Lj. Otten et al., THE RELATION BETWEEN EVENT-RELATED BRAIN POTENTIAL, HEART-RATE, AND BLOOD-PRESSURE RESPONSES IN AN S-1-S-2 PARADIGM, Biological psychology, 39(2-3), 1995, pp. 81-102
Event-related brain potential (ERP), heart rate (HR), and blood pressu
re (BP) responses were examined during the 6 s foreperiod of a choice-
reaction task. Low and high trait-anxious males were required to make
same/different judgements based on the similarity of two successively
presented visual patterns. The pitch of a warning tone, presented at t
he beginning of the foreperiod, indicated whether speed or accuracy wa
s to be emphasized on that trial. In different conditions, subjects re
ceived either a monetary reward or aversive noise, depending on their
performance. Two clusters of parallel variations were observed in the
foreperiod: (1) speed/accuracy instructions affected the amplitude of
the CNV and, in interaction with anxiety group, the initial decreases
in HR and diastolic BP; (2) type of reward, in interaction with speed/
accuracy instructions, affected the amplitude of the P300 and PSW, the
mid-interval HR acceleration, and subsequent increases in diastolic a
nd systolic BP. A correlational analysis showed a close relationship b
etween changes in HR and BP, whereas no relationship was evident betwe
en changes in ERPs and changes in HR and BP.