scholarly journals An Online Trier Social Stress Paradigm to Evoke Affective and Cardiovascular Responses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin Marie DuPont ◽  
Sarah Pressman ◽  
Rebecca G Reed ◽  
Anna Marsland ◽  
Stephen N. Manuck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Condition ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Good Test

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prior studies have modified the Trier Social Stress Test to be conducted remotely. The current report aimed to extend these studies to test whether a remote Trier Social Stress Test (rTSST) can elicit (a) affective, (b) blood pressure, and (c) heart rate responses relative to a control condition and whether these responses were reliable when assessed one week later. Participants (N = 99, 19.7 ± 3.5 years, 55% female) were randomized to a control or stress condition. Controls completed easier versions of the tasks with a single, friendly researcher. Stress participants performed more difficult versions of the task in front of two judges who participants believed were rating their performance. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured every two minutes throughout, while affect was assessed at baseline, after the final task, and following recovery. The rTSST was feasible to administer with minimal technical issues reported. Results suggest that lower positive affect and higher negative affect were reported during the tasks in the stress condition relative to controls. Similarly, stress participants had higher cardiovascular responses during the tasks relative to controls, except that blood pressure was not elevated during mental arithmetic in stress participants relative to controls. Cardiovascular responses demonstrated good test-retest reliability when assessed one week later, especially when computed using area under the curve methods. Overall, a rTSST can be used to elicit affective and cardiovascular reactivity and provides an opportunity to include participants previously unreachable for in-person laboratory procedures.

scholarly journals Trier Social Stress Test Elevates Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Anxiety, But a Singing Test or Unsolvable Anagrams Only Elevates Heart Rate, among Healthy Young Adults

Psych ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-183
Author(s):  
Isabelle K. Sequeira ◽  
Addie S. Longmire ◽  
Naomi J. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Psychological Stressors ◽  
Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Elevated Heart Rate

The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a psychosocial stressor that effectively stimulates the stress response but is labor and time intensive. Although other psychological stressors are often used experimentally, none are known to comparably elevate stress. Two stressors that may potentially elevate stress are a singing task (ST) and unsolvable anagrams, but there are not enough data to support their effectiveness. In the current experiment, 53 undergraduate males and females (mean age = 21.9 years) were brought into the laboratory, and baseline blood pressure, heart rate, self-rated anxiety, and salivary cortisol were recorded. Then, participants were randomly assigned to one of three stress conditions: TSST (n = 24), ST (n = 14), or an unsolvable anagram task (n = 15). Stress measures were taken again after the stressor and during recovery. The TSST significantly elevated systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and self-rated anxiety from pre-stress levels, replicating its stress-inducing properties. However, the ST and unsolvable anagrams only elevated heart rate, indicating that these methods are not as able to stimulate physiological or psychological stress. Overall, results indicate that out of these three laboratory stressors, the TSST clearly engages the stress response over the ST or unsolvable anagrams.

scholarly journals Maternal B12, Folate and Homocysteine Concentrations and Offspring Cortisol and Cardiovascular Responses to Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (7) ◽  
pp. e2591-e2599
Author(s):  
Ghattu V Krishnaveni ◽  
Sargoor R Veena ◽  
Matt Johnson ◽  
Kalyanaraman Kumaran ◽  
Alexander Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Total Peripheral Resistance ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Peripheral Resistance ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Plasma Vitamin

Abstract Context Imbalances in maternal 1-carbon nutrients (vitamin B12, folate) have been shown to be associated with higher offspring cardiometabolic risk markers in India. Objective We examined the hypothesis that low plasma vitamin B12 (B12) and high folate and homocysteine concentrations in the mother are associated with higher hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (cortisol) and cardiovascular responses during the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) in an Indian birth cohort. Methods Adolescents (n = 264; mean age: 13.6 years), whose mothers’ plasma B12, folate and total homocysteine concentrations had been measured during pregnancy, completed 5-minutes each of public speaking and mental arithmetic tasks in front of 2 unfamiliar “judges” (TSST-C). Baseline and poststress salivary cortisol concentrations were measured. Heart rate, blood pressure, stroke volume, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance were measured continuously at baseline, during the TSST-C, and for 10 minutes after the TSST-C using a finger cuff; beat-to-beat values were averaged for these periods, respectively. Results Maternal low B12 status (plasma B12 < 150 pmol/L) was associated with greater cortisol responses to stress in the offspring (P < .001). Higher homocysteine concentrations were associated with greater offspring heart rate response (P < .001). After adjustment for multiple comparisons, there were nonsignificant associations between higher maternal folate concentrations and offspring total peripheral resistance response (P = .01). Conclusion Our findings suggest that maternal 1-carbon nutritional status may have long-term programming implications for offspring neuroendocrine stress responses.

Stress system dysfunction revealed by integrating reactivity of stress pathways to psychological stress in lean and overweight/obese men

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisitha Udara Jayasinghe ◽  
Sarah Janet Hall ◽  
Susan Jane Torres ◽  
Anne Isabella Turner
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Blood Pressure Response ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress System

While the patterns of response within the sympatho-adrenal medullary (SAM) system and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis are interesting and important in their own accord, the overall response to acute psychological stress involves reactivity of both pathways We tested the hypothesis that consideration of the integrated response of these pathways may reveal dysregulation of the stress systems that is not evident when considering either system alone. Age matched lean and overweight/obese men were subjected to a Trier Social Stress Test and reactivity of the SAM system (salivary alpha amylase, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) and the HPA axis (salivary cortisol) were measured. Relative reactivity of SAM system and HPA axis was calculated as the ratio between the measures from each pathway. While analysis of reactivity of individual stress pathways showed no evidence of dysfunction in overweight/obese compared with lean men, analysis of HPA/SAM reactivity revealed significantly lower cortisol over systolic blood pressure (CoSBP) and cortisol over diastolic blood pressure (CoDBP) reactivity in overweight/obese compared with lean men. Other measures of HPA/SAM reactivity and all measures of SAM/HPA reactivity were unaltered in overweight/obese compared with lean men. These findings suggest that the cortisol response per unit of blood pressure response is blunted in men with elevated adiposity. Further, these findings support a notion of a coordinated overall approach to activation of the stress pathways with the degree of activation in one pathway being related to the degree of activation of the other.

scholarly journals Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K Lindsay ◽  
Shinzen Young ◽  
Joshua M Smyth ◽  
Kirk Warren Brown ◽  
J. David Creswell
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Regulation Mechanism

Objective: Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. Method: In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Results: As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress.Conclusions: This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions.

scholarly journals Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K Lindsay ◽  
Shinzen Young ◽  
Joshua M Smyth ◽  
Kirk Warren Brown ◽  
J. David Creswell
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Regulation Mechanism

Objective: Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. Method: In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Results: As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress.Conclusions: This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions.

scholarly journals Beta-adrenergic Modulation of Cognitive Flexibility during Stress

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 468-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica K. Alexander ◽  
Ashleigh Hillier ◽  
Ryan M. Smith ◽  
Madalina E. Tivarus ◽  
David Q. Beversdorf
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Locus Ceruleus ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Beta Adrenergic ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Remote Associates Test

Stress-induced activation of the locus ceruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system produces significant cognitive and behavioral effects, including enhanced arousal and attention. Improvements in discrimination task performance and memory have been attributed to this stress response. In contrast, for other cognitive functions that require cognitive flexibility, increased activity of the LC-NE system may produce deleterious effects. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of pharmacological modulation of the LC-NE system on stress-induced impairments in cognitive flexibility performance in healthy individuals. Cognitive performance, plus psychological and physiological parameters for 16 adults without any history of anxiety disorders, was assessed during four test sessions: stress and no-stress, with each condition tested after administration of propranolol and placebo. The Trier Social Stress Test, a public-speaking and mental arithmetic stressor, was presented to participants for the stress sessions, whereas a similar, but nonstressful, control task (reading, counting) was utilized for the no-stress sessions. Tests of cognitive flexibility included lexical-semantic and associative problem-solving tasks (anagrams, Compound Remote Associates Test). Visuo-spatial memory and motor processing speed tests served as control tasks. Results indicate that (1) stress impaired performance on cognitive flexibility tasks, but not control tasks; (2) compared to placebo, cognitive flexibility improved during stress with propranolol. Therefore, psychological stress, such as public speaking, negatively impacts performance on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility in normal individuals, and this effect is reversed by beta-adrenergic antagonism. This may provide support for the hypothesis that stress-related impairments in cognitive flexibility are related to the noradrenergic system.

scholarly journals Does Psychosocial Stress Impact Cognitive Reappraisal? Behavioral and Neural Evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1803-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maheen Shermohammed ◽  
Pranjal H. Mehta ◽  
Joan Zhang ◽  
Cassandra M. Brandes ◽  
Luke J. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress Group

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is regarded as an effective emotion regulation strategy. Acute stress, however, is believed to impair the functioning of prefrontal-based neural systems, which could result in lessened effectiveness of CR under stress. This study tested the behavioral and neurobiological impact of acute stress on CR. While undergoing fMRI, adult participants ( n = 54) passively viewed or used CR to regulate their response to negative and neutral pictures and provided ratings of their negative affect in response to each picture. Half of the participants experienced an fMRI-adapted acute psychosocial stress manipulation similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, and a control group received parallel manipulations without the stressful components. Relative to the control group, the stress group exhibited heightened stress as indexed by self-report, heart rate, and salivary cortisol throughout the scan. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that reappraisal success was equivalent in the control and stress groups, as was electrodermal response to the pictures. Heart rate deceleration, a physiological response typically evoked by aversive pictures, was blunted in response to negative pictures and heightened in response to neutral pictures in the stress group. In the brain, we found weak evidence of stress-induced increases of reappraisal-related activity in parts of the PFC and left amygdala, but these relationships were statistically fragile. Together, these findings suggest that both the self-reported and neural effects of CR may be robust to at least moderate levels of stress, informing theoretical models of stress effects on cognition and emotion.

Low Frequency Music Slows Heart Rate and Decreases Sympathetic Activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Halbert ◽  
Debra R. Van Tuyll ◽  
Carl Purdy ◽  
Guang Hao ◽  
Steven Cauthron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Stress Condition ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Objectives: Increasing blood pressure (BP) increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lower frequency music may lower BP and heart rate (HR), therefore, decreases the CVD risk. Methods: Participants were 16 high BP individuals aged 20 to 50 years. The protocol consisted of 2 visits (experimental & control). Music was tuned between 440 Hz and 432 Hz, and the frequencies changed every 10 minutes. HR variability, diastolic function, oxytocin, and amylase were recorded at each phase. An (ANOVA) was used to examine the effects of music. Results: Mental arithmetic significantly increased BP and HR (all ps<0.01). There were significant differences between the stress condition and all other conditions, all p’s < .02. There was a significant main effect for Music Order, F (1, 6) = 6.23, p = .047, ƞp2= .51, β = .55. Participants had lower HR listening to 432 Hz music (M = -7.20, se = 2.47) than 440 Hz music (M = -5.33, se = 2.71), t(7) = 2.53, p = .04, d ‘ = .41. Conclusion: Listening to low frequency music has cardiovascular benefits including slowing heart rate and promoting relaxation. Further study is needed to determine the underlying mechanisms of music induced beneficial effects.

Clinical experimental stress studies: methods and assessment

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 555-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjana Bali ◽  
Amteshwar Singh Jaggi
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
The Body ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Induce Stress ◽  
Stress Assessment

AbstractStress is a state of threatened homeostasis during which a variety of adaptive processes are activated to produce physiological and behavioral changes. Stress induction methods are pivotal for understanding these physiological or pathophysiological changes in the body in response to stress. Furthermore, these methods are also important for the development of novel pharmacological agents for stress management. The well-described methods to induce stress in humans include the cold pressor test, Trier Social Stress Test, Montreal Imaging Stress Task, Maastricht Acute Stress Test, CO2 challenge test, Stroop test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, noise stress, and Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test. Stress assessment in humans is done by measuring biochemical markers such as cortisol, cortisol awakening response, dexamethasone suppression test, salivary α-amylase, plasma/urinary norepinephrine, norepinephrine spillover rate, and interleukins. Physiological and behavioral changes such as galvanic skin response, heart rate variability, pupil size, and muscle and/or skin sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography) and cardiovascular parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and self-reported anxiety are also monitored to assess stress response. This present review describes these commonly employed methods to induce stress in humans along with stress assessment methods.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Stress Reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Liu ◽  
Wenjuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Group

Abstract Background: The aim of the present study is to investigate the sex differences in stress reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in a virtual reality(TSST-VR). Methods: Healthy young male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) undergraduates were randomly assigned to a psychosocial stress protocol (TSST) condition or to a non-stressful control condition (Placebo-TSST) under VR. Electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured throughout the study. The subjective scales of stress and emotion were also conducted. Results: The results showed that after VR, the stress group reported higher stress perceptions than the non-stress group. Compared with females, the males stronger EDA and higher HRV before the VR, and lower HR during VR as well as higher HRV after VR. The correlation between subjective and objective reactivity demonstrated that HRV during VR was negatively correlated to depression and negative affect. The HRV after VR was negatively correlated to the positive coping but was positively correlated to the depression. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the TSST-VR could be used as an available tool for testing gender differences to social stress induction in experimental settings. Compared with females, males were more sensitive to stress.

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