Browsing by Subject "Psychophysiology"

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    Reaction time, performance and level of physiological arousal
    (1973) Ellis-Smith, Michael John
    30 Male Students were used as subjects in a study to assess the effects of physiological arousal, induced by means of a placebo injection, upon visual reaction· time. Two levels of task difficulty were employed: a two-choice test requiring manual responses and a four-choice test, in which the additional two peripheral stimuli were responded to by foot pedals. Manifest Anxiety scores were used as a means to categorize subjects and allow for individual differences. EEG was monitered as a controlling measure for each subject. Pulse rates, palmar sweat index and blood pressures were used as measures of physiological arousal. Results were interpreted in terms of the YerkesDodson principle.
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    Open Access
    The Psychophysiological Regulation of Pacing Behaviour and Performance Fatigability During Long-Distance Running with Locomotor Muscle Fatigue and Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Highly Trained Runners
    (Springer International Publishing, 2018-07-10) Venhorst, Andreas; Micklewright, Dominic P; Noakes, Timothy D
    Background Locomotor muscle fatigue (LMMF) and exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) are common conditions experienced during long-distance running due to the pooled effect of mechanical and metabolic strain on the locomotor muscles. However, little is known about the instant effects of combined LMMF and EIMD on pacing behaviour and performance during the decisive final stages of ‘real-world’ long-distance running events. Methods Twenty-two highly trained runners (11 females) completed two maximal self-paced 20-km treadmill time trials in a counterbalanced crossover design: (A) in a tapered condition and (B) with LMMF and EIMD. Indicators of muscle damage, muscle metabolic strain, and endocrinological stress were assessed to investigate the physiological effects, and a three-dimensional framework of perceived fatigability was applied to investigate the perceptual effects of running with LMMF and EIMD on performance fatigability. Results LMMF and EIMD caused restrictions in work capacity and medium increases in blood leucocyte and neutrophil count, interleukin-6, and cortisol concentrations, collectively constituting a physiological milieu likely not conducive to high performance. LMMF and EIMD further caused large increases in perceived physical strain and large decreases in valence as well as large increases and decreases in action crisis and flow state, respectively. Conclusions Under the constraint of amplified physical duress, findings are suggestive of heuristic and rational antecedents in the goal disengagement process. Dynamic changes in physiological and perceptual effects of LMMF and EIMD are hypothesised to underpin the observed alterations in pacing behaviour and performance fatigability during long-distance running. The applied three-dimensional framework provides a more comprehensive understanding of strain-perception-thinking-action coupling in centrally regulated and goal-directed exercise behaviour.