Zahn T P, Little B C, Wender P H
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1978 Mar;6(1):135-47. doi: 10.1007/BF00915789.
This study attempted to replicate and extend previous findings on autonomic arousal and responsivity in children with diagnoses of minimal brain dysfunction (MBD). Pupil size, heart rate, skin conductance, and skin temperature were recorded from 32 MBD and 45 control children during a session that included presentation of visual stimuli, simple reaction time (RT), a cold pressor procedure, and rest periods. The MBD children were tested both off and on clinical dosages of stimulant drugs in a crossover design. Evidence of higher than normal arousal levels in the unmedicated MBD Ss was obtained from resting skin conductance and, more tenuously, from pupil size. Lower phasic responsivity in the MBD children was evidenced by slower RT, less cardiac deceleration to both light and RT stimuli, and smaller pupil dilation to the RT stimuli. Spontaneous pupillary constrictions during "rest" periods, presumably indicating drowsiness, were observed about equally in MBD and control children. Stimulant drugs raised arousal levels but did not reverse the responsivity deficits. The lower phasic reactivity in the MBD group and the effects of stimulant drugs on arousal indices confirm earlier reports. The finding of higher arousal in drug-free MBD children is incompatible with the low arousal hypothesis of MBD but is consistent with a previous report of the effects of a stimulating environment on these children.
本研究试图重复并扩展先前关于被诊断为轻微脑功能障碍（MBD）儿童的自主神经唤醒和反应性的研究结果。在一个包含视觉刺激呈现、简单反应时（RT）、冷加压程序和休息期的过程中，记录了32名MBD儿童和45名对照儿童的瞳孔大小、心率、皮肤电导率和皮肤温度。MBD儿童在交叉设计中分别在停用和使用临床剂量的兴奋剂药物时接受测试。从未用药的MBD受试者中高于正常唤醒水平的证据来自静息皮肤电导率，以及不太明显的来自瞳孔大小。MBD儿童较低的相位反应性表现为反应时较慢、对光和反应时刺激的心脏减速较小以及对反应时刺激的瞳孔扩张较小。在“休息”期观察到的自发瞳孔收缩，大概表明困倦，在MBD儿童和对照儿童中大致相同。兴奋剂药物提高了唤醒水平，但并未逆转反应性缺陷。MBD组较低的相位反应性以及兴奋剂药物对唤醒指标的影响证实了早期的报告。未使用药物的MBD儿童中较高唤醒水平的发现与MBD的低唤醒假说不一致，但与先前关于刺激环境对这些儿童影响的报告一致。
