The Effects of Autonomic Self-Regulation Procedures on Tactile Thresholds

Abstract

Although patients and clinicians have often noted that autonomic self-regulation learning results in an increased awareness of internal states, it is unclear how sensory thresholds change during this process. To begin to study this, three single subject experiments were conducted in which participants received EMG and thermal biofeedback while practicing various cognitive relaxation/self-regulation strategies. Tactile threshold levels were assessed before and during the training sessions. The results indicate that all three participants consistently became more sensitive to tactile stimuli when practicing relaxation/self-regulation strategies. The results do not indicate whether this threshold alteration is due to a cognitive criteria shift (i.e., shifting one's psychological set) and/or an actual lowering of tactile thresholds (d').