Psychology Commons^™

Cardiac Changes During An Attention-Demanding Task In Mentally Retarded Adults, James M. Granfield

Student Work

The relationship between physiological response patterns and intellectual deficiencies was investigated by examining heart rate changes during a sustained attention-demanding task with institutionalized mentally retarded adults classified into three different I.Q. levels. The task consisted of simple motor responses made to a visual display within which was "hidden" the stimulus cue of Santa Claus. The findings indicated that changes in the within-trial heart rate response were significantly different between groups. Consistent with previous research on retarded adolescents, the retarded adults in the present study were characterized by a significant increase in heart rate variability upon stimulus onset. However, the high …