Operant conditioning of epileptic neurons in monkeys and its theoretical application to EEG operant conditioning in humans

This paper reviews a series of previous reports which summarize the physiology of chronic experimental epileptic foci in monkeys. It is shown that such monkeys can be trained to bidirectionally control the firing rates of normal and epileptic neurons which comprise the epileptic focus. As a result of this acquired operant performance, the monkeys show both a decrease in clinical seizures as well as a decrease in single unit epileptic activity. The EEC correlate of this change in single unit epileptic actvity is generalized EEG desynchronization. The conclusion from these data would indicate epileptic neurons can be operantly controlled and this control is not correlated with any specific EEG pattern. This brings to question the specificity of the SMR in EEG biofeedback paradigms which treat human epilepsy. This author feels that the result from such biofeedback studies are the result of the patient learning to manipulate electrical events within the CNS pathways through which the seizure propagates and is not contingent upon specific EEG frequencies.     

Perception of voicing and place features in whispered speech: A dichotic choice analysis

To offset shortcomings of existing demonstrations of right-ear superiority in the analysis of formant transitions, an experiment was performed on whispered speech. Two aspects of dichotic listening performance were examined in a single-report paradigm: the right-ear advantage (REA) for the perception of the voicing distinction and the feature sharing advantage (FSA) for both voicing and place features. A significant REA was obtained for the voicing distinction cued by first formant transition in the absence of a switch from aperiodic to periodic excitation. This, plus a greater incidence of voiced responses to right-ear stimuli, suggests that a distinction involving transitions can specifically augment the REA. The data also showed better identification of place and of voicing feature values when the competing dichotic speech stimuli shared these respective features (FSA) than when they did not. This FSA was restricted to the feature shared and hence not an effect of response uncertainty. The implications of these results for models of speech processing are discussed.     

Physical distance and attraction: An intensification effect

This study was designed to test the effects of both interaction distance and the quality of the interaction upon attraction. It was found that close interaction distances amplified the quality of the interaction so that for a positive interaction there was more liking for a close rather than a far partner, while for a negative interaction a close partner was liked less. The implications of this finding for research concerning crowding is discussed, as are possible explanatory mechanisms.     

The sex by race interaction in cognitive measures

Data consisting of 79 cognitive measures from Project TALENT for 100,000 white and black high school students have been analyzed for possible race by sex interactions. Control variables included geographical area, grade in high school, and socio-economic class. Race by sex interactions are largest when socioeconomic class is controlled and are highly related to the size of the main effect of sex as well. White boys and girls differ more than black boys and girls whether the overall sex difference favors males or females. Sex by grade and, to a lesser extent, sex by area interactions were also moderately large and consistent with the size of the main effect of sex. Since there are no consistent relationships with other main effects, and since the measures producing sex differences also tend to produce the interactions, it is concluded that sex differences and the interactions with sex share the same causes. Differences between these results and those of Jensen are also discussed.     

Profiles of stutterers' and nonstutterers' affective, cognitive, and behavioral communication attitudes

The purposes of this investigation were 1) to profile the affective, cognitive, and behavioral attitudinal dimensions of stutterers' and nonstutterers' communication attitudes and 2) to describe membership characteristics of each profile. To this end, 76 stutterers and 81 nonstutterers completed the Inventory of Communication Attitudes. This self-report inventory obtained ratings of different types of speaking situations, using five response scales reflecting behavioral, affective, and cognitive aspects of attitudes. Exploratory cluster analysis identified six attitudinal clusters or profiles. Some profiles were more typical either of stuttering respondents or of nonstuttering respondents, whereas one profile reflected attitudes of proportionately equal numbers of stutterers and nonstutterers. Examination of profile membership characteristics revealed two significant discriminators, classification as a stutterer or nonstutterer and an overall speech rating. Nondiscriminatory characteristics included sex, age, education, therapy experiences, stuttering severity self-rating, onset of stuttering, total therapy time, current therapeutic status, and familial history.     

Development and evaluation of an inventory to assess adult stutterers'' communication attitudes

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a procedure to assess adult stutterers' communication attitudes. To this end, the investigation was divided into two phases. In Phase I, an assessment inventory based on a tripartite attitudinal model was developed and administered to 107 adult stutterers. Reliability and validity of these procedures were examined, and the inventory was refined. In Phase II, reliability and validity of the attitude assessment procedures were reassessed, and the attitudes of 26 stutterers and 56 nonstutterers were examined. Assessment procedures involved a self-report inventory, which obtained ratings of items in 13 situational subscales representing different speaking situations. These situations were rated using four response scales reflecting behavioral, affective, and cognitive aspects of attitude. Situational responding, response scale scores, and response scale interrelationships are examined. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential value of the inventory and future investigations.     

The effects of alcohol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on human physical aggression

Forty male undergraduates were provoked following their ingestion of high or low doses of either alcohol or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The expression of physical aggression was related to the quantity of alcohol ingested. The high dose of alcohol instigated more intense aggression than the low dose. The high dose of THC, on the other hand, did not increase aggressive behavior. In fact, it tended to produce a weak suppression effect.