Psychophysiological responses in closed head injury

This study compared the psychophysiological parameters involved in the processing of bisensory memory tasks and their recall in a group of 30 adult patients with closed head injury and a group of 29 normal controls. Utilizing an automated on-line computerized system, continuous recording of heart rate, galvanic skin response and respiration were carried out during four intersensory, experimental conditions. Differences among the physiological and performance measures employed, the interaction of the modality of the task (auditory or visual) and the recall parameters (serial or paired) were observed in the set of experimental conditions. The findings in the present study were discussed in the context of the cortical control of the autonomic nervous system.