Abstract
The physiological mechanisms underlying forehead muscle biofeedback for stress reduction are not well understood. A common hypothesis considers the frontales to be “key muscles” uniquely indexing the degree of tension present in the general musculature. We tested this hypothesis under conditions ranging from relaxation to maximum physical effort. The hypothesis was not supported. Changes in forehead muscle activity were limited primarily to reflecting changes in head and neck muscle tension.
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This research was supported by Grant No. GM26504 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
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Graham, C., Cook, M.R., Cohen, H.D. et al. Effects of variation in physical effort on frontalis EMG activity. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 11, 135–141 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999981
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999981