posted 04-09-2006 07:37 PM            

I saw that too.

People should be aware that a number of prescription medications also have anticholinergic effects, including many antidepressants (Imipramine, Trazodone, Nortrytiline, Doxepin, Desipramine, Clomipramine, Amitriptyline, and those classic MAOI inhibitors), and can also dampen EDA reactions. I'm sure that other medications, both prescription and OTC, may also have anticholinergic effects.

I believe you are correct that there is no theoretical rationale suggesting that any medication would affect only the relevant or comparison questions, and I am aware of no published research to suggest otherwise. So, the effects should affect the entire test.

I've heard some examiners describe these effects as somehow related to a "reduction in anxiety." This is incorrect. The polygraph does not measure anxiety (or it would be a psychological test). Dampened EDA responses are the result of anticholinergic effects. Acteylcholine, we should recall, is the enervating neurotransmitter for the post-ganglionic sympathetic neurons in the skin. So it makes sense that anticholinergic effects will dampen EDA response data.

Acetylcholine also has parasympathetic functions in in the cardiovascular system, and is the enervating neurotransmitter for voluntary muscle activity in the peripheral nervous system. There seems to also be some possible relationship between anticholinergic effects and postural or orthostatic hypotension, so we wonder if acetylcholine, in addition to the neurohormone angiotensin, may play a role in the normal anticipatory elevation in blood pressure before standing from rest.

Most of our newer computerized polygraph equipment has sufficiently wide range of sensitivity settings, that the effects are mostly meaningless once we increase the sensitivity.

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"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room."
--(Dr. Strangelove, 1964)

posted 04-10-2006 06:04 AM            

I didn't know about the date-rape capabilities of this drug. That should prove interesting to those of us who work in college towns like the free republic of Boulder and Fort Collins (both know for heav alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and acquantance rapes.

I read a little more about scopalamine, and found information about retrograme amnesia. This is confusing to me, because date-rape capabilities suggest anterograde amnesiatic qualities. If anyone has more information on this it would be interesting. We already know that benzodiazapines have anterograde amnesiatic effects. In large ammounts, alcohol is also known to cause anterograde amnesia, but the other effects may be more obvious...

OK, here is a theoretical long-shot... for the sake of provoking argument...

Could a person experiencing anterograde amnesia from benzodiazapines (or other drugs capable of inducing antergrade amnesia, such as GHB, Rohypnol, or Scopalamine, or whatever) commit a crime or abuse under that condition and then not remember it? Could that person then undergo polygraph testing and then fail to respond to relevant questions (pertaining to behavior during the anterograde amnesia event), and continue to respond to comparison questions regarding an earlier time-period (prior to the onset of the antergrade condition)?

For this to work, one would have to planfully take the drugs prior to engagement in a behavior. The planfulness of that might still be effectively encoded in long-term memory, so it still seems like we might expect the polygraph to work as intended. However, it does make you wonder.

------------------
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room."
--(Dr. Strangelove, 1964)

posted 04-10-2006 08:40 AM            

I guess it would be possible under laboratory conditions to control the dosage and timing sufficiently to produce an intentional action that the subject doesn't remember, but I don't think it would have much field application.

A more likely scenario would be to dose someone and THEN persuade them to perform some uncomplicated act which they would not recall. Again, I don't see much field application because of the supervision required.

ebv

[This message has been edited by ebvan (edited 04-10-2006).]

posted 12-05-2009 03:30 AM         

A few days ago I tested a 51-yr male, who did not report any medical issues/ or the use of any meds. He is a computer specialist, and certainly smart enough to have visited Anti-poly sites.

On this test however, I did something different. I combined- Four EDA sensors (one on each finger- two were gelled disposables, and two were non-gelled plates). I was thinking using four fingers would overall improve the signal quality, as well as reduce finger pressure distortion artifacts. I recorded both,the Manual and Detrended modes.

I was surprised to see a lack of reactivity to speak of. A deep breath instruction produced an EDA response as expected at the end of the chart (not shown) but with a latency of about 4 secs. EDA Ohms: min: 112K; max:122K; aver: 117K

Here's one of the charts:
[img][/img]

Post test he reported he told himself he was going to 'fail' before he took the the test, - but did so in an effort to 'pass' his test (go figure that reasoning).

Curious about comments;