Effort and Learning-Related Choices: the Impact of Sympathetic Activity and Ability Beliefs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smiddy Nieuwenhuis ◽  
Tieme Janssen ◽  
Denise J. van der Mee ◽  
Martijn Meeter ◽  
Nienke van Atteveldt
Keyword(s):  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Impedance Cardiography ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Physiological Measure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ability Beliefs ◽  
High Effort

Previous research shows that some students view their abilities as malleable with effort and aim to improve themselves (incremental beliefs), while others believe abilities are fixed and cannot change with effort and aim to prove themselves (entity beliefs). Here, we investigated how such beliefs in undergraduates (n=115) relate to their effort investment during a challenging arithmetic task, indexed by 1) whether they make low vs high effort learning-related choices (easy vs difficult problems) 2) sympathetic activity measured with impedance cardiography as physiological measure of effort. Results show that incremental theorists chose relatively higher difficulty levels compared to entity theorists. Moreover, higher effort, as indexed by higher sympathetic activity, was associated with subsequently choosing lower difficulty levels. This effect was stronger for entity theorists than incremental theorists, indicating that seemed more inclined to avoid higher sympathetic activity, in line with our finding that entity theorists reported more helplessness attributions.

The impact of 6 months of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation on sympathetic neural recruitment during apneic stress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D'Souza ◽  
Mark B. Badrov ◽  
Katelyn N. Wood ◽  
Sophie Lalande ◽  
Neville Gordon Suskin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Firing Frequency ◽  
Sympathetic Activation ◽  
Nerve Activity ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
The Impact

The current study evaluated the hypothesis that six months of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) would improve sympathetic neural recruitment in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Microneurography was used to evaluate action potential (AP) discharge patterns within bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), in eleven patients with IHD (1 female; 61±9 years) pre- (Pre-CR) and post- six months of aerobic and resistance training-based CR (Post-CR). Measures were made at baseline and during maximal voluntary end-inspiratory (EI-APN) and end-expiratory apneas (EE-APN). Data were analyzed during 1-minute of baseline and the second half of apneas. At baseline, overall sympathetic activity was less Post-CR (all P<0.01). During EI-APN, AP recruitment was not observed Pre-CR (all P>0.05) but increases in both within-burst AP firing frequency (∆Pre-CR: 2±3 AP spikes/burst vs. ∆Post-CR: 4±3 AP spikes/burst; P=0.02) and AP cluster recruitment (∆Pre-CR: -1±2 vs. ∆Post-CR: 2±2; P<0.01) were observed in Post-CR tests. In contrast, during EE-APN, AP firing frequency was not different Post-CR compared to Pre-CR tests (∆Pre-CR: 269±202 spikes/min vs. ∆Post-CR: 232±225 spikes/min; P=0.54), and CR did not modify the recruitment of new AP clusters (∆Pre-CR: -1±3 vs. ∆Post-CR: 0±1; P=0.39), or within-burst firing frequency (∆Pre-CR: 3±3 AP spikes/burst vs. ∆Post-CR: 2±2 AP spikes/burst; P=0.21). These data indicate that CR improves some of the sympathetic nervous system dysregulation associated with cardiovascular disease, primarily via a reduction in resting sympathetic activation. However, the benefits of CR on sympathetic neural recruitment may depend upon the magnitude of initial impairment.

scholarly journals Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Mediates the Relation Between “Specific Math Anxiety” and Arithmetic Speed

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuqing Tang ◽  
Yun Su ◽  
Yu'e Yao ◽  
Hugo Peyre ◽  
Ava Guez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Math Anxiety ◽  
Math Performance ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Reading Anxiety ◽  
The Impact

There is a growing consensus that math anxiety highly correlates with trait anxiety and that the emotional component elicited by math anxiety affects math performance. Yet few studies have examined the impact of “specific math anxiety” (high math anxiety and low other kinds of anxiety) on math performance and the underlying physiological and affective mechanism. The present study examines the mediation effect of heart rate variability—an affective measurement indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)—in the relationship between specific math anxiety and arithmetic speed. A total of 386 junior high school students completed a self-reported questionnaire to measure their anxiety level. Among this sample, 29 individuals with specific math anxiety (high math anxiety and low reading and trait anxiety), 29 with specific reading anxiety (high reading anxiety and low math and trait anxiety), 24 with specific trait anxiety (high trait anxiety and low math and reading anxiety), and 22 controls (low math, trait and reading anxiety) were selected to participate in an arithmetic task and a reading task while RSA was recorded when they performed the tasks. Results revealed that individuals with specific math anxiety showed lower RSA and longer reaction time than the other three groups in the arithmetic task. Regression and mediation analyses further revealed that RSA mediated the relation between specific math anxiety and arithmetic speed. The present study provides the first account of evidence for the affective hypothesis of specific math anxiety and suggests that affective responses may be an important mechanism underlying the detrimental effect of specific math anxiety on math performance.

scholarly journals RZ Interval as an Impedance Cardiography Indicator of Effort-Related Cardiac Sympathetic Activity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Silvia ◽  
Ashley N. McHone ◽  
Zuzana Mironovová ◽  
Kari M. Eddington ◽  
Kelly L. Harper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Impedance Cardiography ◽  
Cardiac Sympathetic Activity

scholarly journals Communication on Sustainability in Spanish Universities: Analysis of Websites, Scientific Papers and Impact in Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8278
Author(s):  
Daniela De Filippo ◽  
Javier Benayas ◽  
Karem Peña ◽  
Flor Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Activity Index ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
University Websites ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Effort

This study analyses how Spanish universities are communicating their commitment to sustainability to society. That entailed analysing the content of their websites and their scientific papers in sustainability science and technologies and measuring the impact of such research in social media. Results obtained from bibliometric approaches and institutional document analysis attest to intensified interest in sustainability among Spanish universities in recent years. The findings revealed an increase in the number of universities using terms associated with sustainability to designate the governing bodies. The present study also uses an activity index to identify universities that devote high effort to research on sustainability and seven Spanish universities were identified with output greater than 3% of the total. Mentions in social media were observed to have grown significantly in the last 10 years, with 38% of the sustainability papers receiving such attention, compared to 21% in 2010. Publications in open access journals have had a greater impact on social media, especially on Twitter and Facebook. The analysis of university websites showed that only 30% had social media accounts and only 6% blogs specifically designed to disseminate their sustainability activities.

Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education: The Impact of Ability Beliefs, Gender, and Previous Experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Reina ◽  
Yeshayahu Hutzler ◽  
María C. Iniguez-Santiago ◽  
Juan A. Moreno-Murcia
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Toward Inclusion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ability Beliefs

scholarly journals Influence of a 100-mile ultramarathon on heart rate and heart rate variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e001005
Author(s):  
Christian Paech ◽  
Simone Schrieber ◽  
Ingo Daehnert ◽  
Paul Jürgen Schmidt-Hellinger ◽  
Bernd Wolfarth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Ecg Monitoring ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
Rr Intervals ◽  
Suitable Parameter ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact

AimsThis study aimed to investigate the impact of an ultramarathon (UM) with a distance of 100 miles on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV).Methods28 runners (25 men and 3 women) underwent 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring 1 week before the UM, immediately after the UM and after a week of recovery. The influence of age, body mass index (BMI), HR and HRV on the run time and recovery was investigated.ResultsA rise in the baseline HR (18.98%) immediately after the run accompanied by a significant drop in the SD of all normal RR intervals (7.12%) 1 week after. Except for the runners’ age, BMI, HR and HRV showed no influence on the competition time. Full return of HRV to the athletes’ baseline did not occur within 1 week. There were no significant differences between finishers and non-finishers in the analysed parameters.ConclusionThe present results show that a 100-mile run leads to an increase in sympathetic activity and thus to an increase in HR and a decrease in HRV. Also, HRV might be a suitable parameter to evaluate the state of recovery after a 100-mile run but does not help to quantify the status of recovery, as the damage to the tendomuscular system primarily characterises this after completing a UM.

scholarly journals Stressful Life Events Are Related to More Negative Interpretations, but Not Under Acute Stress

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110141
Author(s):  
Kathy Bélanger ◽  
Isabelle Blanchette
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Stressful Task ◽  
The Impact

Studies have identified deleterious effects of stress on multiple cognitive processes such as memory and attention. Little is known about the impact of stress on interpretation. We investigated how an induced acute stress and more long-term stress related to life events were associated with interpretations of ambiguous stimuli. Fifty participants answered a questionnaire indexing the number of stressful life events. A median split was used to compare those reporting few or more events. Half of participants performed an arithmetic task that induced acute stress; they were compared to a control group performing a less stressful task. We measured the interpretation of ambiguous visual stimuli, which participants had to judge as “negative” or “positive”. We found a significant interaction between the number of stressful life events and the induced acute stress on the proportion of positive interpretations. In the control group, participants reporting more stressful events produced less positive interpretations than those reporting few events. In the induced stress condition, no significant difference was found. Life events tend to influence interpretation in the absence of an acute stressor, which seems to be more influent in the short term.

scholarly journals Influence of a 100-mile ultramarathon on the heart rate and the heart rate variability

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Schrieber ◽  
Christian Paech ◽  
Jan Wüstenfeld ◽  
Ingo Dähnert ◽  
Bernd Wolfarth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Baseline Heart Rate ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
Rr Intervals ◽  
Suitable Parameter ◽  
The Impact

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of an ultra-marathon (UM) with a distance of 100 miles on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). METHODS: Altogether, 28 runners (25 men and 3 women) received a 24-hour long-term ECG one week before the UM (U1), immediately after (U2) and after a week of recovery (U3). The influence of age, body mass index (BMI), HR and HRV on the run time as well as recovery were investigated. RESULTS: A rise in the baseline heart rate accompanied by a significant drop in SDNN values ​​(the standard deviation of all normal RR intervals) was found. Except for the age of the runners, BMI, HF and HRV did not predict the competition time. Full return of HRV to the athlete’s individual baseline did not occur within one week. There were no significant differences between finishers and non-finishers in analyzed parameters. CONCLUSION: The present results show that a 100-mile run leads to an increase in sympathetic activity and thus to an increase in heart rate and a decrease in HRV. In addition, HRV seems to be a suitable parameter to evaluate full recovery after a 100-mile run.

Feasibility of EEG to monitor cognitive performance during venous cannulation: EEG Distracted Intravenous Access (E-DIVA)

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Lowe ◽  
Scott A James ◽  
Adam Lloyd ◽  
Gareth R Clegg
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Cognitive Workload ◽  
Simple Arithmetic ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThe feasibility study aims to evaluate the use of EEG in measuring workload during a simulated intravenous cannulation task. Cognitive workload is strongly linked to performance, but current methods to assess workload are unreliable. The paper presents the use of EEG to compare the cognitive workload between an expert and novice group completing a simple clinical task.Methods2 groups of volunteers (10 final year medical students and 10 emergency medicine consultants) were invited to take part in the study. Each participant was asked to perform 3 components of the simulation protocol: intravenous cannulation, a simple arithmetic test and finally these tasks combined. Error rate, speed of task completion and an EEG-based measure of cognitive workload were recorded for each element.ResultsEEG cognitive workload during the combined cannulation and arithmetic task is significantly greater in novice participants when compared with expert operators performing the same task combination. EEG workload mean measured for novice and experts was 0.62 and 0.54, respectively (p=0.001, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.30). There was no significant difference between novice and expert EEG workload when the tasks were performed individually.ConclusionsEEG provides the opportunity to monitor and analyse the impact of cognitive load on clinical performance. Despite the significant challenges in set up and protocol design, there is a potential to develop educational interventions to optimise clinician's awareness of cognitive load. In addition, it may enable the use of metrics to monitor the impact of different interventions and select those that optimise clinical performance.

scholarly journals Long-Term High-Effort Endurance Exercise in Older Adults: Diminishing Returns for Cognitive and Brain Aging

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy C. Young ◽  
Nicholas G. Dowell ◽  
Peter W. Watt ◽  
Naji Tabet ◽  
Jennifer M. Rusted
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Endurance Exercise ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Effort

While there is evidence that age-related changes in cognitive performance and brain structure can be offset by increased exercise, little is known about the impact long-term high-effort endurance exercise has on these functions. In a cross-sectional design with 12-month follow-up, we recruited older adults engaging in high-effort endurance exercise over at least 20 years, and compared their cognitive performance and brain structure with a nonsedentary control group similar in age, sex, education, IQ, and lifestyle factors. Our findings showed no differences on measures of speed of processing, executive function, incidental memory, episodic memory, working memory, or visual search for older adults participating in long-term high-effort endurance exercise, when compared without confounds to nonsedentary peers. On tasks that engaged significant attentional control, subtle differences emerged. On indices of brain structure, long-term exercisers displayed higher white matter axial diffusivity than their age-matched peers, but this did not correlate with indices of cognitive performance.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document