The effects of caffeine and noise on visual two-pulse discrimination and vigilance.
Item
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Title
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The effects of caffeine and noise on visual two-pulse discrimination and vigilance.
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Identifier
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AAI9020745
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identifier
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9020745
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Creator
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Bienstock, Barbara.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Gerard Bruder
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology | Psychology, Physiological | Psychology, General
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Abstract
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The present study investigated the effects of caffeine and noise on arousal and activation. In double-blind fashion, 12 male college students (18-26 years old) were tested on the effects of three doses of caffeine (0.25 mg/Kg; 2.0 mg/Kg; and 4.0 mg/kg) with and without a white noise background. Three visual tasks were employed: a threshold task, to set sensation level for the main tasks and to check for changes in sensitivity across session and treatment conditions; a two-pulse discrimination task, to test phasic arousal; and a two-pulse vigilance task, to test tonic activation. The light stimulus was presented foveally. The 70 dB SPL(A) white noise was administered via loudspeaker.;Data were analyzed in terms of signal detection theory, which allowed both sensitivity (d'e) and response bias (log beta and arcsin false alarm) measures to be obtained. Rating scale Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves were plotted for the vigilance data. A 3 x 2 x 2 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the vigilance data yielded, for de, a significant decrement in performance over time; a significant interaction for noise and time, and a significant interaction for noise, dose, and time. The noise background reduced the vigilance performance decrement over time and caffeine moderated that effect. There were no significant log beta effects. However, the arcsin false alarms increased significantly with dose, indicating that subjects' decision criteria became laxer with increasing dose. Contrary to expectation, A 3 x 2 ANOVA of the threshold, as well as of the two-pulse discrimination data, yielded no significant effects of noise or caffeine. In conclusion, there was evidence for effects of noise and caffeine on tonic activation, as measured by a vigilance task, but not phasic arousal, as measured by two-pulse discrimination.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
