Electrodermol and Cardiovascular Responses in Nonreaders

Abstract

Autonomic response patterns of 20 male nonreaders, ranging in age from 7 years 11 months to 11 years 4 months, were compared with those of 20 matched controls. Analyses were made of the onset orienting response, the offset orienting response and anticipatory response as measured for heart rate, finger pulse and electrodermal pheonomena (skin potential and skin resistance). Nonreaders had lower mean skin conductance levels across trials, greater amplitude of skin resistance response to a novel stimulus (75 decibel tone), fewer electrodermal offset responses, fewer negative and diphasic skin potential responses, fewer electrodermal and heart rate anticipatory responses, slower motor reaction times, and a higher degree of sinus arrhythmia. All these differences between the groups were statistically significant. Habituation of the electrodermal, finger pulse, and heart rate onset responses did not differ, and no difference was found between groups as to the magnitude or shape of the heart rate onset response. Both groups showed decreasing skin conductance levels with increasing heart rate levels over trials. Data suggest nonreaders were physiologically less mature, unable to maintain a constant attentional level, and slower in “simple” learning than their matched controls.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bernstein, A. S. : To what does the orienting response respond? Psychophysiology, 1969, 6, 3, 338–350.

Boydstun, J. A. et al. : Physiologic and motor conditioning and generalization in children with minimal brain dysfunction. Conditional Reflex, 1968, 3, 2, 81–104.

Critchley, M. : Developmental Dyslexic. London: Heinmann, 1964.

Dureman, I. , and Palshammar, A. : Differences in tracking skill and psychophysiological activation dynamics in children high and low in persistence in schoolwork. Psychophysiology, 1970, 7, 1, 95–102.

Dykman, R. A. et al. : Children with learning disabilities: Conditioning, differentiation, and the effect of distraction. Amer. J. Orthopsychiatry, 1970, 40, 5, 766–782.

Hunter, E. J. , and Johnson, L. C. : Developmental and psychological differences between readers and nonreaders. J. Learning Disabil., 1971, 4, 10, 572–577.

Johnson, D. J. , and Myklebust, H. R. : Learning Disabilities: Educational Principles and Practices. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1967.

Johnson, L. C. : Some attributes of spontaneous autonomic activity. J. Comp. and Physiol. Psychology, 1963, 56, 415–422.

Keefe, F. B. , and Johnson, L. C. : Cardiovascular responses to auditory stimuli. Psychonomic Science. 1970, 19, 6, 335–337.

10.

Keefe, F. B. , Johnson, L. C. , and Hunter, E. J. : EEC and autonomic response pattern during waking and sleep. Psychophysiology, 1971, 8, 2, 198–212.

11.

Kinsbourne, M. : The analysis of learning deficit with special reference to selective attention. In: D. Bakker (Ed.), Reading Retardation. Rotterdam: Univ. Press, in press.

12.

Lykken, D. T. , Miller, R. D. , and Strahan, R. F. : Some properties of skin conductance and potential. Psychophysiology, 1968, 5, 253–268.

13.

Money, J. (Ed.): The Disabled Reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1966.

14.

Shmavonian, B. M. , Miller, L. H. , and Cohen, S. I. : Differences among age and sex groups in electrodermal conditioning. Psychophysiology, 1968, 5, 2, 119–131.

15.

Sokolov, E. N. : Neuronal models and the orienting reflex. In: M. Brazier (Ed.), The Central Nervous System and Behavior. New York: J. Macy, 1960.

16.

Stern, J. A. : Toward a developmental psychophysiology: My look into the crystal ball. Psychophysiology, 1968, 4, 1, 403–420.

17.

Stern, J. A. , Stewart, M. A. , and Winokur, G. : An investigation of some relationships between various measures of galvanic skin response. J. Psychosom. Research, 1961, 5, 215–223.

18.

Thetford, P. E. , Klemme, M. E. , and Spohn, H. E. : Skin potential, heart rate, and the span of immediate memory. Psychophysiology, 1968, 5, 2, 166–177.

19.

Uno, T. , and Grings, W. W. : Autonomic components of orienting behavior. Psychophysiology, 1965, 1, 311–321.

20.

Wilcott, R. C. , Darrow, C. W. , and Siegel, A. : Uniphasic and diphasic wave forms of the skin potential response. J. Comp. and Physiol. Psychology, 1957, 50, 3, 217–219.