Un enfoque psicofisiológico de los mensajes de miedo. Respuestas autónomas, subjetivas y conductuales a los mensajes de promoción de la salud.

Se diseñó un estudio para analizar los efectos que tienen las apelaciones al miedo sobre las respuestas psicofisiológicas, subjetivas y conductuales en la población diana. Para ello, se presentaron, a 98 mujeres de 49-50 años de edad, tres mensajes sobre el cáncer de mama promoviendo la realización de mamografía regularmente. Los mensajes fueron elaborados de manera similar a los utilizados por los programas de promoción de la salud. Los tres tenían la misma longitud, formato y estructura, pero variaban en determinadas claves que diferenciaban su carácter (Amenaza, Sorpresa y Estándar/control). Durante la exposición a estos mensajes, se registraron, de manera continua, las respuestas psicofisiológicas (frecuencia cardíaca y frecuencia de respuestas electrodérmicas inespecíficas). Después de ver los estímulos, se tomaron medidas de autoinforme y de personalidad (STAI y EPQ-A). Se encontraron respuestas significativas a los mensajes para todas las medidas psicofisiológicas. Independientemente del mensaje presentado, el patrón de respuesta psicofisiológica se relacionó significativamente con la conducta preventiva de detección del cáncer. A study was designed in order to analyze the effects of fear appeals on psychophysiological, subjective and behavioral responses on the target audience. Three messages on breast cancer, promoting regular mammography screening, elaborated in a similar way to those used by health promotion programs, were presented to ninety-eight women aged 49-50. Messages were of equal length, format and structure but varied in specific clues which distinguished their character (Threat, Surprise, and Standard/control). Psychophysiological reactions (heart rate and frequency of non- specific skin conductance responses) were recorded continuously during message exposure. Self-report measures and personality traits (STAI and EPQ-A) were obtained after viewing the stimulus. There were significant responses to the messages for all psychophysiological measures. The pattern of psychophysiological response, independent of the eliciting message, was significantly related to cancer preventive/detection behavior.

Effect of Different Exercise Stressors on Soldier’s Psychophysiological Response and Marksmanship

Background: Authors have proposed that depending on the type of fatigue, either central or peripherical, as well as previous training and experience, shooting impairment may occur in different gradients. However, the effects of different stressor stimuli on fine motor skills as shooting is yet not fully understood.Methods: The present research aimed to analyze the effect of endurance and resisted physical stressors on the psychophysiological response and pistol marksmanship of soldiers, and the possible differences by gender and weigh. Variables of heart rate, isometric hand strength, rated of perceived exertion and pistol marksmanship were analyzed in 86 soldiers in basal, endurance and resisted stress protocols moments.Results: Isometric hand strength, HR and RPE were significantly higher in both resisted and endurance physical stress protocols than in basal sample. Gender differences were seen, among strength, cardiovascular and RPE values. Also, soldiers with larger BMI presented significantly higher isometric hand strength and higher marksmanship in all moments evaluated. Conclusions: An endurance stress protocol produced a higher cardiovascular and perceived exertion than a resisted one, not affecting hand strength, shooting heart rate and marksmanship. Females presented lower hand strength marksmanship and higher rated of perceived exertion and heart rate during the endurance and resisted stress protocols than males. Overweight soldiers have higher heart rate during both protocols, higher hand strength and marksmanship, and similar hear rate while shooting than normoweight soldiers.

Emotion and Psychophysiological Responses During Emotion–Eliciting Film Clips in an Eating Disorders Sample

Background: Greater vulnerability to negative emotions appears associated with the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). A systematic review of psychophysiological studies using emotion-eliciting film clips reveals that there are no studies examining the effect of standardized validated film clips on psychophysiological response across a range of EDs.Methods: Using standardized validated film clips without ED-specific content, the present study examined self-reported emotions and psychophysiological responses of women with Binge-Eating Disorder (BED; n = 57), Anorexia Nervosa (AN; n = 16), Bulimia Nervosa (BN; n = 34), and Healthy Controls (HCs; n = 26) at Baseline, during Neutral, Sad, Happy, and Fear-inducing film clips, and at Recovery.Results: Throughout the protocol, the ED groups reported significantly greater sadness and anxiety than HCs. Additionally, the AN group reported more fear, the BED group more frustration, and the BED and BN groups more tension than HCs. Compared to HCs, the BED group reported stronger urges to binge throughout the protocol, whereas BN group reported stronger urges to binge relative to the HC group only at Baseline and Recovery. The BN and BED groups experienced decreased urges to binge during all film clips compared to Baseline. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia levels were significantly lower in the BED group compared to HCs and the BN group throughout the protocol.Discussion: Standardized validated film clips can be used to elicit expected self-reported emotion and skin conductance responses in ED groups, although individuals with EDs compared HCs report greater negative emotions. Interestingly, film clips appeared to reduce urges to binge in binge-eating groups.

Processing of infant emotion in mothers with mood disorders and implications for infant development

Background Atypical neurocognitive responses to emotional stimuli are core features of unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar disorder (BD). For mothers with these mood disorders, this may influence interactions with their infants and consequently infant development. The study aimed to investigate psychophysiological and cognitive responses to infant emotional stimuli, and their relation to mother–infant interaction and infant development, in mothers with BD or UD in full or partial remission. Methods Four months after birth, mothers' cognitive responses to emotional infant stimuli were assessed with computerized tasks, while their facial expressions, galvanic skin responses (GSR), gazes, and fixations were recorded. Infant development and mother–infant interactions were also assessed. Results We included 76 mothers: 27 with BD, 13 with UD, and 36 without known psychiatric disorders, and their infants. Mothers with BD and UD were in full or partial remission and showed blunted GSR and spent less time looking at infant stimuli (unadjusted p values < 0.03). Mothers with BD showed subtle positive neurocognitive biases (unadjusted p values<0.04) and mothers with UD showed negative biases (unadjusted p values < 0.02). Across all mothers, some measures of atypical infant emotion processing correlated with some measures of delays in infant development and suboptimal mother–infant interaction (unadjusted p values<0.04). Conclusions Mothers with mood disorders in full or partial remission showed atypical cognitive and psychophysiological response to emotional infant stimuli, which could be associated with mother–infant interactions and infant development. The study is explorative, hypothesis generating, and should be replicated in a larger sample. Investigation of the long-term implications of reduced maternal sensitivity is warranted.

Positive emotion induction improves cardiovascular coping with a cognitive task

Feeling positive emotions seems to favour an adaptive cardiovascular response (greater heart rate variability, HRV), associated with improved cognitive performance. This study aims to test whether the induction of a positive emotional state produce such cardiovascular response and therefore, enhance coping and performance in Tower of Hanoi (ToH). Forty-two Participants were randomly distributed into two groups (Experimental and Control). Experimental group was subjected to the evocation of a memory of success, while control group was subjected to an attentional task before performing ToH. Heart Rate Variability (HRV), activity of the zygomatic major muscle (ZEMG) and emotions were measured. Emotional induction increased ZEMG activity, feelings of emotional valence and HRV, but the performance in ToH was not different from control. Experiencing positive emotions seems to favour an adaptive psychophysiological response when faced with a complex cognitive task. These results are discussed in relation to clinical practice and health.

Threat-anticipatory psychophysiological response is enhanced in youth with anxiety disorders and correlates with prefrontal cortex neuroanatomy

Background: Threat anticipation engages neural circuitry that has evolved to promote defensive behaviours; perturbations in this circuitry could generate excessive threat-anticipation response, a key characteristic of pathological anxiety. Research into such mechanisms in youth faces ethical and practical limitations. Here, we use thermal stimulation to elicit pain-anticipatory psychophysiological response and map its correlates to brain structure among youth with anxiety and healthy youth. Methods: Youth with anxiety (n = 25) and healthy youth (n = 25) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task in which cues predicted nonpainful or painful thermal stimulation; we indexed psychophysiological response during the anticipation and experience of pain using skin conductance response. High-resolution brain-structure imaging data collected in another visit were available for 41 participants. Analyses tested whether the 2 groups differed in their psychophysiological cue-based pain-anticipatory and pain-experience responses. Analyses then mapped psychophysiological response magnitude to brain structure. Results: Youth with anxiety showed enhanced psychophysiological response specifically during anticipation of painful stimulation (b = 0.52, p = 0.003). Across the sample, the magnitude of psychophysiological anticipatory response correlated negatively with the thickness of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (pFWE < 0.05); psychophysiological response to the thermal stimulation correlated positively with the thickness of the posterior insula (pFWE < 0.05). Limitations: Limitations included the modest sample size and the cross-sectional design. Conclusion: These findings show that threat-anticipatory psychophysiological response differentiates youth with anxiety from healthy youth, and they link brain structure to psychophysiological response during pain anticipation and experience. A focus on threat anticipation in research on anxiety could delineate relevant neural circuitry.