Subconscious components of psychophysiological responses in the participants of a 105-day experiment in an isolated environment

• Published in: Human physiology 2012-12, Vol.38 (7), p.683-688
• Main Authors: Bubeev, Yu. A., Ushakov, I. B., Kvasovets, S. V., Ivanov, A. V., Kal’manov, A. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Experimental and General Theoretical Studies; Human Physiology; Life Sciences
• ISSN: 0362-1197; 1608-3164
• DOI: 10.1134/S0362119712070067

Six participants of a 105-day experiment in an isolated environment were studied in order to identify subconscious mechanisms of their psychophysiological changes during the experiment. We used the method of neurocognitive diagnostics based on the analysis of the evoked electrocardiographic (EEG) potentials caused by stimuli that were below the conscious threshold. The technique included separation of evoked responses to each stimulus, cross-correlation and wavelet analyses, estimations using neural network algorithms, and an overall evaluation for all stimuli for each derivation and each period of stimulation. Comparison of the reactions to meaningful and meaningless groups of words elicited the extent of involvement of different brain areas in semantic information processing. Our results give grounds to indicate a number of changes in the psychological state of the subjects due to their participation in the experiment. These are list below: An increase in subconscious tension between some of the crew members, such as representatives of different cultures. An increase in psychological defense stress, primarily caused by basic fears of death and worries about health, as well as private family relations. The appearance of addictive trends manifested in the changes in the subconscious attitude to alcohol and an increase in the role that alcohol plays in the emotional state. These findings on the changes in the major mechanisms of unconscious responses are useful in defining the strategy for working out the methods of autonomous psychological support for crews and computer-assisted psychological correction.