The psychophysiology of the emotions and personality

According to the need-informational approach the need is specific (essential) force of living organisms, procuring their connections with external environment for self-preservation and self-development, a source of living systems' activity in the surrounding world. Emotion-reflection in human and higher animals' brain of an urgent need and of probability (possibility) of its satisfaction. Emotion in its neurophysiological sense is an active state of a system of specialized brain structures, prompting the subject to change his behaviour so that to maximize or to minimize this state which determines the role of emotions in organization of goal-directed behaviour. Personality is individual unique composition and internal hierarchy of basic (vital, social, ideal) needs of a given human being, including their varieties of preservation and development, "for me" and "for others". The most important personality characteristic is which of those needs and for how long are dominant in the hierarchy of coexisting motives, which need is "supplied" by creative intuition (superconsciousness, according to K. S. Stanislavski?'s terminology).     

The psychophysiology of motor vehicle accident related posttraumatic stress disorder

Heart rate, BP, and electrodermal responses of four individuals with PTSD secondary to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) were measured while they imagined two separate scenes related to their MVA. Results showed reliable HR responses to these images. In addition, SBP and DBP also showed some responsivity to the images while skin resistance level changed reliably in only 2 of 4 subjects. Psychophysiological measurement could play a role in the assessment and treatment of MVA-related PTSD.     

New directions in applied psychophysiology

This paper is based on the Presidential Address given at the AAPB meeting in Dallas, Texas, March, 1991.     

An introduction to the psychophysiology of breathing

Breathing can be viewed as an independent variable which affects emotion, cognition, and behavior as well as a dependent variable which reflects changes in emotion, cognition, and behavior. This bidirectional interaction is basic to an appreciation of the significance of breathing in terms of its relevance in research and application. The underlying premise of the present article is that since breathing is a behavior that is under voluntary as well as reflexive control, it can be modified according to the principles of both instrumental training (operant conditioning) and Pavlovian (classical) conditioning. The implications of this premise are relevant to theory, diagnosis, and treatment of stress and anxiety-related disorders (e.g., panic disorder, phobias, test anxiety, occupational strain, and related psychosomatic disorders), and to basic and applied research in the psychophysiology of breathing.     

Some examples of psychophysiology and the unconscious

Different sources of the unconscious are discussed and illustrated, namely, failure to have learned an appropriate perception, repression motivated by an aversive emotion and reinforced by the reduction produced in it when the person stops the thoughts or other cue-producing responses eliciting that emotion, an interference with thoughts or perceptions by a distraction or stimulus overload, and failure to perceive a correct cause-and-effect relationship. The ways in which each of these forms of unconsciousness can reduce the adaptiveness of behavior are described and illustrated as well as how psychophysiological recording can facilitate therapy to improve consciousness and thus voluntary control and behavior that is more intelligent and adaptive.     

Biofeedback and applied psychophysiology at the crossroads

Biofeedback and applied psychophysiology, as tools, as objects of scientific inquiry, and as clinical interventions, have progressed from speculative experiment to data-based research, from trial clinical intervention to efficacy studies and accountability. These are multidisciplinary approaches, crossing the boundary between traditional professions such as medicine, psychology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other health care related fields. Along the way we as an Association, our members both scientists and practitioners, have encountered the many hurdles and stumbling blocks that stand in the way of developing new technologies. How we deal with these obstacles shapes us as a group and shapes the perceptions of others who view us. An attempt will be made to place the current development of the field within the context of the rapidly changing health care environment, and to address the challenges, and sometimes conflicting demands, of experimental science and clinical practice.     

Future perspectives for applied psychophysiology and biofeedback

Current circumstances in both the health science and health care delivery systems in our country have created serious problems for health professionals, particularly for those of us in the relatively young field of biofeedback. At the same time, recent and emerging developments in the neurosciences and in technologies for biological measurement offer exciting new opportunities for the applied psychophysiology upon which our field is based. Examples of these developments include the elucidation of potential neurophysiological mechanisms that may mediate the psychophysiology of immune system responses, and technical achievements leading to on-line, noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging of brain neurochemistry. The issue of perspective is raised in relation to our response to both the challenge and the opportunities of our times.     

Some examples of psychophysiology and the unconscious.

Different sources of the unconscious are discussed and illustrated, namely, failure to have learned an appropriate perception, repression motivated by an aversive emotion and reinforced by the reduction produced in it when the person stops the thoughts or other cue-producing responses eliciting that emotion, an interference with thoughts or perceptions by a distraction or stimulus overload, and failure to perceive a correct cause-and-effect relationship. The ways in which each of these forms of unconsciousness can reduce the adaptiveness of behavior are described and illustrated as well as how psychophysiological recording can facilitate therapy to improve consciousness and thus voluntary control and behavior that is more intelligent and adaptive.     

Future perspectives for applied psychophysiology and biofeedback

Current circumstances in both the health science and health care delivery systems in our country have created serious problems for health professionals, particularly for those of us in the relatively young field of biofeedback. At the same time, recent and emerging developments in the neurosciences and in technologies for biological measurement offer exciting new opportunities for the applied psychophysiology upon which our field is based. Examples of these developments include the elucidation of potential neurophysiological mechanisms that may mediate the psychophysiology of immune system responses, and technical achievements leading to on-line, noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging of brain neurochemistry. The issue of perspective is raised in relation to our response to both the challenge and the opportunities of our times.This was the presidential address delivered to the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, San Diego, March 19, 1989. The work was supported by the Veterans Administration.     

Pavlov and psychophysiology in the 21st century]

Psychophysiology, physiological psychology (Sechenov), human physiology of higher nervous activity (Pavlov) is an interdisciplinary field, which appeared at the interface between psychology and neurosciences for exploration of the brain mechanisms of mental functions. The fundamental complementation of subjective and objective, psychological and neurobiological approaches as the facets of investigation of the basically whole process made it possible to fill with a specific content and clearly differentiate the forms of human psyche such as emotion, consciousness, personality, character, and creativity.