Psychophysiological Responding Research Articles

Paternal expressed emotion influences psychobiological indicators of threat and safety learning in daughters: A preliminary study.

This preliminary study examined the association of children's anxiety, paternal expressed emotion (EE), and their interaction with psychophysiological indices of children's threat and safety learning. Participants included 24 father-daughter dyads. Daughters (ages 8-13 years, 100% Latina) self-reported their anxiety levels and completed a differential threat conditioning and extinction paradigm, during which psychophysiological responding was collected. Fathers completed a Five-Minute Speech Sample, from which paternal EE (i.e., criticism, emotional overinvolvement) was assessed. Anxiety-dependent associations emerged between paternal EE and individual differences in daughters' psychophysiological responding to safety signals during threat conditioning. Paternal EE was positively associated with psychophysiological responding to safety in daughters with high and mean, but not low, levels of anxiety. Although previous work suggests that chronic harsh maternal parenting is a potential risk factor for children's general threat and safety learning, these preliminary findings implicate milder forms of negative parenting behavior in fathers, particularly for highly anxious children.

BDNF genotype Val66Met interacts with acute plasma BDNF levels to predict fear extinction and recall

Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) is a potent regulator of memory processes and is believed to influence the consolidation of fear extinction memories. No previous human study has tested the effect of unstimulated BDNF on fear extinction recall, and no study has tested the association between plasma BDNF levels and psychophysiological responding during an extinction paradigm. We tested the association between fear responses during a 2-day differential conditioning, extinction and extinction recall paradigm and Val66Met genotype in a group of healthy participants (N = 191). There were no group differences during habituation or acquisition. Met allele carriers compared to Val homozygotes displayed higher responses to the CS + compared to the CS- during extinction learning and had higher responding to both the CS+ and CS- during extinction recall. Plasma levels of BDNF protein that were collected in a sub-sample of the group (n = 56) moderated the effect of Met allele presence, such that lower BDNF level was associated with higher skin conductance response in the Met but not Val group to the CS+ during extinction learning and to both the CS+ and CS- during extinction recall. The current results extend previous observations of a Val66Met effect during fear extinction learning to extinction recall and show for the first time that these effects are moderated by plasma BDNF level.

Unique neurocircuitry activation profiles during fear conditioning and extinction among women with posttraumatic stress disorder

BackgroundNeurocircuitry models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest specific alterations in brain structures linked with fear conditioning and extinction. Most models assume a unitary pattern of neurocircuitry dysfunction in PTSD and little attention has focused on defining unique profiles of neurocircuitry engagement (i.e., biotypes), despite known clinical heterogeneity in PTSD. Here, we aim to address this gap using a data-driven approach to characterize unique neurocircuitry profiles among women with PTSD. MethodsSeventy-six women with PTSD related to assaultive violence exposure competed a task during fMRI that alternated between fear conditioning, where a geometric shape predicted the occurrence of an electric shock, and fear extinction, where the geometric shape no longer predicted electric shock. A multivariate clustering analysis was applied to neurocircuitry patterns constrained within an a priori mask of structures linked with emotion processing. Resulting biotypes were compared on clinical measures of neurocognition, trauma exposure, general mental health symptoms, and PTSD symptoms and on psychophysiological responding during the task. ResultsThe clustering analysis identified three biotypes (BT), differentiated by patterns of engagement within salience, default mode, and visual processing networks. BT1 was characterized by higher working memory, fewer general mental health symptoms, and low childhood sexual abuse, and lower PTSD symptom severity. BT2 was characterized by lower verbal IQ but better extinction learning as defined by psychophysiology and threat expectancy. BT3 was characterized by low childhood sexual abuse, anxious arousal, and re-experiencing symptoms. Conclusion: This data demonstrates unique profiles of neurocircuitry engagement in PTSD, each associated with different clinical characteristics, and suggests further research defining distinct biotypes of PTSD. Clinicaltrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home, NCT02560389.

Concurrent Assessment of Penile Blood Flow and Circumference as Indicators of Male Sexual Arousal

IntroductionThe current study aims to validate a new imaging tool to assess men’s sexual psychophysiological responding: laser Doppler imaging (LDI), which directly measures subcutaneous genital blood flow. In this study, we concurrently assessed genital sexual arousal in a sample of men using the LDI and the current gold standard of male sexual psychophysiology, the penile strain gauge (PSG). AimTo (i) assess the validity of the LDI as a measure of male sexual arousal, (ii) evaluate the relationship between the LDI and PSG, and (iii) compare sexual concordance produced by the LDI and PSG. MethodsA total of 25 male participants (Mage = 24.28 years, SD = 6.10, range 18–37) watched 4 experimental films (ie, anxiety-provoking, humorous, erotic, neutral nature content) while their sexual arousal was assessed. Genital sexual arousal was assessed using the LDI (blood perfusion) and PSG (penile tumescence) concurrently. Subjective sexual arousal was assessed using continuous and discrete self-reported measures. Main Outcome MeasureResults demonstrate the validity of the LDI as an imaging-based measure of male genital arousal, and one that is comparable to the PSG. ResultsSignificant increases in genital blood flow assessed via the LDI were observed for erotic, but not anxiety-provoking, humorous, or neutral films (F[1.65, 39.57] = 18.23, P < .001, ηp2 = .43). A moderate, positive correlation between genital arousal measured via the LDI and PSG concurrently was observed (r = .40), despite considerable across-participant variability. In the current sample, the LDI and PSG both produced strong sexual concordance estimates (r = .51 and r = .46, respectively). When all LDI and PSG concordance estimates were correlated, a moderate relationship was revealed (r = .37). Clinical ImplicationsAs a new imaging tool for male sexual psychophysiological arousal, the LDI holds promise for improving our understanding of issues related to men’s sexual health. Strength & LimitationsMovement artifacts produced by penile engorgement were a limitation to the LDI as an imaging technique. Further, the LDI used in the current study was a discrete measure of arousal, whereas the PSG was continuous; future research would benefit by using continuous measurement capabilities of contemporary LDI systems. ConclusionAs a valid measure of genital sexual arousal in men, the LDI holds promise as a tool that can be used to explore more nuanced questions about human sexuality, including cross-gender comparisons and real-time exploration of genital arousal patterns.Bossio JA, Singh M, Pukall CF. Concurrent assessment of penile blood flow and circumference as indicators of male sexual arousal. J Sex Med 2018;15:1570–1578.

Interactions Between Threat and Executive Control in a Virtual Reality Stroop Task

Understanding the ways in which persons rapidly transfer attention between tasks while still retaining ability to perform these tasks is an important area of study. Everyday activities commonly come in the form of emotional distractors. A recently developed Virtual Reality Stroop Task (VRST) allows for assessing neurocognitive and psychophysiological responding while traveling through simulated safe and ambush desert environments as Stroop stimuli appear on the windshield. We evaluated differences in psychophysiological response patterns associated with completion of an affective task alone versus completion of an affective task that also included a Stroop task. The VRST elicited increased heart rate, respiration rate, skin conductance level, and number of spontaneous fluctuations in electrodermal activity. Increased cognitive workload was found to be associated with the more cognitively challenging Stroop conditions which led to an increase in response level. This expands on previous findings and indicates that allocating attention away from the environment and toward Stroop stimuli likely requires greater inhibitory control. This is corroborated by behavioral findings from previous investigations with the VRST. The VRST revealed that the increased difficulty found in tasks like the Stroop interference task directly evoke autonomic changes in psychophysiological arousal beyond the threatening stimuli themselves.

Craving cannabis: a meta-analysis of self-report and psychophysiological cue-reactivity studies.

To estimate the magnitude of cannabis cue-reactivity responses in people who regularly use cannabis. EMBASE, PUBMED, PsycINFO, PsycEXTRA and Project CORK were searched for within-subject comparison studies published between January 2000 and December 2014. Eligible studies compared regular cannabis users' subjective craving or psychophysiological responding when exposed to cannabis cues to their responses to neutral cues and/or to their responses during a baseline assessment. Eligible studies presented original data and were written in English. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria, but data were not available for two. The 12 included studies contained 393 participants (12-97 participants per study; mean age range: 16.4-32.6years). Standardized effects sizes were computed for heart rate, skin conductance, skin temperature, blood pressure, event-related potentials (Pz P300) and self-reported craving (Visual Analogue Scales and Marijuana Craving Questionnaire) and synthesized using a multivariate meta-regression model. On average, cannabis users experienced moderate cue-reactivity, as determined by comparisons with baseline conditions [d=0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.43, 0.74, P<0.001] and with neutral cue comparisons (d=0.47, 95% CI=0.32, 0.62, P<0.001). This model, which excluded studies at a greater than low risk of bias and included PzP300 studies as a moderator (due to having larger effect sizes), had a moderately low level of heterogeneity of effect size (I2 =45.6%, Q=56.97, P=0.003) and showed no evidence of publication bias. Cue-reactivity was most noticeable (large effect size) when assessed by Pz P300 waves (d=1.71, 95% CI=0.77, 2.64, P=0.0003; I2 =86%, Q=36.30, P<0.001) and least noticeable (trivial effect size) when examining heart rate (d=0.14, 95% CI=-0.34, 0.62, P=0.58; I2 =80%, Q=20.0, P<0.001). These subgroup models demonstrated high heterogeneity of effect size. Regular cannabis users experience moderate to extremely intense cue-reactivity, such that their attentional biases towards cannabis cues are much stronger than their perceptions of craving for the drug.

The influence of stress on the affective modulation of the startle response to nicotine cues.

Recent research suggesting that nicotine cues are appetitive in nature promotes the affective modulation of the startle reflex (AMSR) paradigm as a potentially valuable psychophysiological tool for elucidating mechanisms involved in nicotine addiction. Despite numerous studies indicating stress as a key factor in nicotine dependence, specific behavioral mechanisms linking stress and smoking have yet to be explicated. The current study aimed to determine the effects of stress, a negative affective state intimately linked with nicotine use, on the psychophysiological responding of nicotine dependent individuals during smoking cues. Twenty-nine nicotine dependent individuals were randomly assigned to the trier social stress test or control condition directly prior to administration of the AMSR paradigm, which examined their physiological responses to appetitive, neutral, aversive, and nicotine cue images. Both groups evinced significantly decreased startle magnitudes in response to nicotine cues as compared to aversive images. However, exposure to stress did not significantly modulate the startle reflex while viewing nicotine cues. Stress induction does not appear to modulate the AMSR paradigm when evaluating responses to nicotine images. These findings suggest that AMSR is robust to effects of acute stress induction in nicotine dependent individuals which may increase its viability as a clinical tool for assessing success in smoking cessation interventions.

Psychophysiological Activation During Preparation, Performance, and Recovery in High- and Low-Anxious Music Students

The present study provides a comprehensive view of (a) the time dynamics of the psychophysiological responding in performing music students (n = 66) before, during, and after a private and a public performance and (b) the moderating effect of music performance anxiety (MPA). Heart rate (HR), minute ventilation (VE), and all affective and somatic self-report variables increased in the public session compared to the private session. Furthermore, the activation of all variables was stronger during the performances than before or after. Differences between phases were larger in the public than in the private session for HR, VE, total breath duration, anxiety, and trembling. Furthermore, while higher MPA scores were associated with higher scores and with larger changes between sessions and phases for self-reports, this association was less coherent for physiological variables. Finally, self-reported intra-individual performance improvements or deteriorations were not associated with MPA. This study makes a novel contribution by showing how the presence of an audience influences low- and high-anxious musicians' psychophysiological responding before, during and after performing. Overall, the findings are more consistent with models of anxiety that emphasize the importance of cognitive rather than physiological factors in MPA.

Emotional reactivity and the association between psychopathy-linked narcissism and aggression in detained adolescent boys

Different patterns of emotional reactivity characterize proactive and reactive functions of aggressive behavior, and theory also suggests a link of both types with narcissism. How people with narcissistic traits respond emotionally to competitive scenarios could influence their aggressiveness. Participants were 85 adolescent boys from a detention center. Several indices of emotional functioning were assessed, including attentional bias to negative emotional stimuli and psychophysiological responding. In addition, we included self-report and laboratory measures of aggression and measures of psychopathy-linked narcissism, callous-unemotional traits, and impulsivity. Psychopathy-linked narcissism was uniquely related to unprovoked aggression (i.e., proactive aggression) and to heightened attention to pictures depicting others' distress. Compared with those scoring low on narcissism, those high on narcissism, who were the least physiologically reactive group, evinced greater proactive aggression, whereas those showing a pattern of coactivation (i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic reactivity) evinced greater reactive aggression. Results are consistent with descriptions of narcissistic individuals as being hypervigilant to negative cues and exhibiting poor emotion regulation. These characteristics may lead to aggressive and violent behavior aimed at maintaining dominance over others.

Positive mental health: a research agenda

Vaillant provides a thoughtful review of seven models for conceptualizing positive mental health. He proposes that the best way to understand mental health is to conduct longitudinal studies of multiple populations, in culturally diverse settings, using instruments that assess multiple conceptualizations. Looking to future, I agree with Vaillant that there is a need for theoretical and empirical work to establish the most useful conceptualization of positive mental health. On the theoretical side, there is a need to clarify and integrate the current overlapping but distinct con- structs into a broader overarching framework. On the empirical side, there is a need to develop and refine instruments for measuring positive mental health constructs at multiple levels, including self-report, behavioral ratings, psychophysiological responding, and neurobiological functioning. There is also a need to link research on positive mental health to the psychology of normal and abnormal functioning across the lifespan. In particular, it would be valuable to determine the links between positive mental health and intelligence, temperament, personality traits, self-regulation and attachment, through genetic, neurobiological, psychometric and developmental research. Positive mental health must be distinguished from intelligence as psychometrically defined, and from other forms of intelligence in models such as Gardner’s multiple intelligences 1. Clearly a high IQ and positive mental health are not synonymous. Nevertheless, mental health and intelligence (as defined by IQ tests) both involve effective problem-solving and adaptation to the environment. An important research question concerns the nature and extent of the overlap between psychometrically assessed intelligence and positive mental health across the lifespan. Vaillant points out that positive mental health has been equated with social and emotional intelligence. There is also an argument that existential or spiritual intelligence, or indeed an advanced stage of moral development 2, may be central to positive mental health, given the well-established correlation between religious practices and well-being 3. It remains unclear what the relationships are between positive mental health and other forms of intelligence, such as musical, kinesthetic and naturalistic. Similar arguments may be made for the constructs of giftedness and creativity. It is plausible that certain individuals may be exceptionally gifted or creative in the way they address issues relevant to their own positive mental health. Implicit in temperament and personality trait theories is a conception of positive mental health as involving a particular type of profile. For example, infants with easy temperaments may be viewed as having better mental health than those with difficult or behaviorally inhibited temperaments. With trait theories, such as the five factor theory of personality, individuals with high levels of emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience may be viewed as having better mental health than those with other profiles. Vaillant alludes to this type of approach in his section on mental health as the presence of multiple human strengths. However, I wish to underline the importance of linking research on positive mental health to extensive existing knowledge about temperament and personality traits 4. A vast literature on self-regulation throws light on factors relevant to the capacity to persist in motivated action while tolerating distress 5. This capacity may be an aspect of positive mental health, and is probably related to adaptive defense mechanisms discussed in Vaillant’s section on resilience. Research on self-regulation and positive mental health should be an important future priority. Studies of attachment have shown that secure and insecure attachment styles may be identified across the life- span, with secure attachment styles being associated with better psychological adjustment 6. Individuals with secure attachment styles, as a result of sensitive parenting in early life, develop internal working models of self and others that entail an expectation that others will reliably be available to meet attachment needs. This trusting disposition is arguably a key component of positive mental health, and an area requiring further investigation. An integration of current models of positive mental health addressed in Vaillant’s paper into an overarching framework, and research linking such an integrative model to intelligence, temperament, personality traits, self-regulation and attachment will ground our understanding of positive mental health within current knowledge about normal lifespan development, and provide a scientific basis for developing intervention programs to promote positive mental health.

Psychophysiological and Self-Reported Emotional Responding in Alcohol-Dependent College Students: The Impact of Brief Acceptance/Mindfulness Instruction

Drinking motivated by the desire to cope with painful emotions has been shown to be strongly related to alcohol dependence; the resulting maladaptive pattern of substance use can, therefore, be conceptualized as a form of experiential avoidance (an attempt to decrease contact with unpleasant internal states). Acceptance-based interventions, which specifically address experiential avoidance, are multifaceted, and the mechanisms of action are only beginning to be understood. Using a treatment analogue design to look at the underlying components of acceptance-based interventions, the authors tested the effects of brief mindfulness instructions on the emotional responding of alcohol-dependent college students and compared these results with those from a sample of nondependent students. Multidimensional self-reported and psychophysiological emotional responses to pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictorial stimuli did not differ between alcohol-dependent and nondependent participants or between the alcohol-dependent participants receiving the mindfulness versus neutral condition. Alcohol-dependent participants' severity of alcohol dependence was found to be related to both self-reported and psychophysiological responses to the unpleasant pictures; these results support the notion that alcohol-dependent participants may use alcohol to cope with unpleasant emotions.

Psychophysiological Profiles of Batterers: Autonomic Emotional Reactivity as It Predicts the Antisocial Spectrum of Behavior Among Intimate Partner Abusers.

On the basis of studies finding heart rate deceleration among severely violent (SV) batterers (J. M. Gottman et al., 1995) and unsuccessful psychopaths (S. S. Ishikawa, A. Raine, T. Lencz, S. Bihrle, & L. Lacasse, 2001), this study compares the physiological reactivity of SV batterers (n=35) with low-level violent (LLV) batterers (n=37) and nonviolent men (n=21) during 2 laboratory tasks. Men's heart rate and skin conductance level were recorded during baseline, a conflict discussion, and a standardized anger induction. Results suggest that autonomic hyporeactivity is a risk marker for antisocial features among SV men, whereas autonomic hyperreactivity is a risk marker among LLV men. Psychophysiological responding appears to be a stronger correlate of general antisocial behavior than of intimate partner abuse.

Psychophysiological responding during script-driven imagery in people reporting abduction by space aliens.

Is recollection of highly improbable traumatic experiences accompanied by psychophysiological responses indicative of intense emotion? To investigate this issue, we measured heart rate, skin conductance, and left lateral frontalis electromyographic responses in individuals who reported having been abducted by space aliens. Recordings of these participants were made during script-driven imagery of their reported alien encounters and of other stressful, positive, and neutral experiences they reported. We also measured the psychophysiological responses of control participants while they heard the scripts of the abductees. We predicted that if "memories" of alien abduction function like highly stressful memories, then psychophysiological reactivity to the abduction and stressful scripts would be greater than reactivity to the positive and neutral scripts, and this effect would be more pronounced among abductees than among control participants. Contrast analyses confirmed this prediction for all three physiological measures (ps < .05). Therefore, belief that one has been traumatized may generate emotional responses similar to those provoked by recollection of trauma (e.g., combat).

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy of Combat-Related PTSD: A Case Study Using Psychophysiological Indicators of Outcome

This article describes the treatment by exposure therapy of a Vietnam veteran for PTSD related to his war experiences. There are several unique features of this particular treatment and case report. One, the exposure treatment was delivered in conjunction with virtual reality. The patient was exposed to two virtual Vietnam environments, a virtual Huey helicopter and a virtual landing zone, while engaging in exposure to his most traumatic Vietnam memories. Two, the nature of several of these traumatic memories included guilt over acts that the patient committed in Vietnam, which is often times not considered a good candidate for exposure therapy. Three, psychophysiological monitoring occurred throughout the treatment as well as at pretreatment and posttreatment. His responses to treatment, in terms of guilt, anger, and anxiety, standardized symptom measures at pretreatment and post-treatment and follow-ups of 3 months and 6 months, and psychophysiological responding, are discussed.

The role of psychophysiology in clinical assessment: ERPs in the evaluation of memory.

Psychophysiological measures hold great potential for informing clinical assessments. The challenge, before such measures can be widely used, is to develop test procedures and analysis strategies that allow for statistically reliable and valid decisions to be made for any particular examinee, despite large individual differences in psychophysiological responding. Focusing on the evaluation of memory in clinical, criminal, and experimental contexts, this paper reviews the rationale for and development of ERP-based memory assessment procedures, with a focus on methods that allow for statistically supported decisions to be made in the case of a single examinee. The application of one such procedure to the study of amnesia in Dissociative Identity Disorder is highlighted. To facilitate the development of other psychophysiological assessment tools, psychophysiological researchers are encouraged to report the sensitivity and specificity of their measures where possible.

THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF PTSD PATIENTS: HABITUATION, RESPONSES TO STRESSFUL AND NEUTRAL VIGNETTES AND ASSOCIATION WITH TREATMENT OUTCOME

A number of studies have demonstrated that patients suffering from PTSD show differences from appropriate controls in psychophysiological responding. This study aimed to investigate whether there were differences in habitu ation and psychophysiological reactivity between PTSD patients and normals, and between patient subgroups depending on their symptoms and whether psychophysiological variables were associated with clinical outcome from a treatment trial. Participants were tested by measuring electrodermal activity to two sets of 15 auditory stimuli of different intensity, and to six vignettes, four neutral, one of general stress and one trauma related. Psychophysiological variables were entered into a multiple regression with clinical outcome as the dependent variable. There were no differences between patients and controls or within patients on the habituation paradigms. Patients differed from controls only on their response to the trauma related vignette. There were no differences on any within patient compar isons. There was no association with these measures and later clinical outcome. Psychophysiological differences between PTSD patients and normal controls are very specifically related to trauma related stimuli. Patients with startle or high arousal symptoms do not show differences from those without. These measures were not related to treatment response.

Psychophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder related to motor vehicle accidents: replication and extension.

Psychophysiological assessment data, including heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and frontal electromyogram (EMG) responses to mental arithmetic, idiosyncratic audiotape descriptions of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), and a standard videotape of MVAs, were collected on 105 injured victims of recent MVAs and 54 non-MVA controls. Their data replicated data from an earlier report (Blanchard et al., 1994) and support the utility of HR response to the audiotaped description of the MVA as useful in distinguishing MVA victims with PTSD from those with subsyndromal PTSD and non-PTSD. At a 1-year follow-up, the psychophysiological assessment was repeated on 125 MVA victims; results showed a general diminution of psychophysiological responding. Initial psychophysiological assessment results predicted 1-year follow-up clinical status (continued PTSD or full or partial remission) for 37 or 48 individuals who initially met criteria for PTSD.

Reliability of psychophysiological responding as a function of trait anxiety

This study examined the temporal stability of three psychophysiological responses (frontal electromyographic activity, hand surface temperature, and heart rate) recorded over four sessions (days 1, 2, 8, and 28) on 34 subjects, 17 with high Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory scores and 17 with low scores. Each session consisted of a 20-minute adaptation period, a baseline condition, and two stressors (one cognitive, the other physical). Two forms of reliability coefficients were employed, intraclass correlations and Pearson Product Moment; the two types of reliability coefficients arrived at the same conclusions. Results indicated that reliability coefficients for the two anxiety groups did not differ on frontal EMG or heart rate responses; however, hand surface temperature responding was considerably less reliable for high anxious individuals than low anxious individuals. Reliability coefficients on absolute scores were, for the most part, reliable. Treating the responses as relative measures (percent change from baseline or simple change scores from baseline) produced smaller and less reliable coefficients. Magnitudes of the three physiological responses did not significantly differ as a function of high or low trait anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of their clinical, as well as basic psychophysiological, importance.

Attention and memory for threat in panic disorder

Recently, information processing paradigms have been utilized to explore the role of attentional and memory processes in the maintenance of clinical anxiety disorders. The present study extended these data using a dual-task paradigm to assess attentional vigilance and a cued recognition task to evaluate short-term memory effects in Panic Disorder (PD). Twenty PD patients and 20 normal controls completed a computerized task wherein they read aloud one of a pair of rapidly presented words (primary task) while simultaneously attempting to detect a small probe that appeared adjacent to one of the words (secondary task). Eighty stimulus words were chosen to represent four categories: physical panic-related threat, social threat, positive-emotional, and neutral. Reaction time and accuracy in detecting the probe were assessed, as well as psychophysiological responding (heart rate, skin conductance, EMG). Following task completion, a cued recognition task was administered to examine short-term memory of task stimuli. Results indicated that PD patients exhibited slower reaction times relative to normal controls during presentation of physical panic-related threat and positive-emotional stimuli. A similar trend emerged for social threat stimuli, although the PD and control samples responded similarly to neutral stimuli. No group differences were found on the cued recognition measure or psychophysiological responding during task performance. The data are discussed in terms of possible implications for cognitive models of PD.

Symptom-specific psychophysiological responses in chronic pain patients.

Symptom-specific psychophysiological responding was assessed in 20 chronic back pain patients, 20 patients suffering from temporomandibular pain and dysfunction, and 20 matched healthy controls. Surface EMG from the lower and upper back, the masseter, and the biceps muscles, and heart rate and skin conductance level were continuously recorded during adaptation, resting baseline, and stressful and neutral imagery phases. Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance were performed on raw data as well as data corrected for autocorrelation. The results showed significantly higher EMG reactivity which was lateralized to the left side at the patients' site of pain but not distal sites. This hyperreactivity was observed only during stressful imagery. The healthy controls displayed a significantly higher response in heart rate, but skin conductance level was not significantly different. The results are interpreted as indicative of idiosyncratic muscular response patterns to personally relevant situations at the site of pain in patients suffering from chronic muscular pain.