ScnoLANDER, T. The eJects of moderate sleep deprivation on the habituation of autonomic response elements. Acta physiol. scand. 1961. 51. 325-342. -The phasic responses and the prestimulus values of the electrodermal activity, the pupillary size and the pulse rate, as well as the prestimulus respiration ratc were recorded during monotonously repeated auditory stimulation. Intra-individual comparisons were made between the results obtained after one night of wakefulness and after normal sleep. Among the recorded variables only two, viz. the response amplitudes ( i . e. maximal post-stimulus changes) of the electrodermal activity and the pupil were influenced in a statistically significant way by the sleep deprivation. The habituation of the response amplitude of the electrodermal activity was delayed and the mean level of the pupillary response amplitude was increased. I t was assumed that these effects were due to a conflict between a wish to stay awake and the successively increasing sleepiness induced by the sleep deprivation and the monotony of the experimental situation.Remarkably few physiological changes have beecl observed during moderate sleep deprivation. Reviews of previous research on this subject have been published by KLEITMAN (1939), TYLER, GOODMAN and ROTHMAN (1947) and BJERNER (1949).
1 The term used by the authors is "galvanic skin response" (GSR) which is rather misleading (cf. W~~D W~R T H~~~S C H L O S B E R G ,1955, p. 137). Because of this, and to make the description uniform, the more appropriate term "electrodermal response" (EDR) will be used in thc following to describe acute changes in the skin resistance. The phenomena underlying the measurements of skin resistance and skin potentials will be called "electrodermal activity" (EDA) . 2 Unfortunately the paper is only a condensed version of an article published "under the auspices of N. A. T. 0.". The complete version has not been available. Consequently we lack certain important information about the experimental conditions, the number of stimuli used, the intervals between stimuli etc.
For comparative evaluation of the subjective effects of 50 mg chlorpromazine, 0.10 g amobarbital and 10 mg amphetamine (phenopromine. sulf.) two types of formalized rating procedures—a verbal check list and graphic rating scales—were administered to 187 university students. Repeated self‐ratings were performed 45, 90 and 180 minutes after oral intake. By the check‐list method the expected difference between amphetamine and chlorpromazine was significantly established in all the three ratings. Only in the 45‐minute rating was a significant difference obtained between amobarbital and amphetamine. The graphic rating scales were clearly less efficient as judged from the greater proportion reporting ‘no change’.
The habituation of the phasic responses and the prestimulus values of the pulse rate and the electrodermal activity has been studied under two different conditions of alertness. The auditory stimulus was administered with intervals varied at random according to a constant sequence. The degree of alertness was assumed to be higher when the subject was preoccupied with a special sighting device than when he was relaxed. It was found that the increased alertness tended to delay the habituation and to increase the prestimulus activation level of the variables.
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