CORTICAL SLOW-WAVE AND CARDIAC RATE RESPONSES IN STIMULUS ORIENTATION AND REACTION TIME CONDITIONS

Studied the cortical slow wave and cardiac rate of 24 male undergraduates in response to simple nonsignal auditory tones and to similar tones marking the onset of an RT foreperiod. Cortical negativity and the amplitude of the biphasic heart rate response were greatest under high-intensity and signal conditions. The initial acceleratory and secondary deceleratory components showed a positive correlation with cortical negativity. Ss who reported themselves to be more alert during the task yielded higher negativity. Slow-wave activity also covaried with eyeball movement, although eyeball movement did not predict the cortical response. The slow-wave response of the brain varies systematically with cardiac rate events which have been theoretically associated with attentional processes and activation. 19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.