In two experiments, factors known to affect speed of simple reaction time (RT) were varied, and the phasic heart-rate deceleration preceding the reaction signal was measured. Both heart-rate deceleration and RT were affected by incentive, preparatory interval, and mode of presentation (whether predictable or unpredictable) of the preparatory intervals in a series. But the effect of a factor on one could not predict its effect upon the other, and heart-rate deceleration and RT were generally uncorrelated.
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