157
No group differences were found on the verbal report
ratings. It is interesting that although the RHD patients
do not have a normal SCR while anticipating an electric
shock, they nonetheless reported feeling the same intensity
of unpleasantness, arousal, and loss of control as the LHD
group and NCS. Meadows and Kaplan (1994) found similar
results when measuring SCR and verbal report in RHD and LHD
patient groups as they viewed emotional slides.
At this point, however, it is important to note that
one LHD subject, L7, had a larger magnitude of SCRs than the
other LHD subjects. When this subject is removed from the
analyses, the LHD subjects have significantly lower SCR
magnitude compared to NCs. This subject was unique in that
SCR was measured from his hand contralateral to his lesion
because his left arm had been amputated due to
thromophebitis, a type of disease that cause blood clots
within the peripheral veins. As mentioned above, recent
evidence suggests that SCRs are not significantly different
when measured on the left and rights hands of patients with
brain damage (Tranel and Damasio, 1994). At the same time,
it is important to restate that without inclusion of this
subject, similar to the RHD group, the LHD group has
significantly smaller SCR magnitudes compared to the NCs.
There are a few possible explanations for the decreased
number and magnitude of SCRs during the shock condition in
RHD and most LHD subjects. First, although the brain damage