Appearance of two-level CNV and extrication wave and the explanation of psychological factors of CNV.

ABSTRACT

Three paradigms of CNV were recorded on twelve subjects aged 19 to 23, as follows (1) Usual CNV (U.CNV) warning stimulus--imperative stimulus--motor response. (2) Nonmotor Two-Level CNV (NmTL.CNV) warning stimulus--warning stimulus--weak click (random presence or absence)--discrimination. (3) Nonmotor CNV (Nm.CNV) warning stimulus--weak click (random presence or absence)--discrimination. The CNV rise, level by level, was observed. Analysis of the results of this experiment indicates that the positive wave after discrimination is essentially different from the positive-going wave after the usual CNV motor response. It is a pure, mental-related wave and is related to the extrication from mental load (EML). These phenomena suggest that the psychological factors in CNV are the increase of mental load which is synthetically composed of expectancy, conation, motivation, orientation, attention and arousal, etc., while engaging in an identical task.