4. The diagnostics of force-weakness of nervous system

3.4.1. General description

The concept of NS force was introduced by I.P.Pavlov in 1922. He revealed that steadiness and endurability to strong and continuous irritators distinguish people with strong nervous system. Later B.M.Teplov’s laboratory discovered that a weak nervous system is more sensitive in comparison with a strong one.

If the force-weakness of NS could be compared with skin thickness the representatives of strong NS would remind thick-skinned animals whose advantages are the security from such negative influences as stresses, long lasting nervous-psychic loads, sudden strong effects on psyche. Thick-skinned animals do not feel pinpricks and mosquito stings.

The representatives of weak nervous system are like thin-skinned animals that consider even a slight pinprick to be painful. Their disadvantage is a low security from long lasting nervous psychic loads, stresses and other influences on psyche.

However the thicker the skin is the lower its sensitivity. That is why a negative side of strong nervous system is a low sensitivity that is manifested in high absolute and differential sensation thresholds. At the same time the advantage of people with weak nervous system is a high sensitivity that is manifested, accordingly, in lower absolute and differential sensations thresholds.

On the device of ATS-6 model the force-weakness of NS is diagnosed with the help of skin-galvanic variant of V.S.Merlin’s technique “Extinction with reinforcing” (1958). In this case you need an electric bell and a stopwatch. The examinee experiences a conditioned skin-galvanic reaction (SGR) by way of combining two irritators: conditioned – electric bell and unconditioned reinforcing that is manifested through motive arbitrary muscle tenseness.

3.4.2. The procedure of diagnostics

3.4.2.1. The examinee sits with his side to the table, on which the device is placed, so that his right forearm could be parallel to the cinematometer. All the buttons of the device should be switched off.

3.4.2.2. The investigator influences the examinee using electric bell signal during 10 seconds.

3.4.2.3. Then the examinee presses all the plates by his right palm and keeps this position for 10 seconds. The force of pressure is approximately five kg. If you press all the four plates correctly the readings on both indicators will be equal.

Use the electric bell for ten seconds simultaneously with the repeated pressure.

3.4.2.4. The examinee takes his right hand from the plate and puts his left hand to the left pair of lamellar electrodes in the same way as in the diagnostics of right cerebral hemisphere activation (see items 3.1.2.1 – 3.1.2.3. of paragraph 1).

The examinator puts down the readings of the right indicator into a protocol containing two columns: 1) the number of procedure and 2) the reading of right indicator.

3.4.2.5. The procedure described in items 3.4.2.2 – 3.4.2.4 is repeated 30 times with an interval of 1 minute after each procedure.