Mental load,heart rate and heart rate variability

Summary Several investigators have shown that diminished sinus arrhythmia can be seen as an indication of increased mental load. The present experiment deals with the influence of different levels of mental load, operationalized as the number of binary choices per minute, on the regularity of the heart rate. Also we investigated the influence of four different rest conditions on the regularity of the heart rate.The results show that sinus arrhythmia scores differentiate significantly between several levels of mental load, but heart frequency appeared to be an even better indicator.No significant differences were found between the four rest conditions. Stability over three subsequent measurement sessions was satisfactory, and reliability within the measurement periods was very high.

---

Zusammenfassung Mehrere Forscher haben gezeigt, daß abnehmende Sinusarrhythmie betrachtet werden kann als ein Indikator zunehmender mentaler Belastung.In der vorliegenden Untersuchung handelt es sich um den Einfluß verschiedener Niveaus der mentalen Belastung, operationalisiert als die Zahl der binären Wahlen pro Minute, auf die Regelmäßigkeit der Herzfrequenz.Außerdem untersuchten wir den Einfluß vier verschiedener Ruhezustände auf die Regelmäßigkeit der Herzfrequenz.Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß auf Grund Sinusarrhythmiedaten differenziert werden kann zwischen verschiedenen Niveaus mentaler Belastung, aber die Herzfrequenz erweist sich sogar als ein besserer Indikator.Man stellte keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den vier verschiedenen Ruhezuständen fest.Die Stabilität während drei verschiedener Meßperioden war befriedigend, und die Zuverlässigkeit der Messungen (reliability) innerhalb der Meßperioden war sehr groß.

     

Associations between heart rate,perceived heart rate,and anxiety during acute psychological stress

ABSTRACT

Background: Acute psychological stress elicits increases in heart rate (HR) and anxiety. Theories propose associations between HR, perceived HR, and anxiety during stress. However, anxiety is often measured as a unidimensional construct which limits a comprehensive understanding of these relationships.

Objectives: This research explored whether HR reactivity or perceived HR change was more closely associated with cognitive and somatic anxiety during acute psychological stress.

Design: Two laboratory-based studies were conducted.

Methods: In a single laboratory session, healthy male (N?=?71; study 1) and female (N?=?70; study 2) university students completed three laboratory psychological stress tasks (counterbalanced), each with a preceding baseline. Heart rate, perceived HR change, and cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity and interpretation of anxiety symptoms were assessed immediately following each task. Data were aggregated across tasks.

Results: Actual HR change was unrelated to anxiety intensity, but was associated with more debilitative interpretations of anxiety (study 2). Perceptions of HR change were consistently associated with greater intensity of cognitive (study 1) and somatic (study 1 and 2) anxiety.

Conclusions: Perceived HR rather than actual HR is more closely associated with anxiety intensity during psychological stress. The findings have implications for stress management and the clinical treatment of anxiety symptoms.     

Anxiety, perception, and control of heart rate

8 women and 8 men took Cattell's IPAT-anxiety questionnaire and later McFarland's test of ability to perceive heart activity. The second test involved subjects' tracking their own heart rates, then they enrolled in an EKG biofeedback session to evaluate ability to increase and decrease heart rate from subjects' resting baselines. At the end of the session each subject completed Blanchard, et al.'s questionnaire to specify the cognitive strategies used for heart-rate control. Heart rate, abdominal respiration rate, respiration amplitude, EEG percent power in theta, alpha, and beta bands were evaluated. Success of heart-rate decrease seemed to depend mainly on activity levels: the subjects who achieved high scores on the activity test decreased heart rate significantly better than did low scorers. The relationship between scores for perception of heart and increases in heart rate was nonsignificant: increased heart-rate seemed to depend on differences in respiration between the rest and periods of increase. The significant, negative correlation between trait anxiety and perceptions of heart activity suggested that anxiety affected subjects' ability to perceive heart rate. The theta EEG power of the right hemisphere was significantly higher in subjects scoring high than for those low in perception of heart activity. During heart-rate increase tasks subjects mainly reported use of 'arousal responses,' similarly during heart-rate decrease tasks they reported use of relaxation responses.     

Hostility, the metabolic syndrome, and incident coronary heart disease.

This invesgation examined the impact of hostility and the metabolic syndrome on coronary heart disease (CHD) using prospective data from the Normative Aging Study. Seven hundred seventy-four older, unmedicated men free of cardiovascular disease were included in the study. The total Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale score, anthropometric data, serum lipids, fasting insulin concentrations, blood pressure, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and total dietary calories were used to predict incident CHD during a 3-year follow-up interval. Multivariate analysis indicated that only Ho positively predicted and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level negatively predicted incident CHD. Ho's effects on CHD may be mediated though mechanisms other than factors that constitute the metabolic syndrome.     

Facets of psychopathy, heart rate variability and cognitive function

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the four facets of Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991; Bolt, Hare, Vitale, & Newman, 2004) were related to physiological and cognitive mechanisms. Fifty-three male prisoners participated in this study. Physiological responses were measured as heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR). Cognitive functions were measured using a continuous performance test (CPT; California Computerized Assessment Package, Abbreviated version) and a working memory test (WMT); based on Baddeley & Hitch (1974). The regression analysis of the HRV revealed that the interpersonal facet explained most of the variance during baseline (28%), CPT (16%), and WMT (12%). This was also true for the HR data during baseline (28%), CPT (20%), WMT (10%), and recovery (13%). The antisocial facet explained 10% of the variance only during baseline. Subjects scoring high compared to low on the interpersonal facet also showed better cognitive functioning. The study suggests that the different facets were differently associated with both physiological and cognitive functions.     

Stuttering, emotions, and heart rate during anticipatory anxiety: a critical review

Persons who stutter often report their stuttering is influenced by emotional reactions, yet the nature of such relation is still unclear. Psychophysiological studies of stuttering have failed to find any major association between stuttering and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. A review of published studies of heart rate in relation to stressful speech situations indicate that adults who stutter tend to show a paradoxical reduction of heart rate compared with nonstuttering persons. Reduction of heart rate has also been observed in humans and mammals during anticipation of an unpleasant stimulus, and is proposed to be an indication of anticipatory anxiety resulting in a "freezing response" with parasympathetic inhibition of the heart rate. It is suggested that speech-related anticipatory anxiety in persons who stutter is likely to be a secondary, conditioned reaction based on previous experiences of stuttering. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) describe how the autonomic nervous system is modulated by emotional responses; (2) explain how anticipatory fear often results in inhibition of heart rate due to parasympathetic activation; (3) discuss why emotional reactions in persons who stutter may be secondary to negative experiences of speech problems.     

Contact-free measurement of heart rate, respiration rate, and body movements during sleep

We describe a noncontact method for the ambulant measurement of basic sleep physiology parameters in humans, particularly for field studies involving sleep research and sleep disturbances. This method traces the body movements, respiration, and heart action of a person at rest or asleep on a bed, using four high-resolution force sensors installed under the bedposts. The recoil movement of the body at each heartbeat, known as the cardioballistic effect, as well as the lifting and lowering of the thorax, while breathing, causes very small shifts of the center of gravity of the bed and the subject. These shifts are reflected in the altering force distributions across the four sensors. Cardiac and respiratory parameters and the subject’s movement activity can be calculated from the sensor signals. Neither electrodes nor other kinds of transducers are in direct contact with the subject, which is the main advantage of this technique over conventional methods. Laboratory experiments were carried out to estimate validity and practicability. The method has been found to be adequate, especially for automated and unattended sleep-data collection over long periods of time.     

Hostility, anger, aggressiveness, and coronary heart disease: an interpersonal perspective on personality, emotion, and health

The related traits of hostility, anger, and aggressiveness have long been suggested as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). Our prior review of this literature (Smith, 1992) found both considerable evidence in support of this hypothesis and important limitations that precluded firm conclusions. In the present review, we discuss recent research on the assessment of these traits, their association with CHD and longevity, and mechanisms possibly underlying the association. In doing so, we illustrate the value of the interpersonal tradition in personality psychology (Sullivan, 1953; Leary, 1957; Carson, 1969; Kiesler, 1996) for not only research on the health consequences of hostility, anger, and aggressiveness, but also for the general study of the effects of emotion, personality and other psychosocial characteristics on physical health.     

将心归主

经文:箴23:26,林后11:2-3 以上我们所选的两处经文都涉及到圣经中对每一 位在神家的事奉者存"心"的要求:第一处经文似乎让 我们听见慈父对浪子的呼唤,充满着等待和期望;第二 处经文则有如一位属灵的长者对我们的谆谆告诫和提 醒。这些话语,对于我们这些在这个充满各样诱惑和各 样噪音的时代中在神家事奉的仆人、使女而言,无疑是 一贴有益我们灵性的清醒良药。在此我愿以"将心归 主"为题,从三方面与众同工共勉:     

Support, stress, and recovery from coronary heart disease: a longitudinal causal model

Measures of support, stress, distress, and cardiac symptoms were obtained from a cohort of 73 male cardiac patients at hospitalization and at 3, 6, and 12 months thereafter. Sets of general and alternative hypotheses regarding the direction of causality among these variables were drawn from the literature on cardiac rehabilitation, stress, and support. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the stability and duration of these hypotheses over three time-lags. The results showed strong support for the general hypotheses and minimal support for the alternative hypotheses. Support ameliorated the subsequent experience of stress and distress and had opposing effects to these variables on cardiac symptoms. Support was more influential in the first half of the year than it was in the second half, however, whereas stress was predominant causally in the second half. Implications of this pattern for clinical intervention are drawn and directions for further research are proposed.     

Preattentive processing of heart cues and the perception of heart symptoms in congenital heart disease

The present study was aimed at clarifying whether preattentive processing of heart cues results in biased perception of heart sensations in patients with congenital heart disease (ConHD) who are also highly trait anxious. Twenty-six patients with ConHD and 22 healthy participants categorized heart-related (heart rate) or neutral sensations (constant vibration) as either heart or neutral. Both sensations were evoked using a bass speaker that was attached on the chest of the participant. Before each physical sensation, a subliminal heart-related or neutral prime was presented. Biased perception of heart-sensations would become evident by a delayed categorization of the heart-related sensations. In line with the prediction, a combination of high trait anxiety and ConHD resulted in slower responses after a heart-related sensation that was preceded by a subliminal heart cue. Preattentive processing of harmless heart cues may easily elicit overperception of heart symptoms in highly trait anxious patients with ConHD.