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This study presents a dynamic systems model that suggests that social behavior emerges from the self-organization of cognition-emotion relationships and becomes stable through a process of positive feedback and coupling of components over time. Five 10- to 12-year-old children identified as anxious in evaluative situations by their teacher were paired with a non-anxious friend for purposes of the study. Latency to respond and heart rate were measured continuously as the anxious children were engaged in a computer task that required them to detect whether a pattern was repeated. The results showed evidence of synchronous and discontinuous changes, including changes in variability in the two variables. The first apparent shift for three of the five children was synchronous. Following the initial shift, it appeared that the interaction between cognitive and emotional variables became more complex, at times synchronous, at times loosely coupled, and at times uncoupled. (MDM)

This paper reports on three studies within a 6-year longitudinal study which explored the use of Piagetian sensori-motor substages as a curriculum base for individuals with profound mental retardation (MR). In the first study, a simple observational inventory, the Cognitive Marker Natural Observational Tool (CM-NOT), was developed and evaluated with 20 caregivers, most with little formal education, who evaluated the cognitive skills and secondary processing differences in 38 individuals with profound MR. Caregivers were relatively successful in using the measure, as demonstrated by 86 percent agreement with earlier clinical assessments of the same individuals. The use of electroencephalographic (EEG) reports to analyze behavioral and language differences was the focus of the second study. Participants (n=31) with profound MR were assessed by caregivers using the CM-NOT and the results were compared with EEG reports. Areas of seizure activity matched predicted behavioral/language dysfunction 82 percent of the time. The third study showed that nine out of ten individuals with profound MR demonstrated an increase in pulse rate and behavior when in a highly stimulated environment. The report includes a chart of cognitive milestones for infants, illustrations of regions of the human brain and their functions, and a sample CM-NOT test form. (Contains 21 references.) (CR)

The purpose of this study was to characterize the hemodynamic responses during recovery from moderate intensity exercise in young Black normotensive males. Nineteen normotensive men (age 24-26 years) walked continuously on a treadmill for 40 minutes at 50-60 percent heart rate reserve. Following exercise, blood pressure (by auscultation) and hemodynamic variables (impedance cardiography) were monitored for 2 hours in a quiet room with subjects in a seated posture. During the initial 40 minutes of recovery, cardiac output was significantly greater than the pre-exercise baseline. This was mediated by heart rate, which was elevated above the pre-exercise baseline for 75 minutes. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was reduced from 30 minutes to 2 hours post-exercise, compared to the pre-exercise baseline. Total peripheral resistance was depressed for 60 minutes compared to the pre-exercise baseline, but was fully recovered by 2 hours. It was concluded that in this group of young Black normotensive males, moderate intensity aerobic exercise led to a prolonged reduction in SBP through relative changes in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. These observations have not been consistently observed by other investigators in normotensive white males under similar experimental conditions. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/ND)

This study investigated toddlers' reactions to morally related events to determine whether age was a factor in emotional reaction, whether the middle of the second year was a salient time for the emergence of emotional reactions to such events, and whether heart rate change could be used as a new measure of moral responsivity. While their heart rate was being monitored by an electrocardiograph machine, 51 toddlers aged 14 to 21 months were presented with three kinds of morally related events: (1) a prohibition to touch a certain object; (2) a distress cry from the experimenter who pretended to lose something important; and (3) a request to violate a standard, such as a request to spill juice on the floor. Toddlers' emotional responsivity to these events was measured by their heart rate changes, facial expressions, and latency to touch an object presented after the prohibited object. Although no clear relationship between heart rate and other measures of emotional responsivity and no clear age trends were found, those toddlers whose heart rates accelerated after the prohibition were less likely than other toddlers to touch the object that was presented after the prohibited object. Negative affect after the prohibition was expressed in the older age groups significantly more frequently than in the younger groups. (MDM)

Vagal tone, a measure of the neural modulation of heart rate, has been associated with greater emotional expressiveness during infancy, but with a decrease in facial expressivity in preschool children. This study examined the relationship between vagal tone and the emotion regulation abilities of preschool girls and boys. The study population included 25 girls and 29 boys with a mean age of 67 months. Three minutes of resting cardiac activity was obtained while children listened to an emotionally neutral story, and vagal tone was computed from a measure of cardiac interbeat interval. Spontaneous facial expressions were recorded as the children watched a set of emotion-eliciting films. In general, children with high vagal tone displayed fewer facial expressions while watching the films than children with low vagal tone. Children with high vagal tone exhibited fewer happy expressions and fear expressions than children with low vagal tone. Gender differences were also identified. Girls were more facially expressive and tended to show more fear expressions than boys. Girls with high vagal tone displayed fewer anger facial expressions than girls with low vagal tone, while boys with high vagal tone exhibited somewhat more anger expressions than boys with low vagal tone. Results support the hypothesized relationship between vagal tone and emotion regulation abilities. (AC)

This study examined physiological and behavioral stress reactivity in perinates in order to determine whether sex differences exist before extensive socialization. Fetal plasma cortisol response to the stress of labor and delivery, and neonatal heart rate and salivary cortisol response to a Brazelton Neonatal Assessment (NBAS), were measured. Male salivary cortisol was significantly higher at 10, 11, and 15 minutes post-NBAS than was female salivary cortisol. Female post-NBAS heart rate was higher than male heart rate, but the percentage change from baseline was not significant. The range of state cluster scores was higher in males, while motor performance was higher in females. (BC)

This exploratory study examined children's sense of control as a cognitive and perceptual context for responding to the expression of interadult anger. Children's cardiovascular, electrodermal, and self-reported emotional responses to the angry interaction of adults were measured. Perceptions of control were manipulated in two ways: by giving children the option of terminating an angry interaction by pushing an escape button and by describing an intervention strategy for angry people to use. Participants were 43 preschool children and their mothers. Findings revealed that differences in perceived control were related to differences in children's cardiovascular, electrodermal, and self-reported emotional responses to interadult anger and resolution. The introduction of control may have increased distress in children. It is also possible that giving children a sense of control aroused them and that not giving children control increased a sense of helplessness about the situation. It is pointed out that given the relatively small changes observed in heart rate and skin conductance response and level, the clinical significance of the findings should be interpreted with caution. Cited are 30 references. (RH)

This study compared cardio-respiratory responses during maximal arm work using a Monarch Model 880 Rehab Trainer to cardio-respiratory responses during maximal leg work on a Monarch Model 850 Bicycle Ergometer. Subjects for the investigation were 17 male university students ranging from 18 to 28 years of age. The specific variables compared included submaximal and maximal heart rate, maximum oxygen consumption, maximum oxygen pulse, pulmonary ventilation, ventilatory equivalent, and mean recovery heart rate. Each subject was tested during arm and bike work. A repeated analysis of variance indicated significantly higher values for maximum oxygen consumption, maximum pulmonary ventilation, maximum oxygen pulse, and maximum heart rate during bicycle ergometry. The ventilatory equivalent was significantly lower during bike work while the mean recovery heart rate during arm work was significantly lower than during bike work. There was no significant difference in submaximal heart rates between the groups. Reasons for the results are discussed. (JD)

A study attempted to determine if diurnal (daily cyclical) variations were present during maximal exercise. The subjects' (30 female undergraduate physical education majors) oxygen consumption and heart rates were monitored while they walked on a treadmill on which the grade was raised every minute. Each subject was tested for maximal oxygen consumption on three different occasions. The times of day for testing periods were between 0800-0830, 1200-1230, and 1600-1630 hours. Data related to physical performances as measured by the total number of seconds subjects walked on the treadmill revealed significant differences between 0800 and 1200 and among 0800, 1200, and 1600. Significant increases in maximal oxygen consumption were noted between 0800 and 1200 and 0800 and 1600. The exact nature of this variation is unknown; however, an increased blood flow to the working muscles can be postulated. The results of this study imply the need for researchers to report the time at which tests for maximal performance are administered. Additionally, when maximal performances are being compared, subjects should be tested at the same time of day to reduce the variability due to diurnal variations. (JMK)

Submaximal and maximal physiological parameters were measured on a progressive treadmill test in 11 Columbia University trackmen trained for various events. All runners were also tested in the 220, 440, 880, one-mile, and two-mile running events. Oxygen uptake was significantly related only to time in the one-mile run. Heart rates (HRs) at each submaximal load on the treadmill were significantly related to time in the one-mile run. For the two-mile run, HR at every submaximal load but one were significantly related to time. In these events, the runners with the lower treadmill submaximal HRs tended to do better. Conversely, in the 220-yard run higher submaximal HR seemed to be associated with lower times. However, the correlation coefficients were generally not quite significant. These data suggest that distance runners are characterized by high parasympathetic tone while sprinters are characterized by greater sympathetic tone. Furthermore, for this sample of subjects submaximal HR was better than maximal oxygen uptake as a predictor of distance running performance. (Author/PD)