Response inhibition initiates cardiac deceleration: evidence from a sensory-motor compatibility paradigm.

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that response selection processes alter the timing of the shift between anticipatory cardiac deceleration and acceleratory recovery. Experiment 1 compared changes in cardiac interbeat interval induced by the manipulation of sensory-motor compatibility in a four choice reaction time task. A direct spatial mapping between a linear array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was compared to randomly assigned, indirect (non-compatible) mappings. Experiment 2 repeated these two tasks and added a two choice condition with direct spatial mapping, a task frequently employed to examine heart rate deceleration. Fifteen college aged males participated in Experiment 1; 18 college aged males participated in Experiment 2. In both experiments anticipatory cardiac deceleration either reached a plateau or shifted to acceleration by the interbeat interval in which the stimulus occurred. In contrast to previous reports, a secondary deceleration, rather than cardiac acceleration, often followed the stimulus. The secondary deceleration was greater with non-compatible mapping, slow response speeds, and short intertrial intervals. The findings suggested that the motoric inhibition required during response selection induces a phasic cardiac deceleration.

[1]  C. C. Wood,et al.  Cardiac cycle time effects on performance, phasic cardiac responses, and their intercorrelation in choice reaction time. , 1977, Psychophysiology.

[2]  M. W. van der Molen,et al.  On the shift from anticipatory heart rate deceleration to acceleratory recovery: revisiting the role of response factors. , 1990, Psychophysiology.

[3]  M. Coles,et al.  Cardiac activity and information processing: the effects of stimulus significance, and detection and response requirements. , 1975, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[4]  C W Eriksen,et al.  Information processing in visual search: A continuous flow conception and experimental results , 1979, Perception & psychophysics.

[5]  M. W. van der Molen,et al.  A psychophysiological investigation of cognitive-energetic relations in human information processing: a heart rate/additive factors approach. , 1987, Acta psychologica.

[6]  J. Richard Jennings,et al.  Speed-accuracy tradeoff functions in choice reaction time: Experimental designs and computational procedures , 1976 .

[7]  J. Richard Jennings,et al.  Changes in alertness and processing capacity in a serial learning task , 1978 .

[8]  S. Kornblum.  Response competition and/or inhibition in two-choice reaction time , 1965 .

[9]  J. Jennings,et al.  Recall, recognition, and rate: memory and the heart. , 1980, Psychophysiology.

[10]  M. W. van der Molen,et al.  Response initiation, not completion, seems to alter cardiac cycle length. , 1985, Psychophysiology.

[11]  Maurits W. Van Der Molen,et al.  Forearm, chest, and skin vascular changes during simple performance tasks , 1990, Biological Psychology.

[12]  C. Eriksen,et al.  A psychophysiological investigation of the continuous flow model of human information processing. , 1985, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[13]  Beatrice C. Lacey,et al.  Cognitive Modulation of Time‐Dependent Primary Bradycardia , 1980 .

[14]  M. W. van der Molen,et al.  Intersensory facilitation and inhibition: immediate arousal and location effects of auditory noise on visual choice reaction time. , 1985, Acta psychologica.

[15]  C. C. Wood,et al.  The ɛ-Adjustment Procedure for Repeated-Measures Analyses of Variance , 1976 .

[16]  K. Pribram,et al.  Arousal, activation, and effort in the control of attention. , 1975, Psychological review.

[17]  D I Boomsma,et al.  Does the heart know what the eye sees? A cardiac/pupillometric analysis of motor preparation and response execution. , 1989, Psychophysiology.

[18]  A. Sanders.  20 Stage Analysis of Reaction Processes , 1980 .