title: Classical conditioning of autonomic responses in alert and drowsy subjects.
abstract: The primary purpose of this experiment was to study classically conditioned autonomic responses of alert versus drowsy subjects. Sixty-nine subjects in conditioning and pseudo-conditioning groups were subdivided into alert and drowsy groups on the basis of EEG recordings during conditioning trials, giving a total of four groups: conditioning-alert, conditioning-drowsy, pseudoconditioning-alert and pseudoconditioning-drowsy. Using the latency criterion to define responses, significant conditioning occurred only in the conditioning-alert group for the following measures: skin resistance anticipatory and UCS-omission responses, and finger plethysmograph anticipatory response. Both conditioning groups showed evidence of conditioned UCS-omission plethysmograph responses. Discussion centered primarily on (1) the implications of the results on the question of the feasibility of learning during sleep; and (2) the importance of including EEG recordings in studies of classically conditioned autonomic responses. The relationship between the various responses was also evaluated.
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004597:Electroshock; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007257:Information Theory; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D011674:Pulse; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*