Abstract
Information on how behavioral inhibition (BI) affects the amount of time it takes an individual to avoid a stressful situation could answer many questions about anxiety disorders and whether BI influences avoidance behavior. BI is a temperament characteristic associated with increased vulnerability to stress compared to their non-behaviorally inhibited (NBI) counterparts. Our previous study demonstrated that BI individuals have lower heart rate variability (HRV) than NBI individuals. This suggests that BI individuals have significantly less parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) output at rest; however, it is unknown how BI affects avoidance acquisition using a mildly stressful stimulus. Previous studies have shown differences in the behavior found in Wistar-Kyoto rats, which exhibit BI behavior, compared to Sprague-Dawley control rats. Our current study will test the hypothesis that BI individuals learn to make escape and avoidance responses using subdermal ulnar nerve transdermal electrical stimulation (TES) more rapidly than NBI individuals and also experience a more significant increase in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). BI individuals were identified through a series of self-reported questionnaires. Three levels (30 mV, 50 mV, and 70 mV) of subdermal ulnar nerve TES were delivered to participants while receiving warning signals that predicted the delivery of the TES. Participants had access to a button that, when pressed during the light, prevented the delivery of the TES. This was scored as an avoidance response. If the button was pressed during the TES, it terminated the stimulation and was scored as an escape. HR and BP were also measured using a BIOPAC data acquisition system during TES. Our preliminary results indicate that BI individuals show a decrease in latency in the amount of time it took them to make an avoidance as the study progressed, while NBI individuals show a slight increase in latency, highlighting the idea that BI individuals are more curious to press the button or they are more likely to want to avoid the TES quicker. We would like to thank the Carthage College Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee as well as the Carthage College Neurophysiology Laboratory professors for their continued support throughout the study. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.
Published Version
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