A new approach to the rating of psychological disadaptation in extreme conditions

: Infraconscious psychic adaptation and role of the sympathoadrenal system (SAS), the front defense echelon of organism, were investigated in 48 men under the chronic stress in the zone of hostilities on the days out. The purpose was to define and to verify individual quantitative predictors of psychic deadaptation. The investigation was fulfilled with the method of neurosemantic diagnostics ("ousting"--"accentuation" of traumatic information by way of catatonic psychological protection on the level of perception) and computerized determination of the EEG alpha-intensity (Kvasovets et al., 2002), and SAS evaluation by beta-ARM values (ARM-AGAT assay kits, AGAT-MED company, Moscow). The subjects divided into two groups. In group-1 (n = 33) beta-ARM values were under 45 conv. units (27.2 +/- 1.8 conv. units) suggesting a moderate SAS activity and a moderate stress reaction. In group-2 (n = 15), beta-ARM values exceeded 45 conv. units. (60.4 +/- 2.7 conv. units) suggesting SAS hyperactivity associated with the intensive and extended exposure to stress-factors. Analysis of group average values and distribution and correlations of individual data made it possible to identify the following three objective quantitative indices as the individual criteria of developing deadaptation: 1) SAS hyperactivation with beta-ARM exceeding 45 conv. units, "ousting" or "accentuation" above 8.7 conv. units (neurosemantic diagnostis on the perception level), and 3) EEG alpha-activity reduced to 0.4-0.7 rated units in both hemispheres.