Arterial pulse wave velocity as a psychophysiological measure.

It has been predicted theoretically and shown experimentally that the arterial pulse wave velocity will depend on the state of the arterial wall, this varying between individuals as a function of age and within the individual according to site and, because the arterial wall does not obey Hooke's law, according to the internal pressure at any given moment. In the present research, comparisons were made between test-retest reliabilities of measures of the pulse wave velocity obtained from different sites, and the effects of age, psychological "stress," and a psychoactive drug were investigated. It was concluded that the upper-arm arterial pulse wave velocity can serve as a sensitive psychophysiological measure of high reliability.