Comparison of the Effectiveness of Biofeedback and Relaxation Training on Hand Warming

Finger pulse volume (FPV) biofeedback, relaxation training (RT), and finger temperature (FT) biofeedback were compared for their effectiveness in the alteration of hand temperature (HT). It was hypothesized that the use of FPV, a more direct measure of peripheral blood flow, should be more effective in producing hand warming than the demonstrably latent FT or the less direct RT manipulation. No significant difference in HT alteration was found between the two biofeedback training groups and neither the finger temperature nor finger pulse volume biofeedback groups were more successful than the relaxation training group in the alteration of HT. No significant differences were found in the alteration of FPV among the three groups. A major finding of this study indicates that all groups produced a significant inverted U training function across trials for both FT and FPV. In all cases, rapid learning was demonstrated in the early trials followed by a decline toward baseline in the later trials. These findings are discussed in terms of the role of strategy formation, frustration, saturation, and the limitations of the physiological learning process.     

Effects of Multiple Sessions of True and Placebo Heart Rate Biofeedback Training on the Heart Rates and Anxiety Levels of Anxious Patients During and Following Treatment

Fifty-six adult males who were hospitalized with anxiety related problems were randomly assigned to the conditions formed by a 2 (instructions to increase heart rate, instructions to decrease heart rate) × 3 (true biofeedback, placebo biofeedback, no biofeedback) factorial plus 1 (no-treatment control) design. Subjects were seen for 4 heart rate training/recording sessions and 1 subsequent transfer-test session. Results indicated that: a) neither instructions alone nor the combinations of instructions and true or placebo biofeedback were more effective than simply sitting quietly (adaptation) for decreasing heart rate, b) instructions plus true biofeedback was more effective than instructions alone or instructions plus placebo biofeedback for increasing heart rate, c) multiple sessions of training did not enhance the level of control achieved early in the first session, d) the control achieved with biofeedback did not transfer to a subsequent no-biofeedback situation, and e) biofeedback training did not influence subjects' subjective anxiety levels.     

腹式呼吸和自生训练对心率及指温影响的初步探讨

放松训练能缓解应激引起的紧张状态。自生训练和腹式呼吸是常见的两种简便易行的放松方法。自生训练是 19世纪末由德国柏林脑生理研究所的奥思卡 .沃特 (Ｏｓｋａｒｖｏｇｔ)从催眠研究中发展来的 ,其目的就是使人的生理、心理和情绪过程正常化 ,恢复肌体的平衡。腹式呼吸是气功中常用的呼吸训练方法 ,慢的、深的、有规律的腹式呼吸可降低应激水平[1] 。本研究试图初步了解腹式呼吸和自生训练对心率和指温的影响。1　实验方法1.1　被试的选择实验对象为河北师范大学一年级女生 ,共 4 5人 ,年龄 18- 2 1岁。身体健康 ,均为右利手 ,未进行过放…     

Effects of Binary and Proportional Feedback on Bidirectional Control of Heart Rate

Six male and 6 female volunteers formed three groups of 4 subjects in a study on the efficacy of different forms of visual feedback on control of heart rate (HR). One group received proportional feedback from a meter plus a binary success signal, one group received only proportional feedback, and one group received only the binary signal. Subjects received 6 acquisition sessions and 4 extinction sessions. For HR increase, groups receiving proportional feedback showed mean control over the last 2 acquisition sessions of +10 bpm, whereas the group receiving only binary feedback showed control of +4 bpm. For HR decrease, both groups receiving proportional feedback showed mean control over the last 2 acquisition sessions of -4 bpm, whereas the group receiving only binary feedback showed negligible control. During extinction there was no immediate reduction hi control of either HR increase or HR decrease but both declined over extinction sessions. Results indicate that proportional feedback is clearly superior to binary feedback, and that the addition of a binary signal to proportional feedback does not reliably enhance control. Results are consistent with an operant conditioning interpretation of feedback control.     

Effects of Alpha Feedback Training on Occipital EEG, Heart Rate, and Experiential Reactivity to a Laboratory Stressor

The intent of this study was to examine whether brief alpha biofeedback training would alter the degree of physiological and experiential stress evidenced in an aversive laboratory situation. While occipital alpha and heart rate were monitored, 36 subjects underwent 8 presentations of a warning tone preceding fingertip electric shock by 30 sec. Subjects were then placed into one of three treatments taking place in dim light with eyes open. Group 1 received 24 min of contingent feedback. Group 2 received an equivalent amount of non-contingent feedback and Group 3, a no-feedback control condition, listened to music. Following the treatment period, 12 additional tone-shock pairings were presented, equally divided between eyes-open and eyes-closed trials, also with and without continuation of the treatment period “signal” (i.e. contingent, non-contingent feedback, or music). The results revealed that, in general, enhanced alpha density was maintained by the contingent feedback group during the post-treatment aversive situation. However, the reduction in alpha suppression was not systematically accompanied by corresponding heart rate and self-report reductions in situational reactivity. It was concluded that alpha feedback training was not sufficient to produce a generalized relaxation to the aversive situation. Alternative accounts of the results, focusing primarily on independence of response systems, are discussed.     

Effects of Isometric Muscle Tension on Vasomotor Activity and Heart Rate

Twenty-four adults each performed two isometric exercises at three levels of exertion while finger pulse amplitude, skin temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate and amplitude were monitored. Due to exercise, pulse amplitude and skin temperature were significantly reduced while heart rate was significantly increased. The magnitude of cardiovascular (CV) effect varied in proportion to the magnitude of exercise. Further evidence for the close association between exercise and CV effects was implied by the rapid recovery of pulse amplitude and heart rate at the termination of exercise. This evidence in addition to a detailed analysis of respiration data led to the conclusion that CV reactions to isometric exercise were not mediated by respiratory variations. The implications of these, findings for studies of operant conditioning of CV and other autonomic responses are discussed.     

Affective, Behavioral, and Avoidance Responses on the Visual Cliff: Effects of Crawling Onset Age, Crawling Experience, and Testing Age

Two visual cliff experiments with human infants are reported that were designed to determine relationships among cardiac responses, avoidance and other behavioral responses, and developmental factors. The developmental factors considered were age at crawling onset, age at testing, and amount of crawling experience. In Experiment 1, infants were given either 30 or 60 days of crawling experience following crawling onset. In Experiment 2, infants were tested at either 9 or 12 months of age and crawling onset age was recorded. Infants were tested using a crawling avoidance procedure and the placing procedure that has been established for heart rate responses. Crawling onset age was the best predictor of avoidance behavior. Heart rate response was also a significant predictor of visual cliff avoidance, and was found to be related to testing age, especially for late crawlers. Looking down behavior was also found to distinguish crawling avoidance and crossing of the deep side of the cliff apparatus. These results, it is argued, suggest that fear is not the primary determinant of avoidance behavior on the visual cliff, but does contribute to avoidance at later ages.     

The Effects of a Psychological Stressor on Cigarette Smoking and Subsequent Behavioral and Physiological Responses

Stressful stimuli have been reported to trigger increased smoking. The present experiment involved induction of differing levels of performance anxiety in 10 male smokers. In the high anxiety condition, subjects performed mental arithmetic with competitive pressure; in the low anxiety control condition, no competitive pressure was applied. Both sessions included smoking and sham smoking trials. Scores on the Profile of Mood States showed significantly more anxiety on the day of the high anxiety session than on the day of the low anxiety session, confirming the effectiveness of anxiety-induction procedures. Nicotine intake as inferred from topographical measures was significantly greater under conditions of high anxiety. Greater post-smoking decreases in anxiety in the high-anxiety condition, as compared to the low-anxiety condition and the two sham-smoking conditions, were also observed. Both smoking and anxiety level significantly increased heart rate; lack of statistical interaction suggests additive rather than potentiating effects. Peripheral skin temperature rose in response to mental arithmetic, a trend counteracted by smoking. No significant smoking-related changes in performance were found.     

Effects of intrinsic pleasantness and goal conduciveness appraisals on somatovisceral responding: Somewhat similar, but not identical

In the emotion literature, appraisals of an event's pleasantness and goal conduciveness are often considered as interchangeable and subsumed under the term valence. Some appraisal theories, however, emphasize that there is a conceptual difference between these two appraisals. With the current study, we investigated whether such a conceptual difference would be reflected in different somatovisceral response profiles for intrinsic pleasantness and goal conduciveness. Participants viewed unpleasant and pleasant pictures (intrinsic pleasantness) and performed either goal conducive (i.e., decreasing the size of unpleasant pictures, increasing the size of pleasant pictures) or goal obstructive (i.e., increasing the size of unpleasant pictures, decreasing the size of pleasant pictures) arm movements. Our data suggest that the two appraisals have somewhat similar, but not identical, response patterns. Thus, our results emphasize the importance of distinguishing between intrinsic pleasantness and goal conduciveness. Moreover, we find evidence that the efferent effects of the two appraisals combine multiplicatively, and that predictability of goal conduciveness may influence the impact of goal conduciveness appraisals on somatovisceral responding.     

The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Responses to Behavioral and Exercise Stress

The present study was designed to compare the differential cardiopulmonary and hemodynamic responses of Type A and B women to an exercise and a psychological stressor. In addition, the effects of menstrual cycle phase on the resting and response levels of a wide range of physiological variables were explored. Thirty-two women participated in a progressive exercise stress test and a threat of shock video game during both the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle. Half of these subjects expressed the coronary-prone behavior pattern referred to as Type A, as assessed by the Jenkins Activity Survey. The remaining women were relatively free of these behaviors (Type B). Heart rate, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, minute ventilation, and end-tidal carbon dioxide were monitored and recorded on a breath-by-breath basis. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measures were taken at 2-min intervals. Results indicated similar baseline, exercise, and behavioral stress responses among Type A and B women. The stress responses were also the same between the follicular and luteal phases for all measured physiological variables. However, resting levels of heart rate, metabolism, and ventilation were all elevated at rest during the luteal phase. A regression analysis based on the exercise heart rate and oxygen consumption data demonstrated that a majority of subjects exhibited heart rate responses in excess of that expected during the psychological stressor. These data are discussed with special reference to possible mechanisms of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease.     

The Effects of Paced Tapping on Heart Rate, Skin Conductance, and Muscle Potential

The use of a tapping response as an indicant of interest or preference in studies of the physiological correlates of attitude and attitude change is discussed. The physiological effects of paced tapping, using rates that might be employed in attitudinal studies, were examined under conditions free of attitudinal import. Major findings were: (1) There is no significant difference in the effect on HR with rates up to 3/sec. (2) There is no significant difference in the effect on SCL with rates up to 7/sec. (3) When raw EMG scores are used as the basis of analysis no significant differences are found with rates up to 3/sec; however, when the square root transform of this variable is used, a significant effect is found for all rates used in at least one of the phases of the experiment. The results, taken as a whole, indicate the possibility of either controlling or mathematically compensating for the physiological effect of the tapping response, per se, in attitudinal studies.     

The Effects of Vigorous Exercise on Anxiety, Heart Rate, and Alpha Activity of Runners and Nonrunners

State anxiety, heart rate, and alpha activity of male nonrunners and runners (N=30) during a vigorous run and a quiet reading session were examined. Physical activity was performed at 80–85% age-related maximal exercise heart rate for 20 min; the same subjects participated in a reading condition. Analysis revealed a significant decrease in post-run state anxiety for the runners compared to the nonrunners. No reduction in state anxiety for either group was found after the reading condition. Runners also significantly reduced their heart rate after the run compared to nonrunners. A significant increase in alpha activity for both runners and nonrunners was found after the run compared to the reading condition. These results suggest that post-exercise anxiety and heart rate responses were influenced by level of aerobic conditioning. Furthermore, dissimilar anxiety, heart rate, and alpha responses were found after the reading and exercise conditions.