Abstract
The role of serious-mindedness (so-called telic dominance) in regulation of parietal cortex EEG was investigated. Ten telic (serious-minded) and 10 paratelic (playful state-dominant) individuals were selected on the basis of their responses to the Telic Dominance Scale. They all performed instructed breath-holding (hypopnea) and excessive breathing (hyperpnea) in counterbalanced order. The paratelic individuals yielded relatively high scores of integral EEG power; theta power was markedly increased in the left hemisphere during hyperpnea, and reduced in the right hemisphere during hypopnea. Both hyperpnea and hypopnea were reported to be more aversive to the paratelic than to the telic subjects, but no group difference in respiratory activity was found. The electrocortical and hedonic tone differences between the groups are discussed in relation to the distinction between the prefrontal (dopamine) activation pathway and frontoparietal (noradrenalin) arousal pathway, as well as in relation to changes in cortical blood flow and proprioceptive feedback.
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This research is part of a project supported by the Norwegian Research Council for Social Science and the Humanities and by funds at the University of Bergen. Mary R. Cook and two anonymous reviewers helped to improve an earlier version of this report.
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Svebak, S. Serious-mindedness and the effect of self-induced respiratory changes upon parietal EEG. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 10, 49–62 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00998677
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00998677