Showing papers in "Psychophysiology in 1973"
TL;DR: The Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) as discussed by the authors is a self-rating scale which is used to quantify progressive steps in sleepiness and it is cross-validated with performance on mental tasks.
Abstract: The Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) is a self-rating scale which is used to quantify progressive steps in sleepiness. The present study investigated whether the SSS cross-validates with performance on mental tasks and whether the SSS demonstrates changes in sleepiness with sleep loss. Five college student Ss were given a brief test of memory and the Wilkinson Addition Test in 2 test sessions and The Wilkinson Vigilance Test in 2 other sessions spaced throughout a 16-hr day for 6 days. Ss made SSS ratings every 15 min during their waking activities. On night 4, Ss underwent all night sleep deprivation. On all other nights, Ss were allowed only 8 hrs in bed. Mean SSS ratings correlated r= .68 with performance on the Wilkinson Tests. Discrete SSS ratings correlated r= .47 with performance on the memory test. Moreover, mean baseline SSS ratings were found to be significantly lower than corresponding ratings of the deprivation period.
2,300 citations
TL;DR: The prediction that attention to the environment leads to sympathetic-like dilatation and parasympathetic-like cardiac slowing was satisfied, demonstrating directional fractionation and situational stereotypy and correlations were low and highly variable among subjects and stimuli.
Abstract: Thirty pictures, rated on 22 scales, were shown to 34 males, while pupillary diameters and heart rates were recorded, to test the prediction that attention to the environment leads to sympathetic-like dilatation and parasympathetic-like cardiac slowing, and to study the relationships of the responses to stimulus-attributes. The prediction was satisfied, demonstrating directional fractionation and situational stereotypy. Tonic levels changed significantly during the experiment and also showed directional fractionation. A few individuals and stimuli, however, yielded reliable pupillary constriction, demonstrating intra-stressor stereotypy. Four factors characterized the ratings, two of which were associated with the autonomic responses. Pupillary dilatation and cardiac slowing increased as the Attention-Interest value increased. Pupillary dilatation was greatest to pictures midway on the Pleasantness-Evaluation factor, and greater to unpleasant than to pleasant stimuli. Cardiac slowing was linearly related to pleasantness, with unpleasant stimuli provoking the greatest slowing. The two responses were correlated less than measurement reliability would have allowed, demonstrating quantitative dissociation. When base-corrected scores were used the correlations again were low and highly variable among subjects and stimuli, even in direction.
268 citations
TL;DR: No evidence of dishabituation in the AER to the stimuli following the infrequent stimuli was obtained and the results of a detailed analysis of two orbital leads make it unlikely that eye movement or eye blink could account for the results.
Abstract: The auditory evoked response (AER) to unpredictable stimuli was studied in 18 Ss. 100 msec sound bursts consisting of either a pure tone or white noise were presented every sec. One type of stimulus constituted the frequent expected stimulus and the other the infrequent stimulus that occurred as a random substitution. For the low probability (LP) stimulus condition, the mean ratio of infrequent to frequent was 1:30; for the intermediate probability (IP), 1:15; and for the high probability (HP), 1:7.5. Ss were instructed to ignore the sounds.
The amplitude of a late positive wave (P3) of the AER was largest in the LP and smallest in the HP condition. There was a general decrease of all AER components over the course of a session. No evidence of dishabituation in the AER to the stimuli following the infrequent stimuli was obtained. The results of a detailed analysis of two orbital leads make it unlikely that eye movement or eye blink could account for the results.
193 citations
TL;DR: The responses give by Group NP to the spider slides could be considered to be indicative of an orienting response (OR), while those given by Group SP were consistent with recent conceptions of the defensive response (DR).
Abstract: Physiological responses were recorded while 10 females who feared spiders (Group SP) and 10 females who did not (Group NP) viewed 24 neutral and 6 spider slides.
Group NP responded to the spider stimuli with heart rate (HR) deceleration and cephalic vasodilation (increase in pulse amplitude), while Group SP responded with HR acceleration and cephalic vasoconstriction. Neither group gave appreciable or systematic cardiovascular responses to the neutral stimuli. Palmar and dorsal skin conductance (SC) responses to the spider stimuli were larger than those given to the neutral slides, and tended to be larger and more resistant to habituation in Group SP than in Group NP.
When considered along with post-experimental reports, the responses given by Group NP to the spider slides could be considered to be indicative of an orienting response (OR), while those given by Group SP were consistent with recent conceptions of the defensive response (DR).
These response patterns, especially the latter one, were evident in both group data and in individual records.
144 citations
TL;DR: Left/right alpha ratios were highest for the musical task, and tended to decrease progressively with increasingly difficult linguistic tasks.
Abstract: We have studied relative bilateral alpha activity over temporal-parietal sites in normal human Ss while they were engaged in either a musical task or one of three linguistic tasks of varying difficulty. Left/right alpha ratios were highest for the musical task, and tended to decrease progressively with increasingly difficult linguistic tasks.
128 citations
TL;DR: Changes in the mood and performance measures were unrelated to prior sleep length or any specific alterations in the electrophysiological patterns of sleep.
Abstract: The relative effects of extended sleep, sleep deprivation, and shifts of accustomed sleep time on subsequent performance and mood were studied. Ten regular 2400–0800 sleepers worked on E-paced addition and vigilance tasks, and completed an adjective check list to rate their mood following 2100-0800 extended, 2100-0500 advanced-shift, 2400-0800 habitual, 0300-0800 deprivation, and 0300-1100 delayed-shift conditions of sleep. Accuracy and speed of response on the vigilance task were significantly poorer, and negative affect was significantly greater after the conditions of shifted sleep and altered sleep duration than after the habitual sleep condition. Changes in the mood and performance measures were unrelated to prior sleep length or any specific alterations in the electrophysiological patterns of sleep.
115 citations
TL;DR: The findings were interpreted to indicate that changes in latency and amplitude of later components of auditory evoked responses during sleep occur at levels above the brain stem, and support the view that the increased threshold for auditory arousal associated with sleep is mediated centrally rather than peripherally.
Abstract: Very early auditory evoked potentials, commencing from 1 to 2 msec after stimulation, can be recorded from human scalp by averaging; they appear to be generated in the VIII nerve and brain stem structures. This study was conducted to obtain data concerning possible variations of these early auditory responses with sleep in man. Our results show little or no change in the amplitude and latency characteristics of these potentials from waking to sleep or between sleep stages. Prolonged stimulation, during waking or sleep, produced increases of latency and a tendency for decrease of amplitude. The findings were interpreted to indicate that changes in latency and amplitude of later components of auditory evoked responses during sleep occur at levels above the brain stem. They also support the view that the increased threshold for auditory arousal associated with sleep is mediated centrally rather than peripherally.
105 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that the evidence fails to convincingly demonstrate successful conditioning in the absence of contingency learning, which is more consistent with the view that contingency learning is an essential mediator of human classical conditioning.
Abstract: This paper reviews experimental evidence relevant to the issue of whether human classical conditioning can occur in the absence of awareness of the CS-UCS contingency (contingency learning). It is concluded that the evidence fails to convincingly demonstrate successful conditioning in the absence of contingency learning. In fact, the evidence is more consistent with the view that contingency learning is an essential mediator of human classical conditioning. Although original learning may require the presence of contingency learning, the performance of a previously acquired conditioned response may not require such mediation.
104 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is presented to indicate that there are some instances where cognitive factors do not appear to control autonomic conditioning, and a more sensitive and continuous measure of SC is proposed which should yield more precise answers to the empirical and complex question of the limits of cognitive control of conditioned autonomic behavior.
Abstract: Because certain recently adopted doctrinaire cognitivist positions are just as undesirable as the doctrinaire behaviorist positions of the fifties, evidence is presented to indicate that there are some instances where cognitive factors do not appear to control autonomic conditioning. The first aspect of that evidence deals with tests of the applicability of the contingency position to Pavlovian autonomic conditioning, and the data indicate that conditioned autonomic responses like the GSR do not act like “contingency analysers” over CS-US intervals ranging from .75 to 8.0 sec. Moreover, measures of cognitive subjective contingency (SC), which could not be taken in the animal studies used previously to support the contingency analysis of Pavlovian conditioning, indicate that the human Ss are aware of the contingency differences considered important for autonomic conditioning by the contingency position. This lack of correspondence between the autonomic and cognitive dependent variables is also relevant to another form of the cognitive-control position, that knowledge of CS-US contingencies is related to autonomic conditioning. Such relations were not, in fact, observed between the extents of autonomic and cognitive (SC) discrimination. Finally, a more sensitive and continuous measure of SC is proposed which should yield more precise answers to the empirical and complex question of the limits of cognitive control of conditioned autonomic behavior.
65 citations
TL;DR: It was suggested that stimulus onset characteristics determine the short-latency HR response and steady-state characteristics the longer-latencies phases and the relationship to fast and slow components of startle was discussed as well as possible mechanisms that may account for the differing effects of noise and tone.
Abstract: The psychophysiological literature has often ignored possible differences in the effects of white noise and tone stimulation. Twelve undergraduate Ss presented with 10 white noise and 12 Ss presented with 10 tone stimuli of 5-sec duration, uncontrolled, fast rise time, and equal SPL (85 dB re 0.0002 microbars) showed large differences in heart rate (HR) response. Noise elicited a diphasic response of marked acceleration followed by deceleration and tone a triphasic response of deceleration-acceleration-deceleration. The short-latency acceleration following noise habituated rapidly although some acceleration persisted throughout the 10 trials. With stimulus repetition, the response to tone showed lessened deceleration and an insignificant increase in long-latency acceleration. It was suggested that stimulus onset characteristics determine the short-latency HR response and steady-state characteristics the longer-latency phases. The relationship to fast and slow components of startle was discussed as well as possible mechanisms that may account for the differing effects of noise and tone.
64 citations
TL;DR: Cognitive tasks—imagining a liked person, suppressing thoughts of the person, searching one's mind for alternative solutions, arithmetic involving little concentration, problems involving high concentration, and choosing a preferred activity required verbalization and yielded few REMs, high alpha, and low HR.
Abstract: Rapid eye movements (REMs), EEG alpha, and tonic heart rate (HR) were measured during 6 types of cognitive tasks—imagining a liked person, suppressing thoughts of the person, searching one's mind for alternative solutions, arithmetic involving little concentration, problems involving high concentration, and choosing a preferred activity. The latter 3 required verbalization, the former 3 did not. Only suppression and search did not differ significantly from each other on at least one physiological variable. Imagining, suppression, and search yielded few REMs, high alpha, and low HR. High concentration yielded many REMs, low alpha, and high HR. Choice yielded many REMs, low alpha, and intermediate HR. Low concentration yielded few REMs, low alpha, and high HR. Suppression produced somewhat less alpha than imagining but did not differ significantly in REMs.
TL;DR: The results suggest that some general intensity processing response is reflected in the AER and that it is important to control attention in AER experiments.
Abstract: The effects of shifting attention toward or away from visual or auditory stimuli of varying intensities were studied using average evoked responses (AERs) in 24 normal human volunteers. Ss were asked to attend to visual or auditory stimuli of four intensities (randomly presented) or to ignore the lights and tones and do mental arithmetic. For visual stimuli, attentional effects were largest at low intensities whereas for auditory stimuli equal effects were shown across intensities. Similar individual rates of increase of AER amplitude with increasing intensity were observed for both visual and auditory stimuli when attentional conditions were controlled.
These results suggest that some general intensity processing response is reflected in the AER and that it is important to control attention in AER experiments.
TL;DR: It was concluded that REM density reflects the output of a sleep-waking negative feedback circuit.
Abstract: Ocular activity during the REM stage of sleep was studied for the purpose of determining what effect previous sleep and waking would have on the intensity of that activity. Eleven Ss slept to satiation during a 54-hr session and then, after a day of waking, slept for another night. REM density (i.e., number of eye mvts per min of REM period) rose progressively during the first night and morning, and then remained at a high level for the remainder of the 54 hrs; the mean REM density for Night 2 and also for Night 3 was about double the REM density of Night 1. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the amount of prior sleep was positively correlated with REM density whereas the amount of waking was negatively correlated. Peak REM density occurred after a mean of 9.88 hrs of sleep. Thereafter, periods of waking alternated with periods of sleep while the REM density oscillated at its peak level. It was concluded that REM density reflects the output of a sleep-waking negative feedback circuit.
TL;DR: This study compared the conditioning of averaged evoked potentials in 11 psychotic and 11 normal children and found that in psychotic children auditory evoked responses are variable and small and remain so during the coupling of sound and light, while in normal children this response is strong and generalized.
Abstract: This study compared the conditioning of averaged evoked potentials in 11 psychotic and 11 normal children (57 experiments). Evoked potentials, like the blocking of alpha rhythm, can be conditioned by coupling a short sound of low intensity with an intense light flash.
In normal children, the amplitude of the potential evoked by sound at the occipital region is small and quite variable. Its amplitude increases and its variability diminishes after coupling of sound and light. Also its form may resemble the potential evoked by light, especially in its rhythmic after-effects.
In psychotic children auditory evoked responses are variable and small and remain so during the coupling of sound and light.
Instead, these patients respond to the sound with a late slow wave, which is strong and generalized. It is particularly prominent during conditioning and resembles the slow waves which follow the visual evoked potentials in these autistic children. This slow wave can be experimentally reproduced in normal Ss by Psilocybine. It also resembles in certain ways the slow waves provoked by movement or its anticipation in normal Ss but it appears here during sensorial conditioning which requires no movement. We suspect that this slow wave may reflect a diffuse motor component in the perceptual and associative processes of these autistic children.
TL;DR: The final hypothesis proffered was that accurate expectancy facilitates habituation when it fosters appropriate modulation of attention, which, for highly threatening stimulation, consists of a degree of restriction of attention to begin with, followed by increasing attention to new elements of the stimulus complex as reactivity to old elements is reduced.
Abstract: The relationship between expectancy and magnitude of reaction to a noxious UCS was examined in studies using a classical conditioning paradigm, in habituation studies, and in studies using a count-up to stimulus presentation. An initial hypothesis that accurate expectancy reduces reactivity was found inadequate, and replaced by one that stated that accurate expectancy facilitates habituation. Although this hypothesis was consistent with the data reviewed, it was concluded that it, too, requires modification. The final hypothesis proffered was that accurate expectancy facilitates habituation when it fosters appropriate modulation of attention, which, for highly threatening stimulation, consists of a degree of restriction of attention to begin with, followed by increasing attention to new elements of the stimulus complex as reactivity to old elements is reduced.
TL;DR: Day and night sleep differed with respect to both duration and pattern, and night duty seemed to affect the pattern of sleep stage distribution as well as the absolute amount of, not only total sleep, but also some sleep stages, such as Stage SS.
Abstract: The diurnal sleep patterns of female nurses working night duty were compared to their nocturnal sleep patterns while they were working regular hours during the day. Continuous EEG, EOG, and EMG recordings were made at the end of 2 month periods of night and day duty respectively. Day and night sleep differed with respect to both duration and pattern. Despite an earlier onset, the major sleep period was shorter during the day than the night and seemed to be more interrupted later in the session. This finding is in keeping with the increased amount of Stage 1 and decreased amount of slow wave sleep during the day than the night. Although no differences were evident with respect to overall percent REM, differences in the distribution of REM did occur. REM sleep occurred sooner during day than night sleep and there was more of it during the first part of day sleep. Thus night duty seemed to affect the pattern of sleep stage distribution as well as the absolute amount of, not only total sleep, but also some sleep stages, such as Stage SS. It is an open question how the naps of extended duration taken while on night duty influence the pattern of sleep during the day.
TL;DR: Control procedures indicated that breathing changes accompanying large increases in HR were not sufficient to account for the magnitude of HR change.
Abstract: An experiment was performed to demonstrate methods for enabling subjects (Ss) to produce large magnitude heart rate (HR) changes under conditions which include adequate controls for basal HR changes and elicitation of the HR response by breathing changes. The methods used were an attempt to optimize motivational, feedback, and practice variables. Of 9 Ss, 6 displayed mean HR increases ranging from 16.7 bpm to 35.2 bpm. The greatest mean HR decrease for any S was 3.1 bpm. Control procedures indicated that breathing changes accompanying large increases in HR were not sufficient to account for the magnitude of HR change.
TL;DR: Research relating personality variables to physiological responsivity and to motor performance is reviewed and a theory relating personality to physiological change is proposed.
Abstract: Research relating personality variables to physiological responsivity and to motor performance is reviewed. Trait anxiety is not related to physiology but ego strength is related to change in physiological levels. Skin conductance is most consistently related to ego strength across experimental conditions and across subjects. Other physiological variables are also related to ego strength in certain subjects under certain conditions. Data relating ego strength to other personality variables and to psychomotor performance is also reviewed. A theory relating personality to physiological change is proposed.
TL;DR: With instructions not to try to figure out the experiment nor to aid or inhibit their natural responses, Ss report even complex CS-UCS contingencies quite accurately after most single cue and differential eyelid conditioning experiments, but cognitions are rarely related to the S's conditioning performance.
Abstract: With instructions not to try to figure out the experiment nor to aid or inhibit their natural responses, Ss report even complex CS-UCS contingencies quite accurately after most single cue and differential eyelid conditioning experiments. These cognitions, however, are rarely related to the S's conditioning performance. With a less obvious discriminandum, grammaticality of simple adjective-noun phrases, accuracy of reporting the differential cue was enhanced significantly when high imagery nouns were employed, and Ss unable to report the discriminandum learned no conditioned discrimination. Only those “aware’Ss who gave the V-form of the eyelid CR topography showed conditioned discrimination that was significantly superior to that of “unaware’Ss. Many kinds of cognitions are conditioned in the eyelid experiments, and awareness of CS-UCS contingencies may be a necessary but certainly not a sufficient condition for learning to occur. Awareness of CS-CR contingencies is almost never reported and consequently is unrelated to conditioning performance. In eyelid conditioning, cognitions may be viewed as simply another class of responses that are conditioned. Feedback from other CRs may, or may not, influence the course of conditioning.
TL;DR: It is concluded that habituation is indeed possible in human sleep if stimulus intervals are not long and previous failure to detect habituation has been due to a technique of averaging responses over hourly periods and/or the use of long irregular interstimulus intervals.
Abstract: In some recent reports, authors have found no evidence for habituation during sleep, and have concluded that habituation and sleep are incompatible. This finding was tested using skin potential, heart rate, and EEG responses to a 70 dB, 1 sec, 1000 Hz tone, in sleep stages 2, 4, and REM, with daytime controls. Interstimulus intervals used ranged from 10 to 30 sec.
Autonomic responses analyzed separately for each series of stimuli showed significant habituation, except for heart rate responses in REM and in the daytime (drowsy) controls. EEG responses also demonstrated habituation. An interstimulus interval effect was found with EEG K-complexes, habituation occurring more slowly or not at all with the longer, irregular interstimulus intervals.
It is suggested that previous failure to detect habituation has been due to a technique of averaging responses over hourly periods and/or the use of long irregular interstimulus intervals. It is concluded that habituation is indeed possible in human sleep if stimulus intervals are not long.
TL;DR: Findings pose problems for the theory of the OR advanced by Sokolov (1960) which makes no allowance for a failure to respond to a detectable change in stimulation and relies for support on evidence that the OR is not elicited solely as a consequence of the activating effects of stimulation.
Abstract: A review of studies of the orienting response (OR) to variation in the properties of a stimulus following habituation indicates that not all human Ss respond with an OR to changes of which they are aware and that the only conditions which have been found consistently to elicit the OR are an increase in the intensity of the stimulus and change in the modality of its presentation. These findings pose problems for the theory of the OR advanced by Sokolov (1960) which makes no allowance for a failure to respond to a detectable change in stimulation and which relies for support on evidence that the OR is not elicited solely as a consequence of the activating effects of stimulation. To clarify some of these problems it is suggested that future work should investigate the effect of complete omission of the stimulus on the OR and the contribution of individual differences in physiological responsiveness and perceived significance of a change to elicitation of the OR. Copyright
TL;DR: EEG delta activity during human sleep has a rhythmic pattern resembling a damped sinusoid with a period of about 100 min, although the REM episodes coincide with the troughs of the delta cycle, the two rhythms are semi-independent.
Abstract: EEG delta activity during human sleep has a rhythmic pattern resembling a damped sinusoid with a period of about 100 min. Although the REM episodes coincide with the troughs of the delta cycle, the two rhythms are semi-independent.
TL;DR: The question of whether there is human classical conditioning without cognitive expectancy (as indexed by the GSR) is considered and a theoretical position is proposed that states that a given CR may consist of two components—one expectancy dependent, the other independent of expectancy.
Abstract: The question of whether there is human classical conditioning without cognitive expectancy (as indexed by the GSR) is considered. A series of prior research reports by the authors is summarized. A theoretical position is proposed that states that a given CR may consist of two components—one expectancy dependent, the other independent of expectancy. The problems in demonstrating CRs that are not dependent upon cognitive expectancy are discussed.
TL;DR: The increased amount of slow-wave sleep during recovery sleep was not the primary reason for the reduced body motility and the number of body movements was back to baseline level.
Abstract: Following 4 baseline nights, 7 Ss were deprived of REM sleep for 3 nights and 7 were deprived of stage 4 sleep. Both groups were then deprived of total sleep for 1 night and then allowed 2 nights of uninterrupted recovery sleep. Compared to baseline nights, on the first recovery night the number of body movements was significantly reduced in all sleep stages and for total sleep. On the second recovery night, the number of movements was back to baseline level. The increased amount of slow-wave sleep (stages 3 and 4) during recovery sleep was not the primary reason for the reduced body motility.
TL;DR: Flow rates were significantly higher for male than for female Ss, with both secreting significantly more saliva in response to ammonia, ethyl alcohol, and butyric acid, as compared to water.
Abstract: Unilateral parotid secretion was determined for 12 Ss using a precision sialometer, in response to the odors of distilled water, three pleasant stimuli (vanillin, β-phenylethanol, anethol), three unpleasant stimuli (pyridine, diethylsulfide, butyric acid), and two irritating stimuli (ethyl alcohol, ammonia). Flow rates were compared with the Ss' rated intensity and affective responses to the same solutions. Flow rates were significantly higher for male than for female Ss, with both secreting significantly more saliva in response to ammonia, ethyl alcohol, and butyric acid, as compared to water. Correlations between flow rates and degree of liking, and between flow rates and rated intensity were not significant.
TL;DR: Waveform patterns evoked by 4 intensities of flash in normal subjects were studied and suggest that methodology significantly contributes to the variability of peak identification among subjects.
Abstract: Waveform patterns evoked by 4 intensities of flash in normal subjects were studied in relation to intersubject variability. Time-frequency distribution curves of all peaks occurring between 11 and 280 msec after flash onset and meeting minimal criteria were obtained from 46 males. These distributions closely corresponded to similar data reported by others for single intensity stimulation. An algorithm was developed which identified in 67 to 100% of instances a single “peak event’ within the time ranges of each of 6 peak distributions. Many peak events appeared and disappeared within the 4 intensity sets of individuals. Latencies were obtained for these peak events. Application of the algorithm to a replicate sample of 29 Ss, which included 8 females, indicated generalizability. Test-retest data on 15 Ss showed its reliability. The data suggest that methodology significantly contributes to the variability of peak identification among subjects. This may be reduced by employing multiple intensities of stimulation.
TL;DR: Using a sample of 94 adult subjects, relationships between measures of intelligence and the rate of decrease in amplitude of the average evoked potential were examined and suggested that this is not a flexibility capacity that decreases significantly with aging in adulthood.
Abstract: Using a sample of 94 adult subjects, relationships between measures of intelligence and the rate of decrease in amplitude of the average evoked potential (AEP) were examined in some detail. It was found that the rate of AEP amplitude decrease from a condition of high extrinsic inducement to activation to a condition of low extrinsic inducement to activation was significantly correlated with fluid intelligence (r= .24) and its subprocesses, but not with crystallized intelligence. This finding was interpreted as indicating that the AEP shift measure and the fluid intelligence measures indicate a kind of adaptive flexibility (or plasticity) of intellectual functioning. The results suggested that this is not a flexibility capacity that decreases significantly with aging in adulthood.
TL;DR: The data suggest that Ss given masking tasks may be “functionally unaware’ during conditioning, with an attendant decrease in differential conditioning performance, even though they have knowledge of the conditioning contingencies as demonstrated by post-experimental report.
Abstract: A view of the processes involved in single cue and differential skeletal conditioning is presented, and the implications for studies investigating the effects of awareness on autonomic conditioning are discussed. Skeletal conditioning studies are described which indicate that masking tasks can greatly reduce and in some cases largely eliminate differential responding, but not response acquisition per se. These effects occur even when Ss report the conditioning contingencies. The data thus suggest that Ss given masking tasks may be “functionally unaware’ during conditioning, with an attendant decrease in differential conditioning performance, even though they have knowledge of the conditioning contingencies as demonstrated by post-experimental report.
TL;DR: It was concluded that SF is related to bothSkin conductance reactivity and skin conductance conditioning and significant relationship to SF was observed for CS, pre-UCS, and post- UCS responses.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between skin conductance fluctuations (SF) and skin conductance conditioning with designs permitting conclusions regarding both reactivity and conditioning. In the first experiment, involving simple delayed conditioning with a tone CS, a shock UCS, and an 8-sec ISI, groups high and low in SF during conditioning and sensitization were formed. Spontaneous fluctuations predicted magnitude of CS, pre-UCS, post-UCS, and unconditioned responses. Overall conditioning was significant only for the pre-UCS response, and for this measure the high SF group showed better conditioning than the low SF group. The second experiment involved discrimination training to pitch with shock UCS and an 8-sec ISI. Groups high, medium, and low in SF during conditioning were selected. Again, SF predicted magnitude of all response components. Reliable conditioning and significant relationship to SF was observed for CS, pre-UCS, and post-UCS responses. It was concluded that SF is related to both skin conductance reactivity and skin conductance conditioning.