An eight-channel computer-controlled scanning electromyograph

A measurement system is described for the computerized detection, digitizing, and storage of electromyographic (EMG) signals from up to eight muscle groups. The use of a channel scanning technique allows almost simultaneous multichannel recording with minimal circuit redundancy. Specifically, the scanning electromyograph allows several EMG preamplifiers to share expensive isolation, signal-conditioning, and interface circuitry. The design incorporates monolithic integrated circuit preamplifiers and includes optical isolation of the preamplifier circuitry for protection of the subject. Hybrid active filter modules allow convenient selection of system bandpass characteristics. Key measurement parameters are software programmable. The scanning electromyograph is inexpensively constructed from readily available componentry. Specifications for all functional blocks within the instrument are comparable to those of commercial instrumentation.     

Some articulatory correlates of perceptual isochrony

Given sequences of digits with temporally equidistant acoustic onsets, listeners do not perceive them as isochronous (Morton, Marcus, & Frankish, 1976). In order for the sequences to be perceptually isochronous, systematic departures from acoustic isochrony must be introduced. These acoustic departures are precisely those that talkers generate when asked to produce an isochronous sequence (Fowler, 1979), suggesting that listeners judge isochrony based on acoustic information about articulatory timing. The present experiment was an attempt to test directly whether perceptually isochronous sequences have isochronous articulatory correlates. Electromyographic potentials were recorded from the orbicularis oris muscle when speakers produced sequences of monosyllables “as if speaking in time to a metronome.” Sequences were devised so that lip-muscle activity was related to the syllable-initial consonant, the stressed vowel, or the stressed vowel and final consonant. Results indicate that isochronous muscular activity accompanies both isochronous and anisochronous acoustic signals produced under instructions to generate isochronous sequences. These results support an interpretation of the perceptual phenomenon reported by Morton et al. to the effect that listeners judge isochrony of the talker’s articulations as they are reflected in the acoustic signal.     

Across-reinforcement blocking effects in a mediational test of the CS's general signaling property

Rats received Pavlovian aversive (shock) conditioning in which white noise was established for independent groups as a CS+, CSo, or CS−. Then, in an easy (light-dark) T-maze discrimination, the CS was presented either immediately following choice (Locus 1) or at the food cup in the goal (Locus 3), contingent upon either a food-reinforced (right) or nonreinforced (wrong) response. When presented at Locus 3, the CS+ facilitated and the CS− retarded learning for CS/right subjects, with these effects being exactly reversed but somewhat less pronounced for CS/wrong subjects. However, when the CS was presented at Locus 1, the CS+ and CS− effects for both response contingencies were attenuated. These findings oppose an interpretation of the CS's function as a general cue or transformed signal for the presence or absence of the new appetitive reinforcer and argue instead for across-reinforcement blocking effects: By signaling in the presence of food reinforcement an outcome (safety or shock) which is consonant with or discrepant from the “good” outcome obtained, the CS− blocks (retards) and the CS+ counterblocks (enhances) the association of food reinforcement and the S^D; conversely, in the presence of nonreinforcement (a “bad” outcome), the CS− counterblocks and the CS+ blocks inhibitory conditioning to the S^Δ. As in Kamin's (1968) original research, such effects are attenuated when the CS is presented early in the compound, distal to the reinforcer.     

The effects of primary reward on the I.Q. performance of grade-school children as a function of initial I.Q. level

The effect of candy reward on I.Q. scores was investigated in 72 first- and second-grade children. All subjects were administered Form A of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and, based upon these scores, were divided into three blocks: low, middle, and high. From each block, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (contingent reward, noncontingent reward, or no reward) that were in effect during administration of Form B. Results showed that candy given contingent upon each correct response increased I.Q. scores for the initially low scoring subjects, but had no influence on the scores of middle and high scoring subjects.     

Interpersonal dependency and personality pathology: variations in Rorschach Oral Dependency scores across Axis II diagnoses

Although several investigations have examined the relationship of Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD; Masling, Rabie, & Blondheim, 1967) scores to Axis I diagnosis, there has been very little research assessing variations in ROD scores across Axis II personality disorders (PDs). In this study, ROD scores were compared in 5 PD groups (borderline PD inpatients, borderline PD outpatients, avoidant-dependent PD outpatients, narcissistic PD outpatients, and antisocial PD outpatients), and 2 non-PD comparison groups (psychotic disorder inpatients and college students). Borderline PD inpatients had significantly higher ROD scores than borderline PD outpatients, antisocial PD outpatients, and college students; no other between-group differences were found. We discuss implications of these results for research on dependency and Axis II psychopathology and offer suggestions for future studies.     

Contrast effects do not underlie effects of preceding liquids on stop-consonant identification by humans

These experiments explored the claim by A. Lotto and K. Kluender (1998) that frequency contrast explains listeners' compensations for coarticulation in the case of liquid consonants coarticulating with following stops. Evidence of frequency contrast in experiments that tested for it directly was not found, but Lotto and Kluender's finding that high- and low-frequency precursor tones can produce contrastive effects on stop-consonant judgments were replicated. The effect depends on the amplitude relation of the tones to the third formant (F3) of the stops. This implies that the tones mask F3 information in the stop consonants. It is unknown whether liquids and following stops in natural speech are in an appropriate intensity relation for masking of the stop. A final experiment, exploiting the McGurk effect, showed compensation for coarticulation by listeners when neither frequency contrast nor masking can be the source of the compensations.     

Differential acquisition of lever pressing in inbred and outbred mice: comparison of one-lever and two-lever procedures and correlation with differences in locomotor activity

Recent progress in mouse genetics has led to an increased interest in developing procedures for assessing mouse behavior, but relatively few of the behavioral procedures developed involve positively reinforced operant behavior. When operant methods are used, nose poking, not lever pressing, is the target response. In the current study differential acquisition of milk-reinforced lever pressing was observed in five inbred strains (C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, 129X1/SvJ, C3H/HeJ, and BALB/cJ) and one outbred stock (CD-1) of mice. Regardless of whether one or two levers (an "operative" and "inoperative" lever) were in the operant chamber, a concomitant variable-time fixed-ratio schedule of milk reinforcement established lever pressing in the majority of mice within two 120-min sessions. Substantial differences in lever pressing were observed across mice and between procedures. Adding an inoperative lever retarded acquisition in C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, 129X1/SvJ, and C3H/HeJ mice, but not in CD-1 and BALB/cJ mice. Locomotor activity was positively correlated with number of lever presses in both procedures. Analyses of durations of the subcomponents (e.g., time to move from hopper to lever) of operant behavior revealed further differences among the six types of mice. Together, the data suggest that appetitively reinforced lever pressing can be acquired rapidly in mice and that a combination of procedural, behavioral, and genetic variables contributes to this acquisition.     

The Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) in Primary Care: A Validity Study

This study assessed the validity of the Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire-9 (PDRQ-9) in a primary care sample (N = 180). Convergent validity was assessed through a correlation between the patient-rated PDRQ-9 and the physician-rated Difficult Doctor Patient Relationship Questionnaire-10 (DDPRQ-10). Discriminant validity was assessed through correlations between the PDRQ-9 and patient age, patient- and physician-reported health and psychological distress. To determine if the PDRQ-9 could discriminate between groups, patient PDRQ-9 ratings were compared between patients who were treated by faculty physicians versus those who were treated by residents. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed that the PDRQ-9 was made up of a single factor. The PDRQ-9 scale was internally consistent (α = .96) and significantly and negatively correlated with the DDPRQ-10 (r = ?.22, p = .003) and was not significantly correlated with patient age, health, or psychological distress. PDRQ-9 ratings were statistically greater in patients who were treated by faculty physicians than those who were treated by residents (p = .01). This study provides additional support for the reliability and validity of the PDRQ-9 as a measure of the doctor–patient relationship in a primary care sample.