A microcomputer-based cardiotachometer with video display

A KIM-1 single board microcomputer implementation of a cardiotachometer that provides a low-cost versatile heart-rate data acquisition system is described. Unique features include telemetry, a composite video output signal of a video frame displaying elapsed time and heart-rate, and a TV camera signal of the behavior. Data is videotape- and/or audiotape-recorded for further analysis with a larger computer.     

A Cross-Cultural Study of Response Biases in Personality Measures

The purposes of this study were to (a) compare the response bias tendencies of U.S. and Philippine college students and men and women in each culture when responding to personality measures, (b) examine the comparability of different measures of the same response biases, (c) examine the stability or consistency of response biases across instruments, (d) examine the extent to which controlling for response biases affects cultural mean comparisons in personality variables, and (e) test hypothesized personality correlates of response biases. The results did not support the presence of large cross-cultural or gender differences in response biases. Moderate to high agreement was found between different indexes of the same biases. Participants' response bias tendencies were moderately stable across instruments. Controlling for response biases led to trivial changes in effect sizes; in most cases, conclusions about cultural differences in personality constructs did not change. Most hypotheses relating personality variables to response biases were not supported.     

Home environment,nutritional status and maternal intelligence as determinants of intellectual development in rural Philippine preschool children

Psychologists used 7 subtests based on Western intelligence tests but developed for rural preschoolers in Tagalog-speaking regions of the Philippines to estimate intelligence of 177 5-6 year old children in 4 agricultural villages in the provinces of Batangas and Oriental Mindoro. They also assessed the height for age, weight for age, and mid upper arm circumference of the children to determine nutritional status. They used 2 subtests from the Philippine Aptitude Classification Test to estimate the intelligence of 181 mothers and asked the mothers questions from the Environmental Interview Questionnaire to determine the status of the home environment. The psychologists hoped to examine the association between home environment, nutritional status, and intellectual development in these preschool children. A moderate association existed between home environment and intellectual development. It contributed more to child intellectual performance than did socioeconomic status and maternal intelligence. The physical and psychosocial environment also contributed to intellectual development. Maternal intelligence, a partial index of genetic influence, could not altogether explain the association between home environment and intellectual development. These results may identify environment experiences concerning environmental specificity such as exploration of the surrounding environment and spatial ability. Intellectual development was not significantly related to nutritional status in normal to moderately malnourished children.     

Seven types of data from computer-controlled experiments

Seven types of data often need to be accessed from a computer-controlled experiment. Some of them involve only a single word and must be available within a fraction of a second; others may involve hundreds of thousands of words, but need not be available until a few hours after an experimental session. A time-sharing program for on-line control of psychological experiments should have the facilities for dealing with all seven types of data.     

Alcohol intake in selected lines of mice: importance of sex and genotype.

Mice selected by McClearn and Kakihana for differences in ethanol-induced sleep time were used as subjects. In Experiment 1, mice from the long-sleep (LS) and short-sleep (SS) lines were offered a choice of water or solution GS consisting of 3% glucose and .16% sodium saccharin (w/v); or a choice of water or solution GS + E that contained GS solution plus 4% ethanol (w/v). In Experiment 2, mice from the first experiment were provided with a three-way choice among water, solution GS, and solution GS + E. In both experiments, SS mice (alcohol-insensitive) consumed more GS + E than LS mice (alcohol-sensitive). In addition, female mice drank considerably more GS + E solution than male mice. Thus, consumption of sweetened ethanol in both a two-way choice (water and GS + E) and a three-way choice (water, GS, and GS + E) is dependent on both genotype and sex. High genetic sensitivity to ethanol was associated with low consumption, and vice versa. Although females consumed more alcohol than males, famales of these lines have not been previously found to show lower sensitivity to acute alcohol administration.     

Cumulative integrated electromyographic activity of selected speech-related muscle groups of nonstutterers during massed oral readings

The electromyographic (EMG) integrated amplitude of masseter and laryngeal muscle groups were analyzed during five massed oral readings of 16 nonstuttering adult subjects. Reduction in dysfluencies were observed over the five trials as was a reduction in reading time across trials. Significant decreases in EMG activity across trials were found for the laryngeal, but not the masseter, EMG activity. This suggests that changes in vocal behavior thought to accompany adaptation are reflected in decreases in EMG activity of select speech-related muscle groups.     

Short-term memory for time intervals

The effect of intertrial interval, preset interval, and retention interval on the performance of rats in a time estimation task was described. On each trial a signal was presented for a duration of 2 to 8 sec. Eighteen rats were trained to press one lever (the short response) if the signal was shorter than 4 sec, and another lever (the long response) if the signal was longer than 4 sec. When trials were massed (Experiment 1), the percentage long response was affected by the classification of the previous signal, but not by its actual duration. This suggests that the animals remembered the response made on the previous trial, but not the signal duration. If a response was not permitted on the previous trial (Experiment 2), the duration or classification of the previous signal had no effect on performance. This supports the conclusion from the first experiment and suggests that an animal can reset its internal clock in less than 2 sec. In Experiment 3, the difference limen of the psychophysical function increased with the duration of the retention interval, but the point of subjective equality did not change. This suggests that resetting of the internal clock occurs on a non-time dimension.     

Effects of repeated acquisitions and extinctions on response rate and pattern

The procedure developed by R. A. Rescorla (2002) was used to study the effects of repeated acquisitions and extinctions of head entry responses into a food cup by rats. In each of 4 20-session phases, food was delivered at the end of particular 30-s auditory and visual stimuli, but not at the end of different 30-s auditory and visual stimuli. Based on response rates to individual stimuli and compound stimuli, the increase in response rate in acquisition occurred more rapidly than the decrease in extinction. Acquisition, but not extinction, occurred faster after successive transitions between acquisition and extinction. Temporal gradients of responding developed during acquisition and remained during extinction. Conclusions based on mean response rate, temporal gradients, and transfer tests were consistent.     

The use of digital video recorders (DVRs) for capturing digital video files for use in both The Observer and Ethovision

Before switching a laboratory from analog to digital, for the recording of video files for use in Noldus software such as Ethovision and The Observer, researchers need to proceed with caution. There are obvious advantages in moving to digital recording for behavioral work, including increased storage capacity; no requirement to purchase video tapes; immediate search by date, time, or event; digital images are of higher quality; ability to view study sites remotely by Internet connection; and “smart” features, such as motion detection. But before you throw away your time-lapse video recorders, time code generators, and video multiplexors, there are some important cautions to take account of. Some research groups have bought digital surveillance systems on the assumption that they work with Ethovision and The Observer, only to be disappointed. The vast majority of systems depend on proprietary compression software that must then be converted to work properly in Ethovision or The Observer.     

ELSI priorities for brain imaging

As one of the most compelling technologies for imaging the brain, functional MRI (fMRI) produces measurements and persuasive pictures of research subjects making cognitive judgments and even reasoning through difficult moral decisions. Even after centuries of studying the link between brain and behavior, this capability presents a number of novel significant questions. For example, what are the implications of biologizing human experience? How might neuroimaging disrupt the mysteries of human nature, spirituality, and personal identity? Rather than waiting for an ethical agenda to emerge from some unpredictable combination of the concerns of ethicists and researchers, the attention of journalists, or after controversy is sparked by research that cannot be retracted, we queried key figures in bioethics and the humanities, neuroscience, media, industry, and patient advocacy in focus groups and interviews. We identified specific ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) that highlight researcher obligations and the nonclinical impact of the technology at this new frontier.