title: Response inhibition initiates cardiac deceleration: evidence from a sensory-motor compatibility paradigm.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: van der Molen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Somsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012119:Respiration / Q000502:physiology