly before the nystagmus reverses direction; or when steps were delivered 60s later, i.e. during the secondary phase. Vestibular habituation of the VOR occurred in both instances. However, the decrease in VOR peak slow phase velocity and time constant was larger when steps were delivered after nystagmus reversal compared to before nystagmus reversal. The duration of the perception of self-rotation habituated equally for both conditions. These results confirm that VOR habituation fully develops only when velocity steps are delivered after the primary phase nystagmus. This finding may be helpful for minimizing the impact of repetitive vestibular stimuli in protocols using crossover design for drug studies, testing recovery in vestibular patients, or training people for different gravitoinertial environments.
Raimunda Beserra da Silva
Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar a prevalência de atividade física habitual e risco cardiovascular em mulheres na pós-menopausa. MÉTODOS: Estudo de coorte transversal com 162 mulheres, entre 40 e 65 anos, em amenorréia há no mínimo 12 meses, acompanhadas no Ambulatório de Menopausa do CAISM/UNICAMP. As mulheres responderam oralmente o questionário International Physical Activity Questionnaire para avaliação do nível de atividade física, que abordou a freqüência e duração das atividades ocorridas durante uma semana normal, realizadas no transporte, trabalho, em casa e no lazer, classificando-as em sedentárias, insuficientemente ativas, ativas e muito ativas. Foram realizados exames laboratoriais para dosagem sérica de colesterol total, lipoproteína de alta densidade, lipoproteína de baixa densidade, triglicérides, glicemia de jejum e medidas de pressão arterial sistólica e diastólica. RESULTADOS: A média de idade das mulheres foi de 56,5 anos e idade na menopausa de 46 anos. A prevalência de atividade física foi de 83,3%, sendo que 2,5% foram classificadas como muito ativas, 80,8% ativas e 16,7% insuficientemente ativas. A maioria realizava atividades, principalmente no transporte e em casa, e apenas 38,3% realizavam atividade física durante o lazer. Nesta população, 87,7% das mulheres apresentavam escore de Framingham inferior a 10, considerado de baixo risco cardiovascular. CONCLUSÃO: Mulheres na pós-menopausa apresentam alta prevalência de atividade física habitual e baixa aderência ao exercício físico. O risco cardiovascular foi baixo na população estudada. É importante incentivar e orientar esta população a praticar atividade física compatível com suas condições físicas, estimulando a prática não somente da atividade física habitual, mas também do exercício físico.BACKGROUND: To evaluate the prevalence of habitual physical activity and cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. METHODS: A cross
Verkaik-Kloosterman, Janneke; Dodd, Kevin W; Dekkers, Arnold L M; van 't Veer, Pieter; Ocké, Marga C
Statistical modeling of habitual micronutrient intake from food and dietary supplements using short-term measurements is hampered by heterogeneous variances and multimodality. Summing short-term intakes from food and dietary supplements prior to simple correction for within-person variation (first add then shrink) may produce estimates of habitual total micronutrient intake so badly biased as to be smaller than estimates of habitual intake from food sources only. A 3-part model using a first shrink then add approach is proposed to estimate the habitual micronutrient intake from food among nonsupplement users, food among supplement users, and supplements. The population distribution of habitual total micronutrient intake is estimated by combining these 3 habitual intake distributions, accounting for possible interdependence between Eq. 2 and 3. The new model is an extension of a model developed by the USA National Cancer Institute. Habitual total vitamin D intake among young children was estimated using the proposed model and data from the Dutch food consumption survey (n = 1279). The model always produced habitual total intakes similar to or higher than habitual intakes from food sources only and also preserved the multimodal shape of the observed total vitamin D intake distribution. This proposed method incorporates several sources of covariate information that should provide more precise estimates of the habitual total intake distribution and the proportion of the population with intakes below/above cutpoint values. The proposed methodology could be useful for other complex situations, e.g. where high concentrations of micronutrients appear in episodically consumed foods.
Shasta E. Webb
Full Text Available The increase of ecotourism operations within Costa Rica during the last 20yrs has brought more and more humans into close, direct contact with several wildlife species. One of these species is the white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus, highly gregarious, and with exposure over time, willing to come into close vicinity of humans and their developments. Such contact has its advantages and disadvantages for the ecotourism industry. We observed white-faced monkeys in order to assess the impact of human presence and development on monkey behavior, with a focus on aggressive, affiliative, and foraging behaviors in Curú Wildlife Refuge (CWR, located in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and to ascertain the degree of over-habituation of capuchin populations at CWR. Though there exists no discrete behavioral parameters that measure over-habituation, it can be defined as an extreme state of habituation in which non-human primates not only lose fear of humans, but also actively include humans in social interactions or treat them as a food resource. We used instantaneous focal animal and group scan sampling during 8wks in March and April 2012. Two groups (approximately 20-30 individuals each of capuchins were observed; the first near the tourist development at the Southwestern area of CWR, representing a habituated population that regularly foraged, rested, and groomed in the presence of humans. The second, was observed in the Northeastern area of CWR, did not visit the center of human activity and exhibited fear of humans. The habituated group exhibited significantly fewer instances of threatened behavior in response to human presence (p<0.0001 than the non-habituated group, and spent significantly more time eating and foraging (p<0.0001. While the habituated monkeys at CWR may not be over-habituated, they could become that way as development, especially ecotourism, increases. Over-habituation is a problem that affects capuchins in certain ecotourism sites in Costa
Prática de atividade física habitual entre adolescentes com deficiência visual La actividad física habitual entre los adolescentes con discapacidad visual Habitual physical activity among adolescents with visual impairments
Bruna Barboza Seron
Full Text Available A prática de atividade física é reconhecida como uma potente ferramenta na prevenção de doenças crônico-degenerativas, entretanto ainda se observa um elevado índice de sedentarismo na população, especialmente na parcela composta por pessoas com deficiência. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar a prática habitual de atividade física em adolescentes com deficiência visual. Para tanto, 16 adolescentes com deficiência visual (idade = 12,81 ± 2,07 anos responderam a questionários e utilizaram pedômetro por quatro dias. Foi utilizada estatística descritiva, teste t independente e correlação, adotando-se em todas as situações significância de alfa La actividad física es reconocida como una herramienta en la prevención de las enfermedades crónicas degenerativas, sin embargo, ha observado una alta tasa de inactividad de la población, sobre todo en la parte compuesta por personas con discapacidad. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la práctica de actividad física en adolescentes con discapacidad visual. Para ello, 16 adolescentes con discapacidad visual (edad = 12,81 ± 2,07 años completaron cuestionarios y se utilizó podómetro durante 4 días. Fue utilizada estadística descriptiva, prueba t independiente y correlación, importancia de la alfa Physical activity practice is known as a great tool in chronic diseases prevention, however we can observe a high prevalence of sedentary habits, especially among people with disability. The purpose of this study was to analyze habitual physical activity practice in adolescents with visual impairment. For that, 16 adolescents with visual impairment (age = 12.81 ± 2.07 years old answered a questionnaire and used pedometer for four days. It was used descriptive statistic, independent T test and correlation, in every case with significance level alpha < 0.05. Results showed that physical activity level among adolescents was often below the recommended parameters. Girls and those
Schubert, Sarah J; Lee, Christopher W; Drummond, Peter D
This study aimed to investigate the psychophysiological correlates and the effectiveness of different dual-attention tasks used during eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Sixty-two non-clinical participants with negative autobiographical memories received a single session of EMDR without eye movements, or EMDR that included eye movements of either varied or fixed rate of speed. Subjective units of distress and vividness of the memory were recorded at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 1 week follow-up. EMDR-with eye movements led to greater reduction in distress than EMDR-without eye movements. Heart rate decreased significantly when eye movements began; skin conductance decreased during eye movement sets; heart rate variability and respiration rate increased significantly as eye movements continued; and orienting responses were more frequent in the eye movement than no-eye movement condition at the start of exposure. Findings indicate that the eye movement component in EMDR is beneficial, and is coupled with distinct psychophysiological changes that may aid in processing negative memories.
Gonzalez-Gadea, Maria Luz; Scheres, Anouk; Tobon, Carlos Andres; Damm, Juliane; Baez, Sandra; Huepe, David; Marino, Julian; Marder, Sandra; Manes, Facundo; Abrevaya, Sofia; Ibanez, Agustin
Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children’s main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children’s avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old) with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C) which included options with varying long-term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children’s preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control. PMID:26218584
Nichiporuk, I A; Vasil'eva, G Iu; Noskov, V B; Morukov, B V
Before, in and after the experiment with 105-day isolation and confinement, 6 male volunteers from 25 to 40 years of age rationed NaCl and performed integral impedancimetric, psychological and hormonal investigations. Every 30 days blood collection for hormonal measurements was combined with filling of Cattell's 16 personal factor questionnaire. Parameters of total body fluid, body mass, basic exchange, specific hydration and basic exchange were determined. The results showed that the experimental conditions did not affect significantly body composition, metabolism or neurohumoral regulation; the metabolic variations were largely associated with motivation for and value orientation in accommodation, to the permissible extent, of the controlled diet and work/rest schedule to personal needs. In addition, it was found that evolution of the psychophysiological status of humans in isolation and confinement is governed primnarily by personality characteristics and, to a less degree, specifics and length of exposure to the artificial environment; thus, in the opinion of the volunteers normoxic, normobaric and slightly hypercapnic (0.15-0.65% CO2) atmosphere was comfortable and harmless to health. Analysis of the whole data array verified the expressed interrelation of neuroendocrine and psychophysiological parameters as well as shifts in body basic exchange and mass, salt intake and hydration rate in the conditions of isolation and confinement.
Hugo A Kerhervé
Full Text Available Exercise intensity during ultramarathons (UM is expected to be regulated as a result of the development of psycho-physiological strain and in anticipation of perceived difficulties (duration, topography. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamics of speed, heart rate and perceived exertion during a long trail UM in a mountainous setting.Fifteen participants were recruited from competitors in a 106 km trail mountain UM with a total elevation gain and loss of 5870 m. Speed and gradient, heart rate (HR and ratings of perceived exertion (dissociated between the general [RPEGEN] and knee extensor fatigue [RPEKE] and collected using a voice recorder were measured during the UM. Self-selected speed at three gradients (level, negative, positive, HR, RPEGEN and RPEKE were determined for each 10% section of total event duration (TED.The participants completed the event in 18.3 ± 3.0 h, for a total calculated distance of 105.6 ± 1.8 km. Speed at all gradients decreased, and HR at all gradients significantly decreased from 10% to 70%, 80% and 90%, but not 100% of TED. RPEGEN and RPEKE increased throughout the event. Speed increased from 90% to 100% of TED at all gradients. Average speed was significantly correlated with total time stopped (r = -.772; p = .001; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.15, -0.39 and the magnitude of speed loss (r = .540; p = .038; 95% CI = -1.04, -0.03, but not with the variability of speed (r = -.475; p = .073; 95% CI = -1.00, 0.05.Participants in a mountain UM event combined positive pacing strategies (speed decreased until 70-90% of TED, an increased speed in the last 10% of the event, a decrease in HR at 70-90% of TED, and an increase in RPEGEN and RPEKE in the last 30% of the event. A greater speed loss and less total time stopped were the factors associated with increased total performance. These results could be explained by theoretical perspectives of a complex regulatory system modulating motor drive in
Webb, Shasta E; McCoy, Michael B
The increase of ecotourism operations within Costa Rica during the last 20 yrs has brought more and more humans into close, direct contact with several wildlife species. One of these species is the white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinos), highly gregarious, and with exposure over time, willing to come into close vicinity of humans and their developments. Such contact has its advantages and disadvantages for the ecotourism industry. We observed white-faced monkeys in order to assess the impact of human presence and development on monkey behavior, with a focus on aggressive, affiliative, and foraging behaviors in Curú Wildlife Refuge (CWR), located in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and to ascertain the degree of over-habituation of capuchin popula- tions at CWR. Though there exists no discrete behavioral parameters that measure over-habituation, it can be defined as an extreme state of habituation in which non-human primates not only lose fear of humans, but also actively include humans in social interactions or treat them as a food resource. We used instantaneous focal animal and group scan sampling during 8 wks in March and April 2012. Two groups (approximately 20-30 individuals each) of capuchins were observed; the first near the tourist development at the Southwestern area of CWR, representing a habituated population that regularly foraged, rested, and groomed in the presence of humans. The second, was observed in the Northeastern area of CWR, did not visit the center of human activity and exhibited fear of humans. The habituated group exhibited significantly fewer instances of threatened behavior in response to human presence (p ecotourism, increases. Over-habituation is a problem that affects capuchins in certain ecotourism sites in Costa Rica. It is critical that the consequences of habituation be studied more carefully, primarily in areas where ecotourism operations draw visitors to wildlife habitats.
Wade, C. E.; Ortiz, R. M.
Use of monkeys in research has often required that they be restrained in a chair. However, chair restraint can elicit an initial neuroendocrine stress response. Also, inactivity associated with restraint can induce muscular atrophy. We proposed that prior habituation of monkeys to chair restraint would attenuate these neuroendocrine responses without causing substantial muscle wasting. Four rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained and habituated to a restraint chair specifically designed for spaceflight. During the study, monkeys were placed in metabolic cages for 7 days (prerestraint, Phase I), placed in a chair restraint for 18 days (Phase II), and then returned to their metabolic cages for 5 days (postrestraint, Phase III). Urine was collected between 0700-1100 daily, and measurements of cortisol, creatinine, and electrolyte concentrations were adjusted for hourly excretion rates. Body weights of the monkeys did not change between start of the prerestraint and postrestraint phases (10.3 +/- 0.8 vs. 10.3 +/- 0.9 kg, respectively). During the 3 phases, mean excretion rate of cortisol did not change (24.1 +/- 10.3, 26.7 +/- 7.7, and 19.3 +/- 5.8 microg/h, respectively). Mean excretion rate of creatinine (37.3 +/- 7.5, 37.5 +/- 12.2, and 36.9 +/- 17.1 mg/h, respectively), Na+ (3.3 +/- 1.2, 3.2 +/- 1.2, 2.2 +/- 1.8 mmol/h, respectively), and K+ (5.3 +/- 1.8, 5.4 +/- 1.6, and 4.3 +/- 2.8 mmol/h, respectively) were also not altered. Lack of an increase in excreted urinary cortisol suggested that prior habituation to chair restraint attenuated neuroendocrine responses reported previously. Also, the chair restraint method used appeared to allow adequate activity, because the monkeys did not have indices of muscle wasting.
Defrin, Ruth; Pope, Geoff; Davis, Karen D
Recently, spatial summation (SS) of two discrete noxious stimuli was found to occur at separation distances less than 10cm in the forearm. Interestingly though, with larger separation distances there is 2-point discrimination (2PD) but not SS. However, previous studies have not examined the interactions between these spatial phenomena and temporal aspects of pain. Therefore, our aims were to (1) examine the inverse relationship between SS and 2PD in the leg, and (2) assess whether SS and 2PD of pain are affected by repetitive noxious stimulation. Twenty-four subjects received multiple series of 16 repeated noxious heat stimuli (22s inter-stimulus interval) at various intensities delivered with one or two thermal probes separated by either 0.4cm or 15cm. For each configuration, subjects rated the amount of perceived pain on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (to evaluate SS) and stated the number of pain spots (to evaluate 2PD) following each stimulus. A significant SS of pain occurred only with the probe separation of 0.4cm (in which perceived pain significantly increased compared with a single probe, pprobe separation of 15cm (pprobe and two probes separated by 15cm. However, when the initial pain score was fixed (but the stimulus temperature varied) habituation occurred with all stimulation configurations but significantly less for two probes separated by 0.4cm. Sex was not a factor in SS and 2PD of pain, however there was greater habituation in females than males. In conclusion, SS of pain counteracts 2PD of pain and to a lesser extent, pain habituation.
Full Text Available Olfactory perception, and especially hedonic evaluation of odors, is highly flexible, but some mechanisms involved in this flexibility remain to be elucidated. In the present study we aimed at better understanding how repeated exposure to odors can affect their pleasantness. We tested the hypothesis of an affective habituation to the stimuli, namely a decrease of emotional intensity over repetitions. More specifically, we tested whether this effect is subject to inter-individual variability and whether it can also be observed at the olfactomotor level. Twenty-six participants took part in the experiment during which they had to smell two odorants, anise and chocolate, presented twenty times each. On each trial, sniff duration and volume were recorded and paired with ratings of odor pleasantness and intensity. For each smell, we distinguished between likers and dislikers, namely individuals giving positive and negative initial hedonic evaluations. Results showed a significant decrease in pleasantness with time when the odor was initially pleasant (likers, while unpleasantness remained stable or slightly decreased when the odor was initially unpleasant (dislikers. This deviation towards neutrality was interpreted as affective habituation. This effect was all the more robust as it was observed for both odors and corroborated by sniffing, an objective measurement of odor pleasantness. Affective habituation to odors can be interpreted as an adaptive response to stimuli that prove over time to be devoid of positive or negative outcome on the organism. This study contributes to a better understanding of how olfactory preferences are shaped through exposure, depending on the individual’s own initial perception of the odor.
Full Text Available Instrumental responses are hypothesized to be of two kinds: habitual and goal-directed, mediated by the sensorimotor and the associative cortico-basal ganglia circuits, respectively. The existence of the two heterogeneous associative learning mechanisms can be hypothesized to arise from the comparative advantages that they have at different stages of learning. In this paper, we assume that the goal-directed system is behaviourally flexible, but slow in choice selection. The habitual system, in contrast, is fast in responding, but inflexible in adapting its behavioural strategy to new conditions. Based on these assumptions and using the computational theory of reinforcement learning, we propose a normative model for arbitration between the two processes that makes an approximately optimal balance between search-time and accuracy in decision making. Behaviourally, the model can explain experimental evidence on behavioural sensitivity to outcome at the early stages of learning, but insensitivity at the later stages. It also explains that when two choices with equal incentive values are available concurrently, the behaviour remains outcome-sensitive, even after extensive training. Moreover, the model can explain choice reaction time variations during the course of learning, as well as the experimental observation that as the number of choices increases, the reaction time also increases. Neurobiologically, by assuming that phasic and tonic activities of midbrain dopamine neurons carry the reward prediction error and the average reward signals used by the model, respectively, the model predicts that whereas phasic dopamine indirectly affects behaviour through reinforcing stimulus-response associations, tonic dopamine can directly affect behaviour through manipulating the competition between the habitual and the goal-directed systems and thus, affect reaction time.
of Neurology University of Parma Dipartmento di Psicologia , 289 Via del Quartiere, 4 Via S. Niccol6 93 43100 Parma 50125 Firenze University Centre for...Facultad de Psicologia 1105 AZ Amsterdam Universitat de Barcelona VieUiest 3 2 C/A Fiorensa s/n rjUnvsiy4,2 08028 Barcelona Department of Psychophysiology
Ehret, C. F.; Peraino, C.; Meinert, J. C.; Groh, K. R.
The present study uses circadian rhythm observations on rats to include diverse habituation and drug ingestion (phenobarbital) circumstances, including a comparison of the effect of pre-entrainment cycles of programmed feeding and illumination and subsequent conditions of exposure of duration sufficient to permit a steady-state in the appearance of circadian patterns derived from core-temperature telemetry and from automated food-consumption measurements. Finally, measurements were permitted to continue long enough after the drug was withdrawn from the diet to allow characterization of an abstinence syndrome, indicative of addiction.
Hansen Bruun, Inge; Nørgaard, Birgitte; Maribo, Thomas
as elderly might be confused or unrealistic about their physical abilities. The 30-s Chair Stand Test (30s-CST) has not been validated in ED, but is used at community level for this purpose. The De Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI) has been validated for acute patients. Our study evaluated if a 30s-CST-score ≤8...... patients were assessed on admission and one month after. Predictors for later functional decline were analysed in logistics regression models. Results: 117 patients were included. The baseline predictors were: Female gender: (OR 1.6); using assistive device (OR 4.6); reduced ability to climb a stairway (OR...... with habitual mobility....
Oaksford, Karen; Oaksford, Mike; Ashraf, Mohammad; Fitzgibbon, Gillian
This study was based on the clinical observation that patients receiving haemodialysis(HD) showed poor retention for complex verbal information. To investigate this hypothesis, 45 patients with endstage renal disease were administered a neuropsychological (NP) test battery, including a test of prose recall on two occasions, 7 days apart (pre-dialysis and whilst dialysing). A range of demographic, biochemical and mood variables were also assessed. Results revealed a selective deficit for prose recall whilst dialysing compared to pre-dialysis performance, which habituated in the long-term. Possible physiological and psychological bases of these effects in HD patients are discussed.
KAWADA, T.; XIN, P.; KUROIWA, M.; SASAZAWA, Y.; SUZUKI, S.; TAMURA, Y.
The habituation of human sleep to a noisy environment was investigated by polysomnography (PSG), a wrist activity device (Actiwatch®), subjective evaluation and a performance test on the following morning. Eleven young male students slept for 17 nights in a sleep laboratory. PSG on the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, 14th, and 17th nights was judged visually. Four of the subjects were continuously monitored by the wrist activity device. From the fifth to 14th nights, there was exposure to road traffic noise all-night long, and consecutive experiments were conducted from the fifth to 17th nights. Agreement of sleep/wake assessment for Actiwatch®and PSG was 88·4%, on average, based on the data for 24 nights. Pearson's correlation coefficient of TST for Actiwatch®and sleep PSG was 0·848. Habituation to noise by wrist movement, sleep latency by PSG, and activity of mental muscles was not recognized. The association between wrist activity and mental muscle activity was significant for three subjects out of four (r=0·56, 0·81, 0·71, respectively). Percentages of positive wrist movement in each sleep stage, such as the 3+4 stages, REM stage and stage MT, were compared with those in other stages. Wrist activity in Stage REM was significantly more frequent than that in other stages for the three subjects. Wrist movement in Stage MT was significantly more frequent than in other stages for the three subjects. REM latency, REM cycle, and five factors of subjective sleep, from the Oguri-Shirakawa-Azumi questionnaire (SQ), showed significant differences by analysis of variance for repeated measurements. When change from the 4th night was checked, sleepiness, worry, integrated sleep feeling and sleep initiation by SQ showed habituation of sleep to noise. Namely, sleep quality recovered to the level on a silent night by the fifth noisy night during the experiment. There is thus a habituation of sleep to noise when a subjective evaluation of sleep, such as the SQ, is used.
Hansen, Jakob Møller; Bolla, M; Magis, D;
Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is a rare, dominantly inherited subtype of migraine with transient hemiplegia during the aura phase. Mutations in at least three different genes can produce the FHM phenotype. The mutated FHM genes code for ion transport proteins that animal and cellular studies...... been attributed to neuronal dysexcitability. FHM and the common forms of migraine are thought to belong to a spectrum of migraine phenotypes with similar pathophysiology, and we therefore examined whether an abnormal habituation pattern would also be found in FHM patients....
Scholderer, Joachim; Olsen, Svein Ottar; Brunsø, Karen
to dominate when the target behaviour is performed rarely and in unstable contexts. In the food choice area, only little research exists that would allow a similar assessment. As part of the SEAFOODplus project, representative surveys were conducted in Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland......), 0.18 (Denmark), 0.10 (Spain), 0.16 (Netherlands), 0.00 (Poland). Although no general answer may exist to the question whether habitual or deliberative factors are more important in food consumer behaviour, habits appear to dominate behaviour in the domain of seafood consumption....
Full Text Available Abstract Background Thaxtomin A (TA, a phytotoxin produced by the phytopathogen Streptomyces scabies, is essential for the development of potato common scab disease. TA inhibits cellulose synthesis but its actual mode of action is unknown. Addition of TA to hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa x Populus deltoides cell suspensions can activate a cellular program leading to cell death. In contrast, it is possible to habituate hybrid poplar cell cultures to grow in the presence of TA levels that would normally induce cell death. The purpose of this study is to characterize TA-habituated cells and the mechanisms that may be involved in enhancing resistance to TA. Results Habituation to TA was performed by adding increasing levels of TA to cell cultures at the time of subculture over a period of 12 months. TA-habituated cells were then cultured in the absence of TA for more than three years. These cells displayed a reduced size and growth compared to control cells and had fragmented vacuoles filled with electron-dense material. Habituation to TA was associated with changes in the cell wall composition, with a reduction in cellulose and an increase in pectin levels. Remarkably, high level of resistance to TA was maintained in TA-habituated cells even after being cultured in the absence of TA. Moreover, these cells exhibited enhanced resistance to two other inhibitors of cellulose biosynthesis, dichlobenil and isoxaben. Analysis of gene expression in TA-habituated cells using an Affymetrix GeneChip Poplar Genome Array revealed that durable resistance to TA is associated with a major and complex reprogramming of gene expression implicating processes such as cell wall synthesis and modification, lignin and flavonoid synthesis, as well as DNA and chromatin modifications. Conclusions We have shown that habituation to TA induced durable resistance to the bacterial toxin in poplar cells. TA-habituation also enhanced resistance to two other structurally
O'Byrne, Michael L; Desai, Sanyukta; Lane, Megan; McBride, Michael; Paridon, Stephen; Goldmuntz, Elizabeth
Increasing habitual exercise has been associated with improved cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) performance, specifically maximal oxygen consumption in children with operatively corrected congenital heart disease. This has not been studied in children following Fontan palliation, a population in whom CPET performance is dramatically diminished. A single-center cross-sectional study with prospective and retrospective data collection was performed that assessed habitual exercise preceding a clinically indicated CPET in children and adolescents with Fontan palliation, transposition of the great arteries following arterial switch operation (TGA), and normal cardiac anatomy without prior operation. Data from contemporaneous clinical reports and imaging studies were collected. The association between percent predicted VO2max and habitual exercise duration adjusted for known covariates was tested. A total of 175 subjects (75 post-Fontan, 20 with TGA, and 80 with normal cardiac anatomy) were enrolled. VO2max was lower in the Fontan group than patients with normal cardiac anatomy (p VO2max (p = 0.6), in sharp contrast to cardiac normal subjects. In multivariate analysis, increasing age was the only independent risk factor associated with decreasing VO2max in the Fontan group (p = 0.003). Habitual exercise was not associated with VO2max in subjects with a Fontan as compared to biventricular circulation. Further research is necessary to understand why their habitual exercise is ineffective and/or what aspects of the Fontan circulation disrupt this association.
Full Text Available [english] Teaching in medical psychology aims at establishing an understanding of the relationships between psychological functions and bodily reactions and of the relevance of these interactions for the development and maintenance of diseases. To illustrate these relationships, a psychophysiology practical was introduced in the first semester. Students performed practical 30-minute exercises in groups of four on the basis of comprehensive written instructions. The following topics were covered: (1 stress (dependent variable: heart rate, (2 "lie detection" (dependent variable: skin conductance response, (3 biofeedback (dependent variable: skin temperature, and (4 electroencephalogram (dependent variable: amplitude in the four classical frequency bands. The practical exercises were complemented by theoretical group work and a summary of the results of the exercises. Students evaluated the practical positively. It was considered a benefit to the course, and the self-rated knowledge in the area of psychophysiology increased significantly. These results, as well as our experiences during the practical, have reinforced our decision to establish a psychophysiology practical as part of the medical psychology/medical sociology course.[german] Die Vermittlung der Zusammenhänge zwischen psychologischen Funktionen und körperlichen Veränderungen sowie deren Relevanz für die Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung von Krankheiten stellt ein zentrales Ziel der Ausbildung in Medizinischer Psychologie dar. Zur Veranschaulichung dieser Zusammenhänge führten wir ein Psychophysiologie-Praktikum im ersten vorklinischen Semester ein. Die Studierenden führten in Vierergruppen mit Hilfe ausführlicher schriftlicher Instruktionen jeweils ca. 30 Minuten andauernde praktische Übungen durch, die die folgenden Themen behandelten: (1 Stress (abhängige Variable: Herzrate, (2 "Lügendetektor" (abhängige Variable: Hautleitwertsreaktionen, (3 Biofeedback (abhängige Variable
Balter, Susan G T; Stokroos, Robert J; Akkermans, Ellen; Kingma, Herman
The possible correlation between postural control abilities in gymnasts and the sensitivity for and the degree of short-term habituation to galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) was studied. Seven balance trained young girls (Dutch National Junior Gymnasts Championship) versus seven non-trained girls and twenty-five women underwent computer-controlled GVS using a monaural continuous 1-cosinusoidal stimulus of 0.5 Hz and 2 mA, repeated three times on each side [Balter, Stokroos, Boumans, Kingma, Acta Otolaryngol. (in press); Balter, Stokroos, Eterman, Paredis, Orbons, Kingma, Acta Otolaryngol. (in press)]. Results showed that mean total galvanic-induced body sway (GBS) gain was significantly lower in the trained and untrained girls compared to the adult women (P habituation to GVS (learning abilities), however, showed no significant differences between the three groups. We suggest that the superior balance control in professional gymnasts is primarily achieved through motor training and not by learning abilities or a higher sensitivity of the vestibular system [Neurosci. Lett. 225 (1998) 155].
Costa, Sebastiano; Hausenblas, Heather A; Oliva, Patrizia; Cuzzocrea, Francesca; Larcan, Rosalba
Background and aims The current study examined the mediating role of maladaptive perfectionism among parental psychological control, eating disorder symptoms, and exercise dependence symptoms by gender in habitual exercisers. Methods Participants were 348 Italian exercisers (n = 178 men and n = 170 women; M age = 20.57, SD = 1.13) who completed self-report questionnaires assessing their parental psychological control, maladaptive perfectionism, eating disorder symptoms, and exercise dependence symptoms. Results Results of the present study confirmed the mediating role of maladaptive perfectionism for eating disorder and exercise dependence symptoms for the male and female exercisers in the maternal data. In the paternal data, maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationships between paternal psychological control and eating disorder and exercise dependence symptoms as full mediator for female participants and as partial mediator for male participants. Discussion Findings of the present study suggest that it may be beneficial to consider dimensions of maladaptive perfectionism and parental psychological control when studying eating disorder and exercise dependence symptoms in habitual exerciser.
Wang, J T; Ho, L T; Tang, K T; Wang, L M; Chen, Y D; Reaven, G M
Plasma glucose and insulin responses to a standard oral glucose challenge and a mixed meal were determined for two groups of male volunteers (office workers and laborers) and a group of female housewives or office workers. Although glucose tolerance declined with age to a certain degree in all three groups, the age-related change varied as a function of both level of habitual physical activity and gender. Specifically, the decline in glucose tolerance was greatest in the male office workers and least in the females. The plasma insulin responses did not increase with age in any of the groups. These results suggest that glucose tolerance decreases with age because there is a decline in insulin action, which is not compensated for by an increase in insulin secretion. Insulin sensitivity appears to be enhanced in females as compared with males. Sensitivity is also enhanced in males habitually engaged in physical labor; thereby accounting for the age-related decline being greatest in the male office workers. Finally, the results showed that although the loss of glucose tolerance with age varied from group to group, the quantitative nature of the change was modest in all three groups. These data further emphasize that very little change in glucose tolerance is associated with aging in generally healthy, nonobese individuals.
Peter K.D. Pilz
Full Text Available In mice, the specificity of longterm-habituation (LTH of startle was tested in two experiments. In two strains of mice (C57Bl/6 and C3H there was pronounced LTH over 10 days of acoustic stimulation in two different contexts of startle measurement. (We found LTH to be greater after stimulation with 14 kHz sine stimuli compared to noise or tactile stimuli. A change of context showed LTH to be independent of context, i.e. startle LTH in mice is a non-associative learning process. In the second experiment, 9 days of acoustic or tactile stimulation were given to C57B/6 mice. Both stimulus modalities produced LTH. When on the 10th day stimuli of the other modality were given, in both cases the long term habituated group showed no lower startle amplitude than a non-stimulated control group. This indicates LTH is stimulus-modality specific. Altogether, our results show that in mice—very similar to rats—LTH of startle is stimulus modality, but not context specific. In addition we found two indications that the LTH action site is on the sensory branch of the startle circuit.
Full Text Available Whole-life beer consumption and a quantitative measurement of several dietary micronutrients consumed in adult life were obtained from the dietary and alcohol data of the case-control arm of the population-based Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study. There was a statistically significant risk, adjusted for other established risk factors, among habitual beer drinkers (AOR 1.75, 95% CI 1.28–2.41 with a significant positive dose-response effect (AOR trend 1.34, 95% CI 1.16–1.55. Among beer consumers the data were interpreted as showing an attenuation of this risk with consumption of the four micronutrients involved in methylation: folate, methionine, vitamins B6 and B12, and the four micronutrients examined with antioxidant properties: selenium, vitamins E, C, and lycopene. The strongest effects were noted with vitamins E, C, and lycopene, and the weakest with methionine and selenium. Whilst not condoning excessive beer drinking, the regular consumption of foods rich in these micronutrients may provide a simple and harmless preventative strategy among persistent habitual beer drinkers and deserves further study with larger study numbers.
TAMURA, Y.; HORIYASU, T.; SANO, Y.; CHONAN, K.; KAWADA, T.; SASAZAWA, Y.; KUROIWA, M.; SUZUKI, S.
Habituation of sleep to a ship's noise was assessed by actigraphy and a sleep questionnaire. Four male students aged 21-24 years were studied for 15 consecutive nights in an experimental bedroom. During the first four nights, the subjects slept in a quiet environment. For the next eight consecutive nights, the subjects were exposed to the noise of a ship's engine with a sound level of 60dB(A) (the International Maritime Organization Standard) previously tape-recorded in a room of a diesel engine ship. On the last three experimental nights, the subjects again slept in a quiet environment. The subjects went to bed in the experimental room at about 0:00 and were woken at 8:00 a.m. the next morning by an alarm clock. Sleep was monitored by a wrist-worn actigraphy. On the morning following each experimental night, the subjects were instructed to answer the OSA questionnaire, a structured self-rating sleep scale developed in Japan. Habituation of sleep to the noise of a ship with a sound level of 60dB(A) was observed to some extent in the subjective sleep parameters but not in the sleep parameters measured by actigraphy.
Lucas-Cuevas, Angel Gabriel; Priego Quesada, José Ignacio; Giménez, José Vicente; Aparicio, Inma; Jimenez-Perez, Irene; Pérez-Soriano, Pedro
Runners tend to shift from a rearfoot to a forefoot strike pattern when running barefoot. However, it is unclear how the first attempts at running barefoot affect habitually rearfoot shod runners. Due to the inconsistency of their recently adopted barefoot technique, a number of new barefoot-related running injuries are emerging among novice barefoot runners. The aim of this study was therefore to analyse the influence of three running conditions (natural barefoot [BF], barefoot with a forced rearfoot strike [BRS], and shod [SH]) on muscle activity and impact accelerations in habitually rearfoot shod runners. Twenty-two participants ran at 60% of their maximal aerobic speed while foot strike, tibial and head impact accelerations, and tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL), gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) muscle activity were registered. Only 68% of the runners adopted a non-rearfoot strike pattern during BF. Running BF led to a reduction of TA activity as well as to an increase of GL and GM activity compared to BRS and SH. Furthermore, BRS increased tibial peak acceleration, tibial magnitude and tibial acceleration rate compared to SH and BF. In conclusion, 32% of our runners showed a rearfoot strike pattern at the first attempts at running barefoot, which corresponds to a running style (BRS) that led to increased muscle activation and impact accelerations and thereby to a potentially higher risk of injury compared to running shod.
Bogl, L H; Pietiläinen, K H; Rissanen, A; Kangas, A J; Soininen, P; Rose, R J; Ala-Korpela, M; Kaprio, J
Nutritional epidemiology is increasingly shifting its focus from studying single nutrients to the exploration of the whole diet utilizing dietary pattern analysis. We analyzed associations between habitual diet (including macronutrients, dietary patterns, biomarker of fish intake) and lipoprotein particle subclass profile in young adults. Complete dietary data (food-frequency questionnaire) and lipoprotein subclass profile (via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) were available for 663 subjects from the population-based FinnTwin12 study (57% women, age: 21-25 y). The serum docosahexaenoic to total fatty acid ratio was used as a biomarker of habitual fish consumption. Factor analysis identified 5 dietary patterns: "Fruit and vegetables", "Meat", "Sweets and desserts", "Junk food" and "Fish". After adjustment for sex, age, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity, smoking status and alcohol intake, the "Junk food" pattern was positively related to serum triglycerides (r = 0.12, P = 0.002), a shift in the subclass distribution of VLDL toward larger particles (r = 0.12 for VLDL size, P junk food intake is associated with unfavorable alterations in the distribution of all lipoprotein subclasses independent of adiposity and other lifestyle factors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Veltri, Theresa; Taroyan, Naira; Overton, Paul G
Nicotine is a psychoactive substance that is commonly consumed in the context of music. However, the reason why music and nicotine are co-consumed is uncertain. One possibility is that nicotine affects cognitive processes relevant to aspects of music appreciation in a beneficial way. Here we investigated this possibility using Event-Related Potentials. Participants underwent a simple decision-making task (to maintain attentional focus), responses to which were signalled by auditory stimuli. Unlike previous research looking at the effects of nicotine on auditory processing, we used complex tones that varied in pitch, a fundamental element of music. In addition, unlike most other studies, we tested non-smoking subjects to avoid withdrawal-related complications. We found that nicotine (4.0 mg, administered as gum) increased P2 amplitude in the frontal region. Since a decrease in P2 amplitude and latency is related to habituation processes, and an enhanced ability to disengage from irrelevant stimuli, our findings suggest that nicotine may cause a reduction in habituation, resulting in non-smokers being less able to adapt to repeated stimuli. A corollary of that decrease in adaptation may be that nicotine extends the temporal window during which a listener is able and willing to engage with a piece of music.
Full Text Available Eminectomy which is one of the popular and most effective treatments for habitual temporomandibular joint luxation was first described by Myrhaug in 1951. There are few reports which described eminectomy being performed under local anesthesia and conscious sedation. We present a case series of habitual luxation of the TMJ treated by eminectomy performed under local anesthesia and conscious sedation and general anesthesia. Five patients were examined and found to have recurrent luxation of the TMJ. The age of patients ranged from 18 to 93 years. Bilateral eminectomy of the TMJ was performed for two patients, and unilateral eminectomy was performed for three patients. Two were examined under intravenous propofol sedation and local anesthesia, while three patients were examined under general anesthesia. One patient died from ileus one month after surgery. The follow-up period except for the case that died from ileus ranged from 12 to 33 months. No recurrent dislocation of the TMJ has been identified. Based on our experience and two other series in the literature, eminectomy with sedation and local anesthesia can be considered and might be a good option in elderly patients.
Eiken, Ola; Mekjavic, Igor B; Kounalakis, Stylianos N; Kölegård, Roger
Bed rest increases pressure distension in arteries, arterioles, and veins of the leg. We hypothesized that bed-rest-induced deconditioning of leg vessels is governed by the removal of the local increments in transmural pressure induced by assuming erect posture and, therefore, can be counteracted by intermittently increasing local transmural pressure during the bed rest. Ten men underwent 5 wk of horizontal bed rest. A subatmospheric pressure (-90 mmHg) was intermittently applied to one lower leg [pressure habituation (PH) leg]. Vascular pressure distension was investigated before and after the bed rest, both in the PH and control (CN) leg by increasing local distending pressure, stepwise up to +200 mmHg. Vessel diameter and blood flow were measured in the posterior tibial artery and vessel diameter in the posterior tibial vein. In the CN leg, bed rest led to 5-fold and 2.7-fold increments (P pressure-distension and flow responses, respectively, and to a 2-fold increase in tibial vein pressure distension. In the PH leg, arterial pressure-distension and flow responses were unaffected by bed rest, whereas bed rest led to a 1.5-fold increase in venous pressure distension. It thus appears that bed-rest-induced deconditioning of leg arteries, arterioles, and veins is caused by removal of gravity-dependent local pressure loads and may be abolished or alleviated by a local pressure-habituation regimen.
Tinley, Elizabeth M; Durlach, Paula J; Yeomans, Martin R
This study investigated the effects of both habitual caffeine use and dose administered in determining the ability of caffeine to reinforce conditioned changes in flavour preference. Thirty overnight-withdrawn moderate caffeine consumers and 30 non or low-dose caffeine (non/low) consumers evaluated five novel-flavoured fruit teas. Subsequently, their median-rated tea was used in four ensuing conditioning sessions. Either placebo, 1 or 2 mg/kg of caffeine (n=10 consumers, 10 non/low consumers in each condition), was added to the target tea, and all five teas were reevaluated at a final tasting. Pleasantness ratings over the four conditioning sessions indicated that non/low consumers' liking increased for the noncaffeinated fruit tea with no change for the tea containing either 1 or 2 mg/kg of caffeine. Among consumers, pleasantness ratings tended to decrease for the noncaffeinated fruit tea but increased significantly at the 1-mg dose and showed a tendency to increase at the 2-mg dose. Similar effects were shown in the evaluations made before and after conditioning, with no change in the nonexposed drinks. These results show that 1.0 mg/kg of caffeine reinforces changes in flavour pleasantness in acutely withdrawn habitual consumers but not in nonconsumers or nondependent low-caffeine consumers, further endorsing the negative-reinforcement theory of conditioning with caffeine.
Burger, Kyle S; Stice, Eric
Although soft drinks are heavily advertised, widely consumed, and have been associated with obesity, little is understood regarding neural responsivity to soft drink intake, anticipated intake, and advertisements. Functional MRI was used to assess examine neural response to carbonated soft drink intake, anticipated intake and advertisement exposure as well as milkshake intake in 27 adolescents that varied on soft drink consumer status. Intake and anticipated intake of carbonated Coke® activated regions implicated in gustatory, oral somatosensory, and reward processing, yet high-fat/sugar milkshake intake elicited greater activation in these regions vs. Coke intake. Advertisements highlighting the Coke product vs. nonfood control advertisements, but not the Coke logo, activated gustatory and visual brain regions. Habitual Coke consumers vs. nonconsumers showed greater posterior cingulate responsivity to Coke logo ads, suggesting that the logo is a conditioned cue. Coke consumers exhibited less ventrolateral prefrontal cortex responsivity during anticipated Coke intake relative to nonconsumers. Results indicate that soft drinks activate reward and gustatory regions, but are less potent in activating these regions than high-fat/sugar beverages, and imply that habitual soft drink intake promotes hyper-responsivity of regions encoding salience/attention toward brand specific cues and hypo-responsivity of inhibitory regions while anticipating intake. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.
Heaton, Karen; Griffin, Russell
The purpose of this study was to describe caffeine use among a group of habitual caffeine users, truck drivers, and to explore the associations between caffeine use and critical safety events by age in the naturalistic work setting. A secondary analysis of existing data from the Naturalistic Truck Driving Study was conducted. Analyses focused on the association between sleep and caffeine consumption by duty status, comparisons of sleep and caffeine use by age, and the associations between caffeine use and safety-critical events (SCEs). Findings indicated differences in caffeine use by duty status. However, no difference in sleep time by duty status, or between sleep time and caffeine use was found regardless of when the caffeine was consumed during the 5 hours prior to sleep. Sleep time did not vary significantly by age, although increasing age was associated with decreased caffeine use. Overall, a 6% reduction in the rate of SCEs per eight ounces of caffeinated beverage consumed was found. This study makes a unique scientific contribution because it uses real-time observations of truckers in the naturalistic work setting. It also does not involve caffeine withdrawal but rather an investigation of the effects of the naturalistic consumption of caffeine on sleep and driving performance. Findings suggest that caffeine use among habitual users offers a protective effect for safety-critical driving events. Occupational health nurses may use this information to counsel workers in the use of caffeine to enhance driving safety.
Hur, Mann Hyung
The objective of this study was to analyze the demographic, socioeconomic, and habitual causes of juvenile Internet addiction. All do not agree that Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a new type of addiction, but they agree that the IAD phenomenon has widely spread over recent years. This is also true in Korea. For this study, six schools in Korea were selected to collect data: two from Seoul, two from suburban areas, and two from rural areas. Two hundred and forty copies were collected out of some 700 copies distributed. Multiple regression models were employed to explore significant predictors of IAD. This study showed that at least two out of 100 teenagers in Korea are seriously suffering from IAD and that approximately one out of two is exposed to a kind of IAD. The causes of IAD are not only associated with habitual backgrounds for use of the Internet, but also demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, it can be said that the development of IAD is an interactive process between juveniles' habits of using Internet, and their demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. As IAD progresses, a single type of intervention such as parent interventions or school interventions does not work effectively. Multimodal interventions are required to provide counseling services for individuals suffering from IAD.
Burger, Kyle S.; Stice, Eric
OBJECTIVE Although soft drinks are heavily advertised, widely consumed, and have been associated with obesity, little is understood regarding neural responsivity to soft drink intake, anticipated intake, and advertisements. METHODS Functional MRI was used to assess examine neural response to carbonated soft drink intake, anticipated intake and advertisement exposure as well as milkshake intake in 27 adolescents that varied on soft drink consumer status. RESULTS Intake and anticipated intake of carbonated Coke® activated regions implicated in gustatory, oral somatosensory, and reward processing, yet high-fat/sugar milkshake intake elicited greater activation in these regions versus Coke intake. Advertisements highlighting the Coke product vs. non-food control advertisements, but not the Coke logo, activated gustatory and visual brain regions. Habitual Coke consumers vs. non-consumers showed greater posterior cingulate responsivity to Coke logo ads, suggesting that the logo is a conditioned cue. Coke consumers exhibited less ventrolateral prefrontal cortex responsivity during anticipated Coke intake relative to non-consumers. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that soft drinks activate reward and gustatory regions, but are less potent in activating these regions than high-fat/sugar beverages, and imply that habitual soft drink intake promotes hyper-responsivity of regions encoding salience/attention toward brand specific cues and hypo-responsivity of inhibitory regions while anticipating intake. PMID:23836764
Full Text Available Different systems for habitual versus goal-directed control are thought to underlie human decision-making. Working memory is known to shape these decision-making systems and their interplay, and is known to support goal-directed decision making even under stress. Here, we investigated if and how decision systems are differentially influenced by breaks filled with diverse everyday life activities known to modulate working memory performance. We used a within-subject design where young adults listened to music and played a video game during breaks interleaved with trials of a sequential two-step Markov decision task, designed to assess habitual as well as goal-directed decision making. Based on a neurocomputational model of task performance, we observed that for individuals with a rather limited working memory capacity video gaming as compared to music reduced reliance on the goal-directed decision-making system, while a rather large working memory capacity prevented such a decline. Our findings suggest differential effects of everyday activities on key decision-making processes.
Full Text Available Rats implanted bilaterally with cannulae in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus or the entorhinal cortex were submitted to either a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task, or to 5 min of habituation to an open field. Immediately after training, they received intrahippocampal or intraentorhinal 0.5-µl infusions of saline, of a vehicle (2% dimethylsulfoxide in saline, of the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA receptor antagonist 2-amino-5-phosphono pentanoic acid (AP5, of the protein kinase A inhibitor Rp-cAMPs (0.5 µg/side, of the calcium-calmodulin protein kinase II inhibitor KN-62, of the dopaminergic D1 antagonist SCH23390, or of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD098059. Animals were tested in each task 24 h after training. Intrahippocampal KN-62 was amnestic for habituation; none of the other treatments had any effect on the retention of this task. In contrast, all of them strongly affected memory of the avoidance task. Intrahippocampal Rp-cAMPs, KN-62 and AP5, and intraentorhinal Rp-cAMPs, KN-62, PD098059 and SCH23390 caused retrograde amnesia. In view of the known actions of the treatments used, the present findings point to important biochemical differences in memory consolidation processes of the two tasks.
Marina de Tommaso
Full Text Available Onabotulintoxin A (BontA is an efficacious preventive treatment for chronic migraine, though the specific mechanism of action is still under discussion. The study aims: (1 To evaluate pain processing modifications in chronic migraine patients (CM under single BontA administration in pericranial muscles, by means of CO2 Laser Evoked Potentials (LEPs obtained by the stimulation of the skin over the right frontal and trapezius injection sites and hand dorsum, in a double blind placebo controlled crossover design. (2 To correlate main LEPs findings with clinical outcome after one year of BontA treatment. Twenty refractory CM patients were included in the analysis. The LEPs were recorded in basal conditions and seven days after BontA (PREEMPT protocol and saline solution injection. The N1, N2 and P2 amplitude and latencies and N2P2 habituation index were evaluated and correlated with the percent change of headache frequency after one year of toxin treatment. After seven days of BontA treatment, a normalization of the trigeminal habituation index was observed, which was correlated with the clinical outcome after one year of BontA therapy. Patients displaying trigeminal LEPs facilitation at T0 time showed a more efficient therapeutic outcome. Neurotoxin may exert a modulating effect on trigeminal nociception, normalizing central neurotransmission.
Tadeusz W. Kononowicz
Full Text Available Numerous studies have shown that contingent negative variation (CNV measured at fronto-central and parietal-central areas is closely related to interval timing. However, the exact nature of the relation between CNV and the underlying timing mechanisms is still a topic of discussion. On the one hand, it has been proposed that the CNV measured at supplementary motor area (SMA is a direct reflection of the unfolding of time since a perceived onset, whereas other work has suggested that the increased amplitude reflects decision processes involved in interval timing. Strong evidence for the first view has been reported by Macar, Vidal and Casini (1999, who showed that variations in temporal performance were reflected in the measured CNV amplitude. If the CNV measured at SMA is a direct function of the passing of time, habituation effects are not expected. Here we report two replication studies, which both failed to replicate the expected performance-dependent variations. Even more powerful linear-mixed effect analyses failed to find any performance related effects on the CNV amplitude, whereas habituation effects were found. These studies therefore suggest that the CNV amplitude does not directly reflect the unfolding of time
Full Text Available Generation of the auditory steady state responses (ASSR is commonly explained by the linear combination of random background noise activity and the stationary response. Based on this model, the decrease of amplitude that occurs over the sequential averaging of epochs of the raw data has been exclusively linked to the cancelation of noise. Nevertheless, this behavior might also reflect the non-stationary response of the ASSR generators. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing the ASSR time course in rats with different auditory maturational stages. ASSR were evoked by 8-kHz tones of different supra-threshold intensities, modulated in amplitude at 115 Hz. Results show that the ASSR amplitude habituated to the sustained stimulation and that dishabituation occurred when deviant stimuli were presented. ASSR habituation increased as animals became adults, suggesting that the ability to filter acoustic stimuli with no-relevant temporal information increased with age. Results are discussed in terms of the current model of the ASSR generation and analysis procedures. They might have implications for audiometric tests designed to assess hearing in subjects who cannot provide reliable results in the psychophysical trials.
Chapillon, P; Roullet, P
This experiment investigated the development of habituation and memorization capacities of C57BL/6 mice. After a first session on a classic open field, four groups of subjects (3, 4, 5 and 9 weeks of age) were exposed to objects arranged in a pre-defined spatial environment during three exploratory sessions. Subsequently, for the test session, half of the mice was exposed to the previous situation, while the other half was exposed to a novel situation with a different spatial configuration for testing animal's abilities to detect and react to a change in their environment. Analysis showed age-related differences in behavioural habituation patterns. Moreover, contrary to our expectancy based on previous studies, the youngest mice (3 week-old) didn't exhibit significant renewal of exploration of the displaced objects during the test session. This results indicated that the youngest mice react differently than the adult mice when they are confronted to a novel environment and especially seem enable to construct a long-lasting representation of their environment when this representation concerns proximal information. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies conducted on the radial maze and the Morris water maze and it seems that the abilities of the youngest mice to construct a representation of their environment are partially dependent upon the type of information available (i.e. proximal versus distal information).
Liu, Shuyan; Schad, Daniel J; Kuschpel, Maxim S; Rapp, Michael A; Heinz, Andreas
Different systems for habitual versus goal-directed control are thought to underlie human decision-making. Working memory is known to shape these decision-making systems and their interplay, and is known to support goal-directed decision making even under stress. Here, we investigated if and how decision systems are differentially influenced by breaks filled with diverse everyday life activities known to modulate working memory performance. We used a within-subject design where young adults listened to music and played a video game during breaks interleaved with trials of a sequential two-step Markov decision task, designed to assess habitual as well as goal-directed decision making. Based on a neurocomputational model of task performance, we observed that for individuals with a rather limited working memory capacity video gaming as compared to music reduced reliance on the goal-directed decision-making system, while a rather large working memory capacity prevented such a decline. Our findings suggest differential effects of everyday activities on key decision-making processes.
Kawano, Hiroshi; Iemitsu, Motoyuki; Gando, Yuko; Ishijima, Toshimichi; Asaka, Meiko; Aoyama, Tomoko; Ando, Takafumi; Tokizawa, Ken; Miyachi, Motohiko; Sakamoto, Shizuo; Higuchi, Mitsuru
The present study elucidated the effects of habitual rowing exercise on arterial stiffness and plasma levels of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 and the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) in older men. Eleven rowers (68.0 ± 1.6 years) and 11 sedentary control older men (64.9 ± 1.1 years) were studied. Peak oxygen uptake (36.0 ± 1.7 vs. 27.7 ±1.9 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1)), leg press power (1346 ± 99 vs. 1077 ± 68 W), and HDL-cholesterol (75 ± 5 vs. 58 ±3 mg · ml(-1)) were higher and triglyceride (78 ± 9 vs. 120 ± 14 mg · ml(-1)) was lower in rowers than in control participants (all P cardio-ankle vascular index) and plasma endothelin-1 and NOx (nitrite + nitrate) levels did not differ between the two groups. These results suggest that habitual rowing exercise in older men is associated with high muscle power and aerobic capacity, and favourable blood lipid profile without affecting arterial stiffness or plasma levels of endotheline-1 and NO.
John W. Wright
Full Text Available The premise of this paper is that increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs permits the reconfiguration of synaptic connections (i.e., neural plasticity by degrading cell adhesion molecules (CAMs designed to provide stability to those extracellular matrix (ECM proteins that form scaffolding supporting neurons and glia. It is presumed that while these ECM proteins are weakened, and/or detached, synaptic connections can form resulting in new neural pathways. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs are designed to deactivate MMPs permitting the reestablishment of CAMs, thus returning the system to a reasonably fixed state. This review considers available findings concerning the roles of MMPs and TIMPs in reorganizing ECM proteins thus facilitating the neural plasticity underlying long-term potentiation (LTP, habituation, and associative learning. We conclude with a consideration of the influence of these phenomena on drug addiction, given that these same processes may be instrumental in the formation of addiction and subsequent relapse. However, our knowledge concerning the precise spatial and temporal relationships among the mechanisms of neural plasticity, habituation, associative learning, and memory consolidation is far from complete and the possibility that these phenomena mediate drug addiction is a new direction of research.
Cyr, André; Boukadoum, Mounir
This paper presents a novel bio-inspired habituation function for robots under control by an artificial spiking neural network. This non-associative learning rule is modelled at the synaptic level and validated through robotic behaviours in reaction to different stimuli patterns in a dynamical virtual 3D world. Habituation is minimally represented to show an attenuated response after exposure to and perception of persistent external stimuli. Based on current neurosciences research, the originality of this rule includes modulated response to variable frequencies of the captured stimuli. Filtering out repetitive data from the natural habituation mechanism has been demonstrated to be a key factor in the attention phenomenon, and inserting such a rule operating at multiple temporal dimensions of stimuli increases a robot's adaptive behaviours by ignoring broader contextual irrelevant information.
Chang, Hsin-An; Liu, Yia-Ping; Tung, Che-Se; Chang, Chuan-Chia; Tzeng, Nian-Sheng; Huang, San-Yuan
The present study examined the role of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on sensorimotor gating function in a developmentally rodent model of schizophrenic-spectrum disorders. Startle magnitude, prepulse inhibition (PPI) and startle habituation in an acoustic startle test were measured after 72-h of REM sleep deprivation (REMSD) in 14-week-old rats that were reared in one of the following conditions: control social interaction, 2-week isolation, and continuous isolation, since weaning. The results showed that REMSD significantly inhibited rats' PPI in socially controlled rats, and rats in two isolation groups appeared less sensitive to REMSD. After REMSD, startle habituation was significantly reduced in continuous-isolated rats but not in 2-week-isolated rats. These data indicate that REM sleep is essential for PPI; REMSD inhibits startle habituation in rats with continuous social isolation. In addition, social interaction, in early life or for the whole life, functions differently to the sensorimotor gating.
D'Alonzo, Karen T; Cortese, Lauren B
A comparative survey design was used to examine habitual and incidental physical activity among native Costa Rican (CR) and Costa Rican American (CRA) adolescent girls. The purposive sample included 17 girls (ages 12-19 years) living in Limon, Costa Rica (n = 11), and the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area (n = 6). Participants in the CR group had significantly higher levels of habitual (p = .04), incidental (p = .02), and combined (p = .03) physical activity as compared with those on the CRA group. Dance was a preferred form of activity for both groups. The relationship between habitual and incidental physical activity was not significant, underscoring the need to address both variables in assessment of total physical activity. The findings suggest a need to prioritize the promotion of physical activity among immigrant teenage girls using culturally valued methods.
Full Text Available Emotion eliciting situations are accompanied by reactions on multiple response variables on subjective, physiological, and behavioral levels. The quantification of the overall simultaneous synchrony of psychophysiological reactions, plays a major role in emotion theories and has received increasing attention in recent research. From a psychometric perspective, the reactions represent multivariate non-stationary intra-individual time series. In this paper, we present a new time-frequency based latent variable approach for the quantification of the synchrony of the responses. The approach is applied to empirical data collected during an emotion eliciting situation. The results are compared with a complementary inter-individual approach of Hsieh et al. (2011. Finally, the proposed approach is discussed in the context of emotion theories, and possible future applications and limitations are provided.
Gros, Daniel F; Hawk, Larry W; Moscovitch, David A
The present study examined affective processes of social anxiety (SA) through emotional modulation of the startle reflex. Eighty-four high and low trait socially anxious undergraduates viewed socially-relevant and socially-irrelevant pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures, and acoustic startle probes were presented during pictures and the inter-trial interval. Startle was potentiated during unpleasant compared to pleasant stimuli, but this valence modulation did not reliably vary between groups or socially-relevant and -irrelevant stimuli. However, when participants were categorized based on public-speaking fears rather than general SA symptoms, the high fear group demonstrated reliable valence modulation, whereas the low fear group did not. These findings are interpreted within the context of the broader literature suggesting that the specificity of fear in SA may influence psychophysiological reactivity.
Korobeinikov Georgij Valer'evich
Full Text Available The results of the indicators of physical development, psycho-physiological capacity and physical fitness of children. The study involved 52 children aged 1-2 years, 3-4 years 56 children, 56 children 4-5 years. It is established that in the age group of children 4-5 years time, a simple reaction to an auditory stimulus following simple reaction time to visual stimulus. It is recommended to use parenting techniques that are integrally stimulate all the sensory systems. Pointed out that the sound of children causes greater emotional response in comparison with the light signal. This reduces the latency time of reaction to an auditory stimulus.
Honts, C R; Kircher, J C; Raskin, D C
We respond to Furedy's article in this journal where he raised an issue he referred to as the "Polygrapher's dilemma" (Furedy, J.J. (1993) Int. J. Psychophysiol., 15: 263-267). Furedy claimed that the control question test, the most commonly applied psychophysiological detection of deception test, is inherently subjective and harmful to subjects in both the field and the laboratory. Fortunately, Furedy's arguments were based on inaccurate representations of the control question test and on flawed logic. To correct Furedy's misrepresentations, we present an accurate description of how the control question test is used and evaluated. We then examine the results of empirical research that address Furedy's concerns. Furedy's concerns are found to be lacking on almost all counts. Finally, we discuss the findings from several studies that Furedy failed to mention but are directly relevant to the issues he raised.
Ahs, Fredrik; Palmquist, Asa Michelgård; Pissiota, Anna; Appel, Lieuwe; Frans, Orjan; Liberzon, Israel; Furmark, Tomas; Fredrikson, Mats
Phobic fear is accompanied by intense bodily responses modulated by the amygdala. An amygdala moderated psychophysiological measure related to arousal is electrodermal activity. We evaluated the contributions of electrodermal activity to amygdala-parahippocampal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during phobic memory encoding in subjects with spider or snake phobia. Recognition memory was increased for phobia-related slides and covaried with rCBF in the amygdala and the parahippocampal gyrus. The covariation between parahippocampal rCBF and recognition was related to electrodermal activity suggesting that parahippocampal memory processes were associated with sympathetic activity. Electrodermal activity further mediated the amygdala effect on parahippocampal activity. Memory encoding during phobic fear therefore seems contingent on amygdala's influence on arousal and parahippocampal activity.
The effects of pop music on heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure at rest, during exercise on a bicycle ergometer and in the recovery phase were investigated. The psychological effects of the music were analysed by means of a question sheet and correlated with the physiological effects. The psychological effects of the music points to a reduction of monotony and of fatigue. During exercise, especially during low physical strain, there was a good correlation between the psychological and the physiological parameters. The significant decrease of the cardiovascular parameters in the recovery phase demonstrates, that emotional stimuli are influencing the heart rate not only at rest and work, but also in the recovery phase. The results of the psycho-physiological experiments give rise to the conclusion, that individual attitude to music doesn't primarily influence the effects of music on physiological reactions.
Harris, Christine R
The specific innate modular theory of jealousy hypothesizes that natural selection shaped sexual jealousy as a mechanism to prevent cuckoldry, and emotional jealousy as a mechanism to prevent resource loss. Therefore, men should be primarily jealous over a mate's sexual infidelity and women over a mate's emotional infidelity. Five lines of evidence have been offered as support: self-report responses, psychophysiological data, domestic violence (including spousal abuse and homicide), and morbid jealousy cases. This article reviews each line of evidence and finds only one hypothetical measure consistent with the hypothesis. This, however, is contradicted by a variety of other measures (including reported reactions to real infidelity). A meta-analysis of jealousy-inspired homicides, taking into account base rates for murder, found no evidence that jealousy disproportionately motivates men to kill. The findings are discussed from a social-cognitive theoretical perspective.
Gorka, Stephanie M; Lieberman, Lynne; Shankman, Stewart A; Phan, K Luan
Heightened reactivity to uncertain threat (U-threat) is an important individual difference factor that may characterize fear-based internalizing psychopathologies (IPs) and distinguish them from distress/misery IPs. To date, however, the majority of existing research examining reactivity to U-threat has been within individuals with panic disorder and major depressive disorder (MDD) and no prior study has directly tested this hypothesis across multiple IPs. The current study therefore explored whether heightened reactivity to U-threat is a psychophysiological indicator of fear-based psychopathology across 5 groups: current (a) social anxiety disorder (SAD); (b) specific phobia (SP); (c) generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); (d) MDD; and (c) individuals with no history of psychopathology (controls). All 160 adults completed a well-validated threat-of-shock task designed to probe responses to predictable (P-) and U-threat. Startle eyeblink potentiation was recorded as an index of aversive arousal. Results indicated that individuals with SAD and SP evidenced greater startle potentiation to U-threat, but not P-threat, relative to individuals with GAD, MDD, and controls (who did not differ). The current findings, along with the prior panic disorder and MDD literature, suggest that heightened reactivity to U-threat is a psychophysiological indicator of fear-based disorders and could represent a neurobiological organizing principle for internalizing psychopathology. The findings also suggest that individuals with fear disorders generally display a hypersensitivity to uncertain aversive events, which could contribute to their psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
Ho, Rainbow T H; Fong, Ted C T; Wan, Adrian H Y; Au-Yeung, Friendly S W; Wong, Cathy P K; Ng, Winnie Y H; Cheung, Irene K M; Lo, Phyllis H Y; Ng, S M; Chan, Cecilia L W; Chen, Eric Y H
The chronic and prevalent natures of schizophrenia result in long-term institutionalization for the patients. Conventional treatment of anti-psychotic medication on management of psychotic symptoms often brings on severe side effects and reduces patients' well-being. Tai-chi is a mind-body exercise that underscores motor coordination and relaxation. This 3-arm randomized controlled trial investigated the psychophysiological benefits of Tai-chi on 153 chronic schizophrenia patients, who were recruited from a mental health rehab complex and randomized into Tai-chi, exercise, or waitlist control groups. Both intervention groups received 12weeks of specific intervention plus standard medication received by the controls. All participants completed psychiatric interviews, self-report questionnaires, performance tasks, and salivary cortisol measures at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up on psychotic symptoms, motor coordination, memory, daily living function, and stress. Multigroup latent growth modeling was used to evaluate the intervention effects on the outcomes. Compared to controls, the Tai-chi group showed significant decreases in motor deficits and increases in backward digit span and mean cortisol, while the exercise group displayed significant decreases in motor deficits, negative and depression symptoms and increases in forward digit span, daily living function, and mean cortisol. The two interventions did not show significantly different therapeutic effects, except for fewer symptom manifestations in the exercise group. These results suggest psychophysiological benefits for Tai-chi on chronic schizophrenia patients in terms of motor coordination and memory. Though both Tai-chi and exercise groups tended to manifest fewer symptoms than the control group, the exercise group showed better symptoms management than the Tai-chi group. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Banca, Paula; Voon, Valerie; Vestergaard, Martin D; Philipiak, Gregor; Almeida, Inês; Pocinho, Fernando; Relvas, João; Castelo-Branco, Miguel
Intrusive thoughts and compulsive urges to perform stereotyped behaviours are typical symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Emerging evidence suggests a cognitive bias towards habit formation at the expense of goal-directed performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this study, we test this hypothesis using a novel individualized ecologically valid symptom provocation design: a live provocation functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm with synchronous video-recording of behavioural avoidance responses. By pairing symptom provocation with online avoidance responses on a trial-by-trial basis, we sought to investigate the neural mechanisms leading to the compulsive avoidance response. In keeping with the model of habit formation in obsessive-compulsive disorder, we hypothesized that this disorder would be associated with lower activity in regions implicated in goal-directed behaviours and higher activity in regions implicated in habitual behaviours. Fifteen patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 15 healthy control volunteers participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Online stimuli were individually tailored to achieve effective symptom provocation at neutral, intermediate and strong intensity levels. During the symptom provocation block, the participant could choose to reject or terminate the provoking stimuli resulting in cessation of the symptom provocation. We thus separately analysed the neural correlates of symptom provocation, the urge to avoid, rejection and relief. Strongly symptom-provoking conditions evoked a dichotomous pattern of deactivation/activation in patients, which was not observed either in control conditions or in healthy subjects: a deactivation of caudate-prefrontal circuits accompanied by hyperactivation of subthalamic nucleus/putaminal regions. This finding suggests a dissociation between regions engaged in goal-directed and habitual behaviours. The putaminal hyperactivity during patients
Full Text Available Stress or arousal responses to novel social contexts ease off when individuals get familiar with the social context. In the present study we investigated whether oxytocin is involved in this process of familiarization-habituation, as oxytocin is known to increase trust and decrease anxiety. Fifty-nine healthy female subjects took part in the same experimental procedure in two sessions separated by four weeks. In the first (novelty session state trust scores were significantly positively correlated with salivary oxytocin levels, while in the second (familiarity session state trust scores were significantly negatively correlated with salivary oxytocin levels. In a path model, oxytocin was associated with increased trust in the novelty session and trust was associated with decreased oxytocin levels in the familiarity session. The results are consistent with the idea that oxytocin decreases stress-to-novelty responses by promoting familiarization to novel social contexts.
Kristensen, Peter Lund; Korsholm, L; Møller, N C;
The present study examined the influence of gender, maturity state, seasonality, type of measurement day and socioeconomic status (SES) on habitual physical activity in 8-10-year-old children and 14-16-year-old adolescents (n=1318). Physical activity was assessed objectively by accelerometry....... The results showed a significant effect of the type of measurement day on physical activity with a general pattern of lower activity levels in weekends compared with weekdays. Furthermore, higher physical activity levels were observed during the months of spring/summer compared with the months of autumn....../winter for the 8-10-year-olds, whereas no significant effect of months was observed for the 14-16-year-olds, possibly due to exam preparations and lack of physical activity registration during the months of summer for this cohort. SES was unrelated to physical activity in the 8-10-year-olds, whereas an inverse...
Møller, N C; Kristensen, Peter Lund; Wedderkopp, N;
Based on two cross-sectional studies conducted in 8-10-year-old third-grade children living in the municipality of Odense, potential differences were examined in the level of habitual physical activity (HPA) in Danish children between 1997/1998 and 2003/2004. HPA was assessed objectively......-Thu in 2003/2004 when compared with 1997/1998. Gender differences in the level of HPA were found to be more distinct during Mon-Thu than during Fri-Sun. This study does not support the idea that Danish children are becoming less physically active. However, a limited statistical power should be considered when...... interpreting differences across socioeconomic gradients. Boys were found to be more physically active than girls, especially during the weekdays (Friday not included)....
Ali Metin Esen
Full Text Available In this study, P wave duration and dispersion (PWD were measured in 30 heavy smoker, 30 light smoker and 30 nonsmoker subjects. There were no significant difference among heavy smokers, light smokers and nonsmokers with respect to maximum P wave duration and PWD (117±9ms, 116±8ms, 115±6ms ANOVA p=0.78, and 48±10ms, 45±11ms, 43±8ms, one-way ANOVA p=0.14, respectively. Minimum P wave duration was also similar in three groups. (69±10 ms, 70±13ms, 72±9ms, one-way ANOVA p=0.51. We also found no dose dependent-relation betweenthe duration of smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked, and P wave duration. Habitual cigarette smoking alone does not alter P wave duration and PWD in otherwise healthy young subjects.
Sofía Estela Ares
Full Text Available El objetivo de este artículo es investigar la configuración de los espacios de vida a partir de patrones de movilidad habitual (commuting, en Chapadmalal (partido de General Pueyrredon, Buenos Aires, Argentina. El espacio de vida cotidiano y la movilidad territorial son los conceptos centrales. Se trabajó con datos primarios: los espacios de vida se clasificaron por su extensión jurisdiccional y por los lugares usados. Se obtuvieron diferentes disposiciones espaciales y distintas modalidades de uso del espacio, en las que las características sociodemográficas de los sujetos están vinculadas con las peculiaridades de cada categoría.
Mitchell, D; Osborne, E W; O'Boyle, M W
Conflicting predictions of reinforcement and neophobia-arousal theories were evaluated in a simple choice task. Four groups of C57BL/6J mice were administered daily two-trial tests in a uniform T-maze for 10 consecutive days. For three groups, the contingencies of footshock treatments were manipulated to reinforce alternation, perseveration, or both. A control group that was not administered footshock alternated, but all three groups that were stressed perseverated more and more across tests, despite the differences in reinforcement contingencies. These results are inconsistent with the predictions of reinforcement theory but consistent with the view that stressed or aroused animals are neophobic and use nonassociative learning (habituation) to distinguish between novel and familiar alternatives.

domain: literature