Cognitive and somatic events associated with discriminative changes in heart rate.

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn Experiment 1, 23 males were given instructions to think about anxiety‐provoking cognitive events (n= 12) or relaxing cognitive events (n= 11) during 20 30‐sec training trials. Significant pretrial‐to‐trial increases in heart rate were noted during anxiety instructions and significant pretrial‐to‐trial decreases in heart rate were detected during relaxation instructions. In Experiment 2,39 males were again given instructions to think about anxiety‐provoking events (n= 19) or relaxing events (n= 20) during 20 30‐sec training trials. In addition, half of the subjects in each of these instructional conditions were given digital heart rate feedback consistent with their instructions (e.g., were reinforced for heart rate increases during anxiety instructions), whereas half of the subjects in each instructional condition were given feedback inconsistent with their instructions (e.g., were reinforced for heart rate decreases during anxiety instructions). As in Experiment 1, significant pretrial‐to‐trial increases in heart rate occurred during anxiety instructions and significant pretrial‐to‐trial decreases in heart rate were noted during relaxation instructions. The type of feedback which subjects received had no effect on the heart rate changes. The heart rate changes in both experiments were generally accompanied by parallel changes in respiratory rate but not by changes in chin muscle tension. It appears that cognitive events can produce increases and decreases in heart rate which are comparable in magnitude to those noted during biofeedback.