Summary
A new automatic analysis which determines the parameters of the EEG rhythms for small time segments in relation to the stimulus allows a better description of the course of EEG reactions. This method was used to study arousal responses to paired stimuli in a reaction time experiment with constant foreperiod (sound-light pairing). A reaction time experiment with sound-light random sequences was employed to control EEG changes unrelated to stimulus pairing intraindividually.
In 40 maladjusted children, aged from 8 to 13 year, stimulus pairing, in contrast to unpaired presentation, had the following effects on the arousal reactions represented by the course of alpha amplitudes:
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1.
A steeper amplitude reduction in the interstimulus-interval over the whole experiment;
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a progressive shift of course and maximum of the amplitude reduction in the direction of light onset;
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an increasingly faster re-formation of alpha amplitudes after the light stimulus over the trial sequence;
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No intraindividual correlations were found between these EEG changes and reaction times, though reaction time also proved to depend on the course of conditioning.
These findings are discussed under the aspects of classical conditioning, the orientation reaction and the relevance of psychological variables such as signal expectation and the intention to react.
Zusammenfassung
Ein neues automatisches Analyseverfahren, das reizabhängig in kleinen Zeitsegmenten die Parameter der EEG-Rhythmen ermittelt, ermöglicht die genauere Verlaufsbeschreibung von EEG-Reaktionen. Hiermit wurden paarungsabhängige Arousal-Prozesse in einem Reaktionszeitversuch mit konstanter Vorperiode untersucht (Ton-Licht-Paarung). Zur intraindividuellen Kontrolle nicht-paarungsabhängiger EEG-Veränderungen diente ein Reaktionsversuch mit Ton-Licht-Zufallsfolgen.
Bei 40 Heimkindern im Alter von 8–13 Jahren wurden bei Reizpaarung gegenüber Reizzufallsfolge die folgenden Merkmale in den Arousal-Reaktionen bzw. den sie repräsentierenden Alpha-Amplitudenverläufen festgestellt:
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Von Beginn an steilerer Amplitudenabfall des Reaktionsverlaufs im Interstimulus-Intervall;
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Progressive Verlagerung der Amplitudenreduktion in Verlauf und Maximum zum Beginn des Lichtreizes;
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Zunehmend schnellere Rückbildung der Alpha-Amplitude nach der Lichtreaktion über den Trialverlauf.
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Zwischen diesen EEG-Veränderungen und der Reaktionszeit ergab sich intraindividuell kein korrelativer Zusammenhang, obgleich auch die Reaktionszeiten vom Konditionierungsverlauf abhängig sind.
Die Befunde werden unter den Gesichtspunkten des klassischen Konditionierens, des Orientierungsreaktion und der Beteiligung psychologischer Variablen wie Signal-Erwartung und Aktionsintention diskutiert.
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Die Arbeit wurde durch den Sonderforschungsbereich “Hirnforschung und Sinnesphysiologie” (SFB 70) und durch das Landesamt für Forschung Nordrhein-Westfalen gefördert.
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Grünewald, G., Grünewald-Zuberbier, E. & Rasche, A. Verlaufsanalyse konditionierter EEG-arousal-reaktionen. Arch. F. Psychiatr. U. Z. Neur. 217, 315–328 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02552694
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02552694