Beta oscillations correlate with the probability of perceiving rivalrous visual stimuli.

Under continuous lighting, moving stimuli such as ceiling fans and car wheels can sporadically appear to move in the reverse direction-this phenomenon is known as illusory motion reversal (IMR). We have previously suggested that IMR results from the spurious activation of motion detectors tuned for the opposite direction of motion, leading to a rivalry between two possible motion percepts. To determine if this hypothesis is supported by evidence from electrophysiology, we used EEG to directly compare neural signatures in IMR and binocular rivalry (BR), a well-studied form of rivalry. We find that both IMR and BR show large changes in power in the beta range (14-30 Hz) at the time of a perceptual switch. More importantly, during a stable perception, beta power correlates with the probability of a perception. Specifically, beta power associated with veridical motion perception (experienced the majority of the time) is higher than the power during illusory motion perception (experienced a minority of the time). The BR percepts, each 50% probable, are associated with an intermediate beta amplitude. We propose that the amplitude of synchronized beta activity reflects the size of currently active neural coalitions, with less likely percepts associated with smaller coalitions.

Hostility, emotional expression, and hemodynamic responses to laboratory stressors: reactivity attenuating effects of a tendency to express emotion interpersonally.

The present study examined the interactive effects of hostility and a predisposition towards emotional expression or suppression in interpersonal situations. We also attempted to partially replicate findings from a recent investigation which provided evidence of lower myocardial and greater vascular responses in high-hostile relative to low-hostile individuals. Undergraduate students (n=99) participated in a protocol consisting of rest periods, speech preparation and presentation, a social-evaluative mental arithmetic task, and a stress interview. After classifying participants into high/low hostility by high/low interpersonal emotional expression groups using median-splits, high-hostile individuals showed lower HR and SBP responses to speech preparation and reported greater threat appraisal and negative affect than low-hostile participants. High-hostile interpersonal expressors and male interpersonal expressors displayed lower DBP and TPR reactivity, respectively, than high-hostile or male suppressors. High-hostile expressors also reported lower levels of positive affect than high-hostile suppressors, and expressors reported lower threat appraisals than suppressors, irrespective of hostility. Findings are discussed in terms of an absence of conflict or ambivalence over interpersonal emotional expression for high-hostile expressors and are suggestive of potential health benefits of expressing emotion interpersonally for at-risk groups.

Evidence against the temporal subsampling account of illusory motion reversal.

An illusion of reversed motion may occur sporadically while viewing continuous smooth motion. This has been suggested as evidence of discrete temporal sampling by the visual system in analogy to the sampling that generates the wagon-wheel effect on film (D. Purves, J. A. Paydarfar, & T. J. Andrews, 1996; R. VanRullen, L. Reddy, & C. Koch, 2005). In an alternative theory, the illusion is not the result of discrete sampling but instead of perceptual rivalry between appropriately activated and spuriously activated motion detectors (K. A. Kline, A. O. Holcombe, & D. M. Eagleman, 2004, 2006). Results of the current study demonstrate that illusory reversals of two spatially overlapping and orthogonal motions often occur separately, providing evidence against the possibility that illusory motion reversal (IMR) is caused by temporal sampling within a visual region. Further, we find that IMR occurs with non-uniform and non-periodic stimuli-an observation that is not accounted for by the temporal sampling hypothesis. We propose, that a motion aftereffect is superimposed on the moving stimulus, sporadically allowing motion detectors for the reverse direction to dominate perception.

Behavioral indices of threat and challenge in Hispanic adolescents and hemodynamic responses to a speech stressor.

Behavioral ratings of performance and nervousness during a speech were used to divide participants (n=54) into threat and challenge groups. Comparisons on cardiac output, Heather index, heart rate, vascular resistance, and blood pressure reactivity indicated greater myocardial responses for the challenge group. This study extends the threat-challenge literature by employing behavioral definitions of constructs and examining a Hispanic adolescent sample.

Hemodynamic response patterns: responder type differences in reactivity and recovery.

We examined whether responder type groups reflecting patterns of hemodynamic reactivity might also differ in recovery responses. Cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and Heather index were assessed at rest and during speech and cold pressor tasks in young adults. Participants (n = 152) were classified as myocardial, vascular, or mixed-mild responders based on CO and TPR responses to speech presentation. Vascular responders exhibited slower CO and TPR speech recovery than the myocardial and/or mixed-mild groups. Responder type differences in reactivity showed limited task-generalizability. The sustained vascular response pattern of the vascular group is consistent with that seen in hypertension. In light of associations of heightened TPR with markers of disease risk, this suggests potentially negative health implications for vascular responders.