Psychophysiology of prospective memory

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.     

The Psychophysiology of Sensation Seeking

This article summarizes studies relating the trait of sensation seeking to electrodermal and heart-rate responses and cortical evoked potential arousal. Stimulus factors of novelty, intensity, and stimulus significance are important. High sensation seekers tend to give stronger physiological orienting responses than lows to novel stimuli of moderate intensity, particularly when such stimuli are of specific interest. Lows tend to show defensive responses as defined by heart-rate acceleration. The cortical reaction of the highs tends to be augmented by intense visual or auditory stimuli, while that of the lows tends to be reduced or unresponsive to variations in stimulus intensity. Differences between psychophysiological responses of high and low sensation seekers are interpreted as reflective of different evolved biological strategies for processing novel or intense stimulation.     

认知心理生理学与无创性脑功能成像技术

无创性脑功能成像技术是认知心理生理学研究的重要手段。脑电图、事件相关电位、脑磁图、正电子发射断层摄影术、单光子发射计算机断层摄影术、功能磁共振成像和功能红外线成像等技术通过对人脑的电磁、新陈代谢、血流量、氧消耗、神经元活动等的测量来研究如视觉、注意、记忆、语言等认知活动及其与相关脑机制的相互关系。它们各有优缺点。     

Contributions of Psychophysiology to Media Research: Review and Recommendations

Despite the increasing use of psychophysiological measures in various research areas, there is a relative paucity of studies on communication, media, and media interfaces that have taken advantage of this approach. This article provides an overview of the use of psychophysiological measures of attention and emotion in media research with the focus on 3 most commonly used measures: heart rate, facial electromyography, and electrodermal activity. Selected media studies that have used psychophysiological methods to test theory-based predictions regarding the role of attentional and emotional factors in message processing are critically reviewed. The article also highlights some methodological and other issues critical for the successful application of psychophysiological methods to problems in media research. In particular, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a selective index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, is introduced as a measure that holds particular promise for media research, given that RSA is highly sensitive to changes in attention.     

Film Analysis and Psychophysiology Effects of Moments of Impact and Protagonists

An interdisciplinary empirical approach that connects film analysis and psychophysiological measurement is used to investigate the effects of narrative structures and their combinations (moments of impact), and the effects of narrative structures associated with protagonists. The film The Piano by Jane Campion is employed in the assessment. The features of the film that are relevant for the reception process are determined on the basis of a film-analytic model. For 60 participants changes of heart rate as an indicator for attention processes were examined by adapting time-series strategies. An analysis of the individual processes demonstrates that narrative structures associated with protagonists cause significant reactions, whereas only few parameter estimations for reactions to moments of impact are significant. The parameter estimations differ to a high degree from person to person. The results of the analysis of the common process of all participants support the findings. The supported relevance of narrative structures perceived on a more subconscious level opens empirical access to a still unexplored level of media communication. Perspectives for future research using physiological measurement and time series analysis are discussed.     

Continuous Measurement of Breaks in Presence: Psychophysiology and Orienting Responses

Assessing presence using questionnaires can yield interesting insights into the user experience in virtual environments, but is also limited both in terms of reliability and validity. Breaks in presence (BIPs) are an interesting alternative, given that the researcher can assess them correctly. Prior studies on the psychophysiology of BIPs followed an exploratory approach by not providing a cognitive mechanism for BIPs and lacking in external validity. We argue that BIPs can be considered a special form of orienting responses involving both the real and the virtual world. In the first of the presented studies, we investigated which types of BIPs can be differentiated and to what degree they affect the user experience. In the second study, we modified a commercial video game by introducing the previously identified BIPs and recorded psychophysiological measurements. The results are in line with findings on orienting responses and should provide fertile ground for future research.     

Psychophysiology of aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems. Analyses revealed a complex constellation of interactive effects, with a failure in some cases of autonomic patterns to generalize across antisocial spectrum behavior constructs. Low resting EDA and low task EDA were associated with psychopathy/sociopathy and conduct problems. However, EDA reactivity was positively associated with aggression and negatively associated with psychopathy/sociopathy. Low resting HR and high HR reactivity were associated with aggression and conduct problems. Physiology--behavior relations varied with age and stimulus valence in several cases. Empirical and clinical implications are discussed.     

意识状态改变的心理生理学理论与实证研究

从“意识状态”解释人类意识的本质是当前意识心理学研究的一个重要取向。研究意识状态改变(ASC)的物质生理基础具有十分突出的理论和临床实践意义。意识状态改变可以分为自发、物理和生理原因、心理方式和疾病引起这样四个方面,不同类型的意识状态改变可以从激活、意识域、自我觉察和感觉振荡四个维度进行综合归类和分析。不仅脑结构功能状态、脑动力的暂时变化、神经化学过程和新陈代谢过程等因素影响着人的意识经验改变状态,而且环境变化、心理活动和自我控制及技巧也可以暂时改变人的意识功能状态。     

The Psychophysiology Of Intuition: A Quantum-Holographic Theory Of Nonlocal Communication

This work seeks to explain intuitive perception—those perceptions that are not based on reason or logic or on memories or extrapolations from the past, but are based, instead, on accurate foreknowledge of the future. Often such intuitive foreknowledge involves perception of implicit information about nonlocal objects and/or events by the body's psychophysiological systems. Recent experiments have shown that intuitive perception of a future event is related to the degree of emotional significance of that event, and a new study shows that both the brain and the heart are involved in processing a pre-stimulus emotional response to the future event. Drawing on this research and on the principles of quantum holography, I develop a theory of intuition that views the perception of things remote in space or ahead in time (nonlocal communication) as involving processes of energetic resonance connecting the body's psychophysiological systems to the quantum level. The theory explains how focused emotional attention directed to the nonlocal object of interest attunes the bio-emotional energy generated by the body's psychophysiological systems to a domain of quantum-holographical information, which contains implicit information about the object. The body's perception of such implicit information about things distant in space/time is experienced as an intuition.