Study of neuromotor reaction times under the influence of thyrotropin-releasing hormone

Neuromotor reaction times (simple, choice, and decision) were measured when Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was administered intravenously to nine healthy men in a double-blind study. Measurements were made of simple reaction time, choice reaction time, and decision time for each subject at various intervals over a 54-hr. period. Given the observed inherent interaction of the drug with the long time used (54 hr.), most analyses were conducted across separate time epochs. Injected subjects showed inhibition in the normal improvement of simple reaction time (which occurs with practice), and they reduced the time required to make a decision. Choice reaction time, however, remained unchanged across the drug-nondrug experimental conditions.     

Vertical reversal and lateral reversal as components of inversion in recognition memory for upside-down faces

Subjects viewed upright photographs of faces, then attempted to recognize them unchanged, vertically reversed or inverted. In two of four conditions, hit scores were lower for inverted than vertically reversed faces, suggesting that lateral reversal is a meaningful component of inversion. The effect was not sufficiently strong, however, to overcome a generally high false-alarm rate for upside-down faces.     

Selected parameters of response organization in mildly mentally retarded children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of response organization on reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) of mildly mentally retarded children. Two groups of 30 subjects each were formed: a retarded group 9 yr. of age and a normal group matched for chronological age. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three precued conditions in which they were told that the forthcoming response would be performed with the right or left hand (precue hand), be to the right or left side (precue direction), or cross or not cross the body midline (precue midline). The retarded group performed significantly more slowly than the normal group on both RT and MT. Both groups, however, were able to utilize precued hand information as opposed to other precued variables, indicating that knowing which hand to use is important when organizing responses.     

Midline and off-midline tongue and right- and left-hand vibrotactile thresholds of stutterers and normal-speaking individuals

Vibrotactile thresholds for 7 male stutterers and 7 normal-speaking men (age range for both groups = 19 to 32 yr.) were obtained from the right, midline, and left sides of the lingual dorsum, and the thenar eminences of both hands. The stutterers showed slightly higher (less sensitive) mean thresholds than the normal speakers for all three lingual test sites. This was not the case for the thresholds obtained from both hands. The preliminary data suggest that oral peripheral sensory integrity might be somewhat different for stutterers than for normal-speaking individuals.     

ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES: TWO FIELD QUASI-EXPERIMENTS

In the first ( N = 140) of two quasi-experimental field studies, trial group employees were changed from a 5/40 to a 4/40 work schedule for four months then returned to a 5/40 schedule. In a second study ( N = 102), trial group employees were changed from 5/40 to flextime. Reactions were evaluated using a model for understanding the impact of work schedules. The effects of schedule changes matched those anticipated by pre-intervention surveys of employees. Factors related to organizational effectiveness were enhanced where specific organizational needs were met. Interference with personal activities was reduced where employees had experienced specific difficulties. The most powerful effect, however, was on worker attitudes toward specific work schedules. In addition, a mild positive (perhaps Hawthorne) effect was evident for a wide range of general worker reactions.     

A FIELD STUDY OF APPLICANT REACTIONS TO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: DOES THE RECRUITER MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Previous cross-sectional field and laboratory research has provided mixed results as to whether recruiter characteristics and behaviors influence applicant reactions to employment opportunities. The present research was conducted to examine the effect of recruiter characteristics using a pre-post study design in a naturally occurring setting. In addition, the effects of several potential moderators on recruiter influence were tested. Results indicated that recruiter characteristics had an impact on perceived job attributes, regard for job and company, and likelihood of joining the company. There was little evidence that the effect of recruiter characteristics was moderated by selected applicant, job, or interviewer variables.     

Temporal pattern of agonist-antagonist EMG activity during rapid limb movements in man

Analysis of elbow-extension movements, executed at maximal velocity, show positive correlations of timing of agonist-antagonist EMG activity with both movement velocity and displacement. Results indirectly support the notion that the antagonist musculature provides a braking force to arrest rapid limb movements.     

Specific temporal-lobe signs and enhanced delayed cross-modal matching performance

Structural damage to the amygdala severely retards delayed cross-modal (tactile-to-sight) matching in primates. Conversely, we hypothesized that people who display signs suggestive of specific temporal lobe lability should show enhanced delayed cross-modal matching performance. The hypothesis was supported. In a single experiment involving 25 subjects, significant negative correlations obtained between the numbers of errors on the cross-modal matching task and numbers of affirmative responses within clusters of items that contained themes of meaningfulness, religious beliefs or ictal, complex partial epileptic (limbic) states. On the other hand, the numbers of errors were not significantly correlated with either clusters of control items or items that are presumed to reflect the function of other temporal-lobe structures. Both matching and questionnaire data were collected under double-blind conditions.     

The Effects of Flavor-Aversion Learning on Instrumental Performance

Two experiments investigated the role of lithium-mediated environmental conditioning on instrumental performance. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a novel taste consumed in one arm of a T maze prior to lithium-induced toxicosis reduced performance in this environment whereas similar aversions conditioned in the home cage failed to alter maze performance. Experiment 2 showed that maze performance in a straight alleyway was decremented during extinction only in a group that actually traversed the alley prior to drinking saccharin and receiving lithium injections. This demonstrated that the instrumental decrement observed in Experiment 1 was due not only to the presence of an unpalatable flavor in the goalbox during the test.