Birbaumer N, Lang P J, Cook E, Elbert T, Lutzenberger W, Rockstroh B
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology, University Park.
Int J Neurosci. 1988 Mar;39(1-2):101-16. doi: 10.3109/00207458808985696.
On the basis of Lang's (1979) theory of emotional imagery three experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between slow cortical potentials (SP) and emotional imagery. According to the assumptions of Lang's theory and our model (Rockstroh et al., 1982) of SP-function imagery ability should be related to a person's capacity to generate and suppress preparatory activity in cortical networks "on demand." In order to test this hypothesis subjects in Experiment I were trained to regulate right- versus left-hemispheric SP-differentiation within an instrumental learning paradigm. Thirty-four subjects were reinforced for achieving maximal SP-differences between electrode locations C3-C4 over a 6 s interval across 120 trials. Success in the SP-regulation task correlated significantly (r = .37) with the capacity for vivid imagery as measured with the Questionnaire for Mental Imagery (QMI). In Experiment II instructions to imagine right- versus left-hand movements were introduced successively over 5 sessions of SP-self-regulation. Imagery clearly modified right- versus left-hand EMG-differentiation but had no influence on cortical SP-differentiation. Experiment III tested the influence of already achieved SP-regulation at the vertex on the perceived vividness of emotional images introduced after the SP-biofeedback training. Again, clear effects of imagery content on autonomic variables (HR, SCR) were found. However, SP-amplitude and SP-polarity had no effect on perceived vividness, arousal or emotional content. It may be concluded from the results of Experiment II and III that SPs either are not the crucial parameter to represent the cortical efferent outflow component of imagery, or that the dual task of SP-self-regulation and imagery prevented covariations to show up. Experiment I, on the other hand, points toward a positive relation of imagery-ability as a trait-variable and brain-self-regulation abilities.
基于朗（1979年）的情绪意象理论，进行了三项实验来研究慢皮层电位（SP）与情绪意象之间的关系。根据朗的理论假设以及我们关于SP功能的模型（罗克斯特罗等人，1982年），意象能力应与一个人“按需”在皮层网络中产生和抑制准备活动的能力相关。为了验证这一假设，在实验一中，受试者在工具性学习范式下接受训练，以调节右半球与左半球的SP分化。34名受试者在120次试验中的6秒间隔内，因在电极位置C3 - C4之间实现最大SP差异而得到强化。SP调节任务的成功与用心理意象问卷（QMI）测量的生动意象能力显著相关（r = 0.37）。在实验二中，在5次SP自我调节过程中，依次引入想象右手与左手运动的指令。意象明显改变了右手与左手的肌电图分化，但对皮层SP分化没有影响。实验三测试了在头顶已实现的SP调节对SP生物反馈训练后引入的情绪意象的感知生动性的影响。同样，发现意象内容对自主变量（心率、皮肤电反应）有明显影响。然而，SP振幅和SP极性对感知生动性、唤醒或情绪内容没有影响。从实验二和实验三的结果可以得出结论，要么SP不是代表意象皮层传出流出成分的关键参数，要么SP自我调节和意象的双重任务阻止了协变的出现。另一方面，实验一表明意象能力作为一种特质变量与大脑自我调节能力呈正相关。
