Heart-Rate Changes during Covert Rehearsal and Response Execution 1

Abstract

The phasic cardiac responses and reaction times (RT) of 27 normal adult males were examined during a fixed-foreperiod RT task involving three levels of difficulty of rehearsal, with subject instructed to respond to the reaction signal following one of three delay periods. The results indicated accelerative heart-rate changes corresponding to the requirements of the rehearsal task, regardless of the timing of the motor response. The magnitude of the decelerative component appeared to be primarily dependent on the stimulus detection and requirements of the response decision signalled by the stimuli. Preparation to make a motor response per se did not influence heart-rate deceleration significantly. Potential applications of the heart-rate measure as an independent physiological index of activities related to the processes of memory and attention were suggested.

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