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RESULTS
General remarks:
No sleep episodes were detected and hence the entire record was used for analysis. There were also (i) no significant changes in any of the parameters during the first 8 min (guided relaxation) of the "test" periods, compared to the "pre" periods, and (ii) the (non significant) changes observed during the first 8 min of the "test" period did not differ among the 3 sessions. It was decided to use the data of the next 7 min of the "test" period ("OM"/ "one" repetition/non targeted thinking) for statistical analysis, so that the duration of this period (7- min) was comparable to that of the "pre" and "post" periods (5 min). The group mean values + SEM are provided in Table 1. TABLE 1 : Autonomic variable during pre test and post period of MOM, "OM" repetition, COM, "One" repetition, and NT, non targeted thinking sessions. Values are group mean ± SEM.
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| *P<.05, **P<.01, ***P<.001 Paired "t" test, compared to pre. Two factor ANOVA
The two factor ANOVA showed a significant difference between the respiratory rate (RR) of "pre" and "test" periods, i.e. Factor A = "pre" versus "test" [F = 5.28 (F.05 (2) 1.66 = 5.27) hence P < .05 or P = .05]. The F value has been derived by linear interpolation according to the method described (7), based on the F values for DF = 1, 60 and DF = 1, 70 in the standard table. The Tukey multiple comparison test did not reveal a significant difference between any two mean values. In all comparisons q was less than 3.50, [since q (6, 60) = 3.75 at .10 level, therefore P>.10]. Here 60 is utilized as the next critical value after 66, which is not listed in the table 1. There was no significant difference between the 3 sessions (Factor B), or of interaction between the Factors i.e. A x B (P>.10, in both cases). For the remaining parameters (heart rate, digit pulse volume and skin resistance level), the two factor ANOVA did not show significant differences between the values of "pre" and "test" periods (Factor A), between the three sessions (Factor B), or the interaction between the factors (A x B), (P>.20 in all cases). Paired "t" test
The HR during the "test" periods of both MOM and COM sessions was significantly lower than that of the corresponding "pre" period, by an average of 3.4 bpm and 1.5 bpm, respectively (P<.05 in both cases). The HR remained significantly low after COM (P<.05). There was also a significant decrease in RR in the "test" periods of both MOM and COM sessions (by an average of 2.6 cpm and 4.7 cpm, respectively, P<.001, in both cases, compared to the corresponding preceding period). This effect persisted during the "post" periods of both MOM and COM sessions (a decrease of 2.0 cpm and 1.8 cpm respectively, P<.05 compared to the corresponding preceding period). There was a significant decrease in skin resistance level (SRL) during the "test" period of the MOM session, compared to the preceding period (P<.01). There was also a significant decrease in SRL in the "post" period of the MOM session compared to"pre" (P<. 0 1). There was no difference in the trend of results according to the order of the three sessions (MOM, COM, NT) though the small sample size (four subjects with each sequence) precluded using statistical analysis. |