Physiological Tremor Dynamics on Deception-Related Emotional Responses

Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the dynamics of physiological tremor evoked by deception-related emotional reactions. The purpose was to create a method of formal evaluation of emotional reactions based on the evoked tremor dynamics. The Guilty Knowledge test was used as a model of evoked modification of the emotional state. A subject was instructed to select a symbol from a standard character set (0–7) and to keep it concealed until the end of the experiment. During an automated experimental procedure, numbers were randomly displayed to the subject on a computer monitor. The physiological tremor acquisition was implemented with 3-axis digital accelerometers fixed on the external side of either index finger. The data reflect unconscious psychomotor responses to deception-related fluctuations of the emotional status. Significant differences were observed in the short-term (300–750 ms) physiological tremor dynamics on deception-related visual stimuli.