Heart rate correlations between isolated members of bonded pairs.

摘要

Previous studies provided evidence of correlated brain activity in pairs of isolated participants, suggesting that humans may connect to each other at a distance by nonsensory means. This dissertation studied the hypothesis that correlated heart rate signals may also be found in such pairs.; Participants were 14 pairs of volunteers who reported an intimate connection with one another. Participants were instructed to "feel the presence of the other member" throughout the experiment. One member of each pair, designated the "Receiver" (R), sat quietly inside an electromagnetically shielded room; a video camera captured live images of R's face. The other member, designated the "Sender" (S), sat inside a room 20 meters away from R. In 10-second epochs separated by randomly timed periods, images of the R transmitted via a fiber optic-based local area network were viewed by S on a video monitor. Heart rate (HR) data were simultaneously collected from both participants. For each session, ensemble means of normalized HR were determined for R and S for data collected during the 10-second epochs when S was presented with R's image. Normalized correlations were determined between S and R for the ensemble mean HRs.; A significant prestimulus anticipatory response or "presentiment effect" was observed in Rs' ensemble mean HR about 3 seconds prior to stimulus onset. Heart rates also showed a significant deviation from chance about 3 seconds after stimulus offset. Because Rs were blind to the periods when Ss were exposed to the stimuli, these findings suggest a time synchrony between changes in Rs' heart beats and the stimulus onset and offset. Additional analyses showed a possible practice effect in S, and a statistically significant HR reaction at 3 seconds prestimulus and 5 seconds poststimulus onset in those Rs paired with Ss who showed a greater sympathetic nervous system response.; This study provides suggestive evidence of nonlocal heart rate connections between isolated S and R. Similar research with larger samples seems warranted to confirm if correlations in heart rate signals constitute a significant phenomenon between bonded members of distant pairs.