Effect of Response on the Latency and Frequency of the Berger Rhythm

Within recent years, an increasing number of experimental psychologists have employed their specialized skills and techniques in an attempt to answer some of the vital questions propounded by psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. From the work with animal subjects, for example, much has been learned about the causal factors and necessary conditions for the development of the disorganized states that Pavlov called "experimental neurosis." Although such work indirectly sheds light on certain aspects of human behavior, the numerous investigations directly concerned with the affective reactions of human subjects in experimentally controlled situations have been much more fruitful in this respect.This rapidly growing literature is much too extensive to be reviewed in detail here. But in connection with both the present experiment and the general problem of modifying emotional reactions, two classical studies should be mentioned. Watson and Rayner (84) conditioned Albert, a child of 11 months, to be afraid of white rats. This was achieved by making a loud noise which frightened the child whenever he reached out to touch the animal. After a few such trials, Albert cried at the sight of the rat, and was also afraid of other furry objects. 1 Later, Mary C. Jones ( 49) demonstrated that such • The author is indebted to the Harvard Psychological Clinic in general and to Dr. H. A. Murray in particular for making this research possible. 'That 'emotional conditioning' involves more than the repeated presentation of such paired stimuli has been suggested by English (19) and Bregman (6), whose attempts with this procedure 257 258 ERNEST A. HAGGARD * See the discussion of Data (verbal).•In this paper, the term 'therapy' will be used to designate an experimental procedure, the implications of which are essentially restricted to the conditions of the present study. This precaution is taken to avoid a too loose (and perhaps erroneous) generalization to the therapeutic procedures commonly employed by clinicians or psychiatrists.

Section: The Role Of the Central And Peripheral Factors {Active Parti...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental studies in affective processes: I. Some effects of cognitive structure and active participation on certain autonomic reactions during and following experimentally induced stress.

Haggard¹

1943

“…Following the introduction of the electroencephalographic technique by Berger (3), there have been numerous studies which indicate changes in cortical activity record when the subject is engaged in 'mental' or psychological (symbolic) activity (1,2,15,16,20,21,22,23,24,25,27,28,32,33,34,35,36,37).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Some relationships between electrical signs of central and peripheral activity: I. During rest.

Hadley¹

1940

Three theoretical positions are available to those who attempt to present physiological correlates of ' mental' activity. The first position is one of long experimental standing, that which postulates a close if not an exact correspondence between peripheral (muscular) activity and 'mental' phenomena. The second position is one of equally long standing (although precise, experimental approaches are fairly modern), that which postulates a close if not an exact correspondence between central (cerebral) activity and 'mental' phenomena. The third position is one which straddles the fence, so to speak, and sees 'mental' phenomena as a total organismic process involving both central and peripheral physiological mechanisms.The bolstering of all these viewpoints has become easier with the development of modern electrophysiological techniques which enable the investigator to record fairly localized physiological phenomena, in the intact human organism, under a veriety of controlled laboratory conditions.Several investigators have used electrophysiological techniques in the study of the relationship between 'mental' activity and peripheral activity. These workers have presented a considerable body of evidence indicating that mus-1 This study is the first of a series of papers bea ring upon this general topic under the direction of Dr. John R. Knott in the laboratories of the Department of Psychology in the State University of Iowa.

“…Travis, Knott and Griffith (18) have reported this reduction in latent time of blocking and have statistically analyzed the results of their experiments. They placed their subjects in two experimental conditions, which they have labelled 'passive' and 'active.'…”

Section: Electrophysiowgicjl Processes Of Cerebral Cortex 385mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…These changes are usually clear-cut and readily detectable by cursory examination. If a subject is given instructions to respond to such a stimulus in some prearranged fashion there is a change, in the aggregate at least, in the blocking of the alpha rhythm (12,18); and one of these investigations (18) has suggested that there is a change in the evoked potential effect. The change in the blocking effect is a change in degree rather than a change in kind and can be detected only by measurement and analysis.…”

Section: Electrophysiowgicjl Processes Of Cerebral Cortex 385mentioning

confidence: 99%

Some effects of 'mental set' on the electrophysiological processes of the human cerebral cortex.

Knott¹

1939

With the introduction of the electroencephalographic technique in 1929 by Dr. Hans Berger (5), and with the subsequent verification of his original observations by Adrian and Matthews (1), Gibbs, Davis and Lennox (9), and Jasper and Carmichael (11), it became increasingly apparent that psychology had available a new tool which might be of value in uncovering some physiological correlates of 'mental' events.All of these pioneer investigators reported changes in the electrocortical record when a subject engaged in 'mental* activity. Later and more delimiting studies by Bagchi (3), Knott (13), Loomis, Harvey and Hobart (15), Travis (16), Travis, Knott and Griffith (18), and Travis and Knott (19,20) added to the body of experimental proof that there is a relationship between the electroencephalogram, as a physiological index, and 'mental' activity.Cruikshank (6), Jasper (11), Jasper and Cruikshank (12) and Travis and Hall ( 17) have made significant contributions to the correlation of sensation, .and after-sensation, and electrocortical phenomena, thus demonstrating the availability of electroencephalography in psychophysiological studies.Although the use of this new electrophysiological technique has been somewhat restricted, psychologically, to the study of sensation and centrally aroused processes, a few observa-* These investigators have not calculated the statistical significance of their observed differences, nor have they published sufficient data for such calculations to be made.• A preliminary survey of the approach has been published elsewhere in brief form (14).