scholarly journals Stress Recovery of Campus Street Trees as Visual Stimuli on Graduate Students in Autumn

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Na Guo ◽  
Ren-Lin Zhao ◽  
Ai-Hua Ren ◽  
Li-Xin Niu ◽  
Yan-Long Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
The State ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Recovery ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Sophora Japonica ◽  
Human Stress ◽  
Environment Control

Human stress recovery response to landscapes is under discussion in Chinese settings. The present study aimed to clarify the stress recovery effects of campus street trees on graduate students in autumn. A total of 150 participants (23.75 ± 1.01 years old) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and were then randomly assigned to view one of five virtual environments, including the street trees Sophora japonica, Ginkgo biloba, Platanus acerifolia, Koelreuteria paniculata, and the indoor environment (control). Physiological responses were measured by R-R interval and electroencephalography (EEG). Psychological responses were examined through the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). Results showed that R-R intervals significantly increased while viewing all street trees. Both alpha and beta brainwave activities while viewing S. japonica and G. biloba were remarkably higher than those while viewing P. acerifolia and K. paniculata. The STAI-S scores significantly decreased, and the positive PRS scores were registered after viewing street trees. We concluded that a brief virtual visual experience of campus street trees in autumn has stress recovery effects on graduate students, and the different levels of stress recovery are associated with different types of street trees.

scholarly journals The Nature of Reality: Human Stress Recovery during Exposure to Biodiverse, Multisensory Virtual Environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Faith Schebella ◽  
Delene Weber ◽  
Lisa Schultz ◽  
Philip Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Recovery ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli ◽  
Human Stress

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) were used to test the effects of biodiversity on recovery from induced stress. Three natural environments and one urban environment were used to represent ordinal levels of biodiversity (none, low, moderate, and high). The four IVEs comprised visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli. An additional high biodiversity IVE without auditory or olfactory stimuli was also included to study the effects of multisensory stimulation per se on recovery from stress and perceptions of biodiversity. Following stress induction via a novel IVE Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-IVE), heart rate and five self-reported well-being measures were used to assess participants’ recovery after immersion in one of the five IVEs. The results showed consistent well-being responses across both self-reported and physiological measures, suggesting biodiversity does directly affect human well-being. However, the relationship was not linear. For most measures of well-being, stress recovery was least effective in the urban IVE, consistent with past research. The low biodiversity IVE elicited the greatest improvement in all well-being measures except self-reported calmness. One could speculate that the landscape features of the least biodiverse IVE may elicit subconscious preferences toward savanna-like landscapes, as suggested by previous studies. The IVE depicting a moderate level of biodiversity was the least restorative of the natural environments. A multisensory experience was associated with better recovery in all measures of well-being than a visual-only experience, and perceptions of landscape components significantly differed between two identical nature scenes when auditory and olfactory stimuli were removed. Nuances in the data and implications of the findings are discussed. The results signal a need for caution and question the assumption that cultural ecosystem services align with positive outcomes for biodiversity conservation.

scholarly journals Increased BNST reactivity to affective images is associated with greater α-amylase response to social stress

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 1263-1272
Author(s):  
Walker S Pedersen ◽  
Tammi R A Kral ◽  
Melissa A Rosenkranz ◽  
Jeanette A Mumford ◽  
Richard J Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Human Stress

Abstract While rodent research suggests that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and centromedial amygdala (CM) coordinate the hormonal stress response, little is known about the BNST’s role in the human stress response. The human BNST responds to negatively valenced stimuli, which likely subserves its role in responding to threat. Thus, variation in BNST reactivity to negatively valenced stimuli may relate to differences in the stress response. We measured participants’ blood oxygenated level-dependent response to affective images and salivary cortisol and α-amylase (AA) levels in response to a subsequent Trier social stress test (TSST). Greater BNST activation to emotionally evocative images was associated with a larger TSST-evoked AA, but not cortisol response. This association remained after controlling for CM activation, which was not related to the cortisol or AA response. These results suggest that the BNST response to negatively valenced images subserves its role in coordinating the stress response, a BNST role in the stress response independent from the CM, and highlight the need for investigation of the conditions under which BNST activation predicts the cortisol response. Our findings are critical for the future study of mood and anxiety disorders, as dysregulation of the stress system plays a key role in their pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Effects of Music Intervention on Stress in Concussed and Non-Concussed Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1501
Author(s):  
Camille Léonard ◽  
Jeanne Marie Desaulniers-Simon ◽  
Diana Tat ◽  
Louis De Beaumont ◽  
Nathalie Gosselin
Keyword(s):  
Stress Management ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Stress Recovery ◽  
Significant Difference

Sport-related concussion is a serious public health issue affecting millions of individuals each year. Among the many negative side effects, emotional symptoms, such as stress, are some of the most common. Stress management is repeatedly cited by expert groups as an important intervention for this population. It was shown that music has relaxing effects, reducing stress through the activation of brain areas involved in emotions and pleasure. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of a music-listening intervention compared with silence on experimentally induced stress in concussed and non-concussed athletes. To this aim, four groups of athletes (non-concussed music, non-concussed silence, concussed music, and concussed silence) performed the Trier Social Stress Test, for which both physiological (skin conductance level) and self-reported stress measurements were taken. No significant difference was found in the pattern of stress recovery for self-reported measurements. However, the skin conductance results showed greater and faster post-stress recovery after listening to music compared with silence for concussed athletes only. Taken together, these results suggest that music could be an efficient stress management tool to implement in the everyday life of concussed athletes to help them prevent stress accumulation.

Messung der Stimmfrequenz im Paargespräch – Chancen für Diagnostik und Intervention in der Paartherapie

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisanne J. Bulling ◽  
Isabella C. Bertschi ◽  
Céline C. Stadelmann ◽  
Tina Niederer ◽  
Guy Bodenmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test

Zusammenfassung. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die bisherigen empirischen Befunde zur Sprachgrundfrequenz (f0) in Paargesprächen vor und untersucht, wie sich die f0 nach einer experimentellen Stressinduktion im anschließenden spontanen Gespräch zwischen den Partner_innen verändert, wie die f0 mit der verbalen Stressäußerung zusammenhängt und wie sie zwischen den beiden Partner_innen kovariiert. Von 128 heterosexuellen Paaren nahm jeweils eine Person pro Paar am Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) teil. Die dem TSST vorangehende und anschließende naturalistische Interaktion zwischen den Partner_innen wurde gefilmt und nach Gesprächsthema und Art der Stressäußerung kodiert. Wie vorherige Studien zur f0 im Paargespräch zeigte auch die vorliegende Studie, dass die f0 wichtige Informationen über die Partnerschaft enthält. Während eine Erhöhung der f0 in Gesprächen über einen paarinternen Stressor (d.h. bei Konfliktgesprächen) mit negativen Kommunikationsmustern einherging, zeigte die vorliegende Studie, dass die f0 bei Gesprächen über einen paarexternen Stressor (d.h. beim TSST) mit emotionsorientierten Stressäußerungen einherging, also einer für den Stressbewältigungsprozess förderlichen Art der Kommunikation. Die Oszillatorenmodelle zeigen darüber hinaus, dass eine Kopplung der f0 zwischen den Partner_innen besteht, was darauf hindeutet, dass die nicht gestressten Partner_innen auf die paraverbalen Stressäußerungen der gestressten Partner_innen mit ihren eigenen paraverbalen Stressäußerungen reagieren.

Immunoassay or LC-MS/MS for the measurement of salivary cortisol in children?

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Ju Bae ◽  
Alexander Gaudl ◽  
Sonia Jaeger ◽  
Stephanie Stadelmann ◽  
Andreas Hiemisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Externalizing Disorders ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Kinetic Assay ◽  
The Difference

AbstractBackground:Dysregulation of the adrenal cortex has been assessed with measurement of salivary cortisol. So far salivary cortisol is routinely measured with immunoassay (IA). However, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) is known to offer better specificity. We compared the concentrations of salivary cortisol measured by MS and IA at basal and stress induced conditions and evaluated reasons for the difference in method-dependent cortisol results.Methods:Saliva samples (n=2703) were collected from 169 children (age range: 8–14 years; 81 healthy children; 55 with internalizing and 33 with externalizing disorders) under circadian conditions and during the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). Biochemical analyses were performed with MS for cortisol and cortisone, IA (IBL, RE62011) for cortisol, and enzyme kinetic assay for α-amylase.Results:MS and IA showed mostly comparable results for circadian activity and TSST-C response with similar statistical power. However, IA measured cortisol concentrations about 2.39-fold higher than MS. We found that this difference in measured values between MS and IA was mainly due to different standardization of IA compared to MS. In addition, at cortisol IA concentration below 5 nmol/L, cross-reactivity with cortisone was found to contribute to the lower concordance between MS and IA.Conclusions:Immunoassay and LC-MS/MS were largely comparable in the interpretation of salivary cortisol dynamics in stress research. But the IA method revealed a restricted accuracy in the measuring range below 5 nmol/L.

scholarly journals Childhood Adversities and Salivary Cortisol Responses to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Children Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Chuk Ling Julian Lai ◽  
Daryl Yu Heng Lee ◽  
Monique On Yee Leung
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Childhood Adversities ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽  
Cortisol Responses

Alteration in cortisol response to acute social stressors has been hypothesized to mediate childhood adversities (CA) and increased morbidity in adulthood. However, the evidence supporting an association between CA and cortisol response to social stressors is inconclusive. The present review addressed this issue by reviewing the literature on CA and cortisol response to acute social stressors, with a focus on studies with adolescents or adults, using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess CA, and examining salivary cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Systematic searches of relevant articles in PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect in February and March 2020 identified 12 articles including 1196 participants with mean ages ranging from 15.3 to 52.3 yrs. across studies. CTQ scores were significantly associated with cortisol response in 2 studies. In addition, the physical abuse and emotional neglect subscales were associated with cortisol response respectively in 2 separate studies. The lack of association between CA and cortisol response calls for more longitudinal studies, and the use of formal records of maltreatment or informant reports in future research to complement information collected by retrospective measures. In addition, increased attention to biological mechanisms other than that associated with the regulation of cortisol in explaining the connection between CA and psychiatry morbidity is warranted.

A Virtual Reality Version of the Trier Social Stress Test: A Pilot Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Wallergård ◽  
Peter Jönsson ◽  
Gerd Johansson ◽  
Björn Karlson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
Virtual Humans ◽  
Arithmetic Task

One of the most common methods of inducing stress in the laboratory in order to examine the stress response in healthy and clinical populations is the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Briefly, the participant is asked to deliver a speech and to perform an arithmetic task in front of an evaluating committee. The committee, consisting of three trained actors, does not respond emotionally during the test, which makes the situation very stressful for the participant. One disadvantage of the TSST is that it can be difficult to hold the experimental conditions constant. In particular, it may be difficult for actors to hold their acting constant across all sessions. Furthermore, there are several practical problems and costs associated with hiring professional actors. A computerized version of the TSST using virtual humans could be a way to avoid these problems provided that it is able to induce a stress response similar to the one of the original TSST. The purpose of the present pilot study was therefore to investigate the stress response to a virtual reality (VR) version of the TSST visualized using an immersive VR system (VR-TSST). Seven healthy males with an average age of 24 years (range: 23–26 years) performed the VR-TSST. This included delivering a speech and performing an arithmetic task in front of an evaluating committee consisting of three virtual humans. The VR equipment was a CAVE equipped with stereoscopy and head tracking. ECG and respiration were recorded as well as the participant's behavior and comments. Afterward, a semi-structured interview was carried out. In general, the subjective and physiological data from the experiment indicated that the VR version of the TSST induced a stress response in the seven participants. In particular, the peak increase in heart rate was close to rates observed in studies using the traditional TSST with real actors. These results suggest that virtual humans visualized with an immersive VR system can be used to induce stress under laboratory conditions.

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