Live and taped relaxation instructions: Effects of procedural variables

Two experiments were designed to assess the effects of relaxation training, therapist presence or absence, live versus taped voice, and response-contingent versus noncontingent instructional progress on measures of subjective relaxation and frontal EMG. In the first experiment, it was found that subjects receiving taped instructions showed greater within-session subjective relaxation and lowering of within-session frontal EMG than subjects in a control condition. No differential training effects of therapist presence or absence was noted. In a second experiment, no significant differences in relaxation measures were found between subjects receiving live, response-contingent instructions and subjects receiving live, noncontingent instructions. Moreover, no meaningful differences in relaxation measures were found between subjects receiving live and taped instructions.This research is based on a dissertation by the first author, under the direction of the second author. The authors thank James E. Hastings and the dissertation committee, Jeffrey M. Lohr, Dennis Bonge, and Honore M. Hughes, for their assistance and helpful comments. This research was supported by the Marie Wilson Howells Research Fund.     

Effects of Relaxation Training on Glucose Tolerance and Diabetic Control in Type II Diabetes

The present study examined the effects of progressive relaxation training and EMG biofeedback on acute glucose disposal in diabetic subjects, as measured by glucose tolerance and three other measures of diabetic metabolic control. Twenty subjects with non-insulin-using Type II diabetes took part in progressive relaxation training and EMG biofeedback in a pre-post treatment versus wait-list experimental design. Treatment effects were assessed on glucose tolerance along with three measures of diabetic control: fasting blood glucose, two-hour postprandial blood glucose, and fructosamine. Stress reduction and relaxation was assessed with two physiological measures and two subjective questionnaires. The training program produced significant reductions in stress, as measured by State Anxiety, and significant changes in physiological measures of muscle activity and skin conductance compared to the control condition. However, no changes were found in glucose tolerance (while practicing relaxation) nor in any of the three measures of general diabetic metabolic control. The major implication of this study is that relaxation training does not appear to directly improve diabetic control in mildly stressed non-insulin-using Type II diabetic patients.     

Live and taped relaxation instructions: effects of procedural variables

Two experiments were designed to assess the effects of relaxation training, therapist presence or absence, live versus taped voice, and response-contingent versus noncontingent instructional progress on measures of subjective relaxation and frontal EMG. In the first experiment, it was found that subjects receiving taped instructions showed greater within-session subjective relaxation and lowering of within-session frontal EMG than subjects in a control condition. No differential training effects of therapist presence or absence was noted. In a second experiment, no significant differences in relaxation measures were found between subjects receiving live, response-contingent instructions and subjects receiving live, noncontingent instructions. Moreover, no meaningful differences in relaxation measures were found between subjects receiving live and taped instructions.     

Handwarming and relaxation in temperature feedback: Positive placebo effects

Sixteen males and females were randomly assigned to either temperature feedback groups warm-relax (WR) or cool-relax (CR) to determine how successful hand-warming and -cooling alters the subjective report of relaxation. After eight 1/2-hour sessions the WR and CR demonstrated a significant difference in temperature change, but there were no significanct main effects in reported subjective relaxation. The reported feelings of relaxation were negatively correlated to the directionality of temperature change and were primarily attributed to nonspecific expectancies.Darneal Meyers was instrumental in the data collection. Thanks to Robert Grove for his editorial suggestions.     

Pre-service Teachers and Stress During Microteaching: An Experimental Investigation of the Effectiveness of Relaxation Training with Biofeedback on Psychological and Physiological Indices of Stress

Pre-service teacher stress is an understudied research area, with the majority of research focusing on subjective reports of stress. The present study sought to examine the influence of stress-reduction techniques on both subjective and objective indicators of stress during microteaching in preservice teachers. A sample of 44 preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups; biofeedback, relaxation, or control. Participants in the biofeedback group received relaxation-assisted biofeedback training designed to teach participants the physiological signs of the stress response using HeartMath monitor, along with the HeartMath Quick Coherence® technique. Those in the relaxation group were given training in the HeartMath Quick Coherence relaxation technique, with no biofeedback training. Finally, those in the control group did not receive any relaxation or biofeedback training. Using a repeated-measures design, both psychological and physiological indices of stress were measured before and after students engaged in microteaching approaches. Examination of the psychological ratings identified that feelings of calm increased across time; this showed that participants were more comfortable with the microteaching situation with repeated practice. However, none of the physiological interventions were effective in reducing stress. The present study highlights practice as a useful strategy to reduce stress in microteaching situations and points to the importance of employing evidence-based interventions when attempting to reduce stress.     

A multiple-baseline evaluation of the treatment of subjective tinnitus with relaxation training and biofeedback

Six subjects with subjective tinnitus received training in relaxation techniques and EMG and thermal biofeedback in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design. Daily tinnitus disturbance and sleep disturbance diaries were kept throughout. Audiological and psychological evaluations were made at various treatment phases. At posttreatment assessment, subjects also completed global ratings of their perceived improvement in ability to cope with the tinnitus, stress caused by the tinnitus, and severity of the tinnitus, as well as their overall satisfaction with the treatment. Ratings on the global scales were generally very positive. By way of contrast, the daily diary results revealed little if any treatment effect. The implications of these disparate results are discussed.     

A multiple-baseline evaluation of the treatment of subjective tinnitus with relaxation training and biofeedback

Six subjects with subjective tinnitus received training in relaxation techniques and EMG and thermal biofeedback in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design. Daily tinnitus disturbance and sleep disturbance diaries were kept throughout. Audiological and psychological evaluations were made at various treatment phases. At posttreatment assessment, subjects also completed global ratings of their perceived improvement in ability to cope with the tinnitus, stress caused by the tinnitus, and severity of the tinnitus, as well as their overall satisfaction with the treatment. Ratings on the global scales were generally very positive. By way of contrast, the daily diary results revealed little if any treatment effect. The implications of these disparate results are discussed.     

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder with relaxation and biofeedback training

This study investigated the use of biofeedback and relaxation training on six patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) referred routinely for biofeedback treatment in a VA medical center. Subjects received between 8 and 14 sessions of training overall, as well as concurrent individual and group therapy. Measures used to assess treatment outcome include pre- and posttreatment MMPI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scores, as well as electromyographic and subjective measures of tension within each session. Additionally, an overall posttreatment clinical rating of change and 1- to 2-year follow-up data were obtained for each subject. Slight to marked improvements were demonstrated for each subject, as evidenced by improvements on the State Anxiety Inventory Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, a decrease in overall MMPI scores, and lowered EMG and subjective tension ratings for all participants. Possible alternative explanations for improvement (situational demand characteristics, regression toward the mean, lack of independent subject evaluation) are described, along with other study limitations. This preliminary investigation suggests that the use of relaxation training and biofeedback may be a particularly useful component within a comprehensive treatment program for this disorder.     

Cognitive and physiologic responses to EMG biofeedback and three types of pseudofeedback during a muscular relaxation task

Four groups of normal human subjects were tested for their ability to reduce frontal muscle tension levels during presentation of veridical auditory biofeedback or auditory pseudofeedback. A double-blind methodology was used. Three groups of subjects assigned to the pseudofeedback conditions received a feedback signal that was not contingent on EMG activity but that followed one of three different patterns. One group received a truly random signal, the second received a signal that gradually increased in frequency (apparent failure), and the third received a signal that gradually decreased in frequency (apparent success). Dependent measures included both physiologic (frontal and neck EMG) and subjective reactions to the relaxation task. The different patterns of pseudofeedback did produce reliably different subjective responses, suggesting that the manipulations succeeded in producing unequal nonspecific effects that were unrelated to the feedback contingency specifically. However, these differential subjective effects were not strongly reflected in the physiologic responses since the differences in EMG levels among the four groups did not differ significantly at any stage of training. An analysis of the integrity of the double-blind procedure showed that although experimenters were effectively kept blind to group assignment, subjects' responding suggested a response bias as well as the possibility that the double-blind was breached. The utility of the double-blind methodology in biofeedback experiments is discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder with relaxation and biofeedback training

This study investigated the use of biofeedback and relaxation training on six patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) referred routinely for biofeedback treatment in a VA medical center. Subjects received between 8 and 14 sessions of training overall, as well as concurrent individual and group therapy. Measures used to assess treatment outcome include pre- and posttreatment MMPI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scores, as well as electromyographic and subjective measures of tension within each session. Additionally, an overall posttreatment clinical rating of change and 1- to 2-year follow-up data were obtained for each subject. Slight to marked improvements were demonstrated for each subject, as evidenced by improvements on the State Anxiety Inventory Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, a decrease in overall MMPI scores, and lowered EMG and subjective tension ratings for all participants. Possible alternative explanations for improvement (situational demand characteristics, regression toward the mean, lack of independent subject evaluation) are described, along with other study limitations. This preliminary investigation suggests that the use of relaxation training and biofeedback may be a particularly useful component within a comprehensive treatment program for this disorder.     

Efficacy of Biofeedback-Based Treatments for Temporomandibular Disorders

Bibliographic searches identified 14 controlled and uncontrolled outcome evaluations of biofeedback-based treatments for temporomandibular disorders published since 1978. This literature includes two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of each of three types of biofeedback treatment: (1) surface electromyographic (SEMG) training of the masticatory muscles, (2) SEMG training combined with adjunctive cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, and (3) biofeedback-assisted relaxation training (BART). A detailed review of these six RCTs, supplemented with information from non-RCT findings, was conducted to determine the extent to which each type of intervention met treatment efficacy criteria promulgated by the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). We conclude that SEMG training with adjunctive CBT is an efficacious treatment for temporomandibular disorders and that both SEMG training as the sole intervention and BART are probably efficacious treatments. We discuss guidelines for designing and reporting research in this area and suggest possible directions for future studies.     

Ocular and stabilization feedback: an evaluation of two EMG biofeedback control procedures

This study evaluated the adequacy of two novel EMG biofeedback control procedures. During a single training session, 36 subjects received either contingent EMG feedback from the frontal region (Veridical), contingent feedback for vertical eye movements (Ocular), or a feedback condition where the signal increased with deviations in any direction from baseline EMG levels (Stabilization). The results supported the use of Ocular but not Stabilization feedback as a control procedure in frontalis EMG biofeedback studies. Ocular feedback did not produce reductions in frontalis EMG but did lead to changes in subjective measures of nonspecific treatment effects that were at least comparable to those obtained with Veridical feedback. Stabilization subjects produced small but significant reductions in EMG, felt the most bored as a result of their feedback training, and were the most likely to rate themselves as having received false feedback. The implications of attribution theory and multiprocess relaxation theory for the evaluation of nonspecific treatment effects are discussed.     

The acute effects of twenty-four hours of sleep loss on the performance of national-caliber male collegiate weightlifters

Currently, the degree to which sleep loss influences weightlifting performance is unknown. This study compared the effects of 24 hours of sleep loss on weightlifting performance and subjective ratings of psychological states pre-exercise and postexercise in national-caliber male collegiate weightlifters. Nine males performed a maximal weightlifting protocol following 24 hours of sleep loss and a night of normal sleep. The subjects participated in a randomized, counterbalanced design with each sleep condition separated by 7 days. Testosterone and cortisol levels were quantified prior to, immediately after, and 1 hour after the resistance training session. Additionally, profile of mood states and subjective sleepiness were evaluated at the same time points. The resistance training protocol consisted of several sets of snatches, clean and jerks, and front squats. Performance was evaluated as individual exercise volume load, training intensity and overall workout volume load, and training intensity. During each training session the maximum weight lifted for the snatch, clean and jerk, and front squat were noted. No significant differences were found for any of the performance variables. A significant decrease following the sleep condition was noted for cortisol concentration immediately after and 1 hour postexercise. Vigor, fatigue, confusion, total mood disturbance, and sleepiness were all significantly altered by sleep loss. These data suggest that 24 hours of sleep loss has no adverse effects on weightlifting performance. If an athlete is in an acute period of sleep loss, as noticed by negative mood disturbances, it may be more beneficial to focus on the psychological (motivation) rather than the physiological aspect of the sport.     

Feedback delays and relaxation expectancies in EMG biofeedback

The use of noncontingent feedback controls in studies of the efficacy and process of electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback may yield results confounded by differential expectancies for relaxation. Furthermore, the role of expectancies in producing psychological and physical relaxation as well as reducing muscle activity is unclear. This study investigated the effects of feedback delays and induced relaxation expectancies on EMG activity and experienced relaxation. One hundred four non-clinical subjects participated in one auditory frontal EMG biofeedback training session. Subjects were assigned to one of four computerized feedback delay conditions (0.0037, 0.7493, 2.2481, 6.7444 s) and to one of two relaxation expectancy conditions (positive or negative). During 20 minutes of biofeedback training, all groups decreased frontal activity. Feedback delays interacted with training epochs in affecting EMG; the longest delay group reduced frontal activity more slowly than the shortest delay group during training. Positive relaxation expectancies produced greater experienced relaxation than did negative relaxation expectancies. Instrumental and expectancy factors in EMG biofeedback appear to operate independently of each other by reducing physiological activity and producing psychological relaxation respectively.     

Psychophysiological effects of autogenic training and progressive relaxation

Although autogenic training and progressive relaxation are widely used relaxation techniques, little research has been conducted on their comparative effects. Twenty-two normal subjects received five sessions of instruction in either progressive relaxation or autogenic training over a 5-week period. Both types of training, when compared to the control group, significantly decreased SCL-90 scores on four scales: anxiety, depression, number of symptoms, and intensity of symptoms. Also, autogenic training appeared to produce specific effects on self-perception of heaviness and warmth in the limbs and depth of breathing. However, there were no significant differences between groups in pretest versus posttest changes in heart rate or skin conductance. These results are consistent with the results of other recent research on nonanxious individuals in this laboratory.This report is based on a Master of Science thesis at Rutgers University by the senior author. The research was supported in part by a General Research Support Grant from Rutgers Medical School to the junior author. The authors are indebted to Robert Edelberg for his generously supplied psychophysiological help and advice, and to Alan Jusko for his technical help.     

Fuzzy ARTMAP prediction of biological activities for potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors using a small molecular data set

Obtaining satisfactory results with neural networks depends on the availability of large data samples. The use of small training sets generally reduces performance. Most classical Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies for a specific enzyme system have been performed on small data sets. We focus on the neuro-fuzzy prediction of biological activities of HIV-1 protease inhibitory compounds when inferring from small training sets. We propose two computational intelligence prediction techniques which are suitable for small training sets, at the expense of some computational overhead. Both techniques are based on the FAMR model. The FAMR is a Fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) incremental learning system used for classification and probability estimation. During the learning phase, each sample pair is assigned a relevance factor proportional to the importance of that pair. The two proposed algorithms in this paper are: 1) The GA-FAMR algorithm, which is new, consists of two stages: a) During the first stage, we use a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the relevances assigned to the training data. This improves the generalization capability of the FAMR. b) In the second stage, we use the optimized relevances to train the FAMR. 2) The Ordered FAMR is derived from a known algorithm. Instead of optimizing relevances, it optimizes the order of data presentation using the algorithm of Dagher et al. In our experiments, we compare these two algorithms with an algorithm not based on the FAM, the FS-GA-FNN introduced in [4], [5]. We conclude that when inferring from small training sets, both techniques are efficient, in terms of generalization capability and execution time. The computational overhead introduced is compensated by better accuracy. Finally, the proposed techniques are used to predict the biological activities of newly designed potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors.     

Ocular and stabilization feedback: An evaluation of two EMG biofeedback control procedures

This study evaluated the adequacy of two novel EMG biofeedback control procedures. During a single training session, 36 subjects received either (1) contingent EMG feedback from the frontal region (Veridical), (2) contingent feedback for vertical eye movements (Ocular), or (3) a feedback condition where the signal increased with deviations in any direction from baseline EMG levels (Stabilization). The results supported the use of Ocular but not Stabilization feedback as a control procedure in frontalis EMG biofeedback studies. Ocular feedback did not produce reductions in frontalis EMG but did lead to changes in subjective measures of nonspecific treatment effects that were at least comparable to those obtained with Veridical feedback. Stabilization subjects produced small but significant reductions in EMG, felt the most bored as a result of their feedback training, and were the most likely to rate themselves as having received false feedback. The implications of attribution theory and multiprocess relaxation theory for the evaluation of nonspecific treatment effects are discussed.This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AM31500) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Portions of this research were presented at the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, March 1985.     

Improving the objectivity of sustainability indices by a novel approach for combining contrasting effects: Happy Planet Index revisited

Measuring complex and rather intuitive qualities such as sustainability requires combining many different measures together. These measures often quantify contrasting effects. The resulting composite index then also depends not only on the component indices but also on the way that these have been combined together. An example of such a measure is the Happy Planet Index (HPI) that aggregates information on positive qualities like life-expectancy and human well-being with negative ones like ecological footprint to rank countries according to their sustainability. However, since component indices are often mutually correlated and feature quite different distributions of entities ranked, elaborate rules are used in the process of combination. As a result, the resulting composite index may look somewhat contrived and its rankings may depend heavily on subjective parameters in the combination process. We propose a geometrically motivated parameter-free method for combining indices with contrasting effects together. The method is independent of the number of contrasting indices to be combined and eliminates mutual correlation between component indices by using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) analysis. As an example of its use, we revisit the Happy Planet Index and demonstrate the impact of adding new component indices to HPI on ranking nations by their sustainability.     

Reconstructing muscle activation during normal walking: a comparison of symbolic and connectionist machine learning techniques

One symbolic (rule-based inductive learning) and one connectionist (neural network) machine learning technique were used to reconstruct muscle activation patterns from kinematic data measured during normal human walking at several speeds. The activation patterns (or desired outputs) consisted of surface electromyographic (EMG) signals from the semitendinosus and vastus medialis muscles. The inputs consisted of flexion and extension angles measured at the hip and knee of the ipsilateral leg, their first and second derivatives, and bilateral foot contact information. The training set consisted of data from six trials, at two different speeds. The testing set consisted of data from two additional trials (one at each speed), which were not in the training set. It was possible to reconstruct the muscular activation at both speeds using both techniques. Timing of the reconstructed signals was accurate. The integrated value of the activation bursts was less accurate. The neural network gave a continuous output, whereas the rule-based inductive learning rule tree gave a quantised activation level. The advantage of rule-based inductive learning was that the rules used were both explicit and comprehensible, whilst the rules used by the neural network were implicit within its structure and not easily comprehended. The neural network was able to reconstruct the activation patterns of both muscles from one network, whereas two separate rule sets were needed for the rule-based technique. It is concluded that machine learning techniques, in comparison to explicit inverse muscular skeletal models, show good promise in modelling nearly cyclic movements such as locomotion at varying walking speeds. However, they do not provide insight into the biomechanics of the system, because they are not based on the biomechanical structure of the system.     

Feedback delays and relaxation expectancies in EMG biofeedback

The use of noncontingent feedback controls in studies of the efficacy and process of electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback may yield results confounded by differential expectancies for relaxation. Furthermore, the role of expectancies in producing psychological and physical relaxation as well as reducing muscle activity is unclear. This study investigated the effects of feedback delays and induced relaxation expectancies on EMG activity and experienced relaxation. One hundred four non-clinical subjects participated in one auditory frontal EMG biofeedback training session. Subjects were assigned to one of four computerized feedback delay conditions (0.0037, 0.7493, 2.2481, 6.7444 s) and to one of two relaxation expectancy conditions (positive or negative). During 20 minutes of biofeedback training, all groups decreased frontal activity. Feedback delays interacted with training epochs in affecting EMG; the longest delay group reduced frontal activity more slowly than the shortest delay group during training. Positive relaxation expectancies produced greater experienced relaxation than did negative relaxation expectancies. Instrumental and expectancy factors in EMG biofeedback appear to operate independently of each other by reducing physiological activity and producing psychological relaxation respectively.This study was completed by the first author under the direction of the second author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. We gratefully acknowledge the computerization advice and assistance provided by Larry Wheeler, and the assistance in data collection provided by Dawn Dexter and Michael Winstanley.