Abstract
The objective assessment of psychological traits of healthy subjects and psychiatric patients has been growing interest in clinical and bioengineering research fields during the last decade. Several experimental evidences strongly suggest that a link between Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) dynamics and specific dimensions such as anxiety, social phobia, stress, and emotional regulation might exist. Nevertheless, an extensive investigation on a wide range of psycho-cognitive scales and ANS non-invasive markers gathered from standard and non-linear analysis still needs to be addressed. In this study, we analyzed the discerning and correlation capabilities of a comprehensive set of ANS features and psycho-cognitive scales in 29 non-pathological subjects monitored during resting conditions. In particular, the state of the art of standard and non-linear analysis was performed on Heart Rate Variability, InterBreath Interval series, and InterBeat Respiration series, which were considered as monovariate and multivariate measurements. Experimental results show that each ANS feature is linked to specific psychological traits. Moreover, non-linear analysis outperforms the psychological assessment with respect to standard analysis. Considering that the current clinical practice relies only on subjective scores from interviews and questionnaires, this study provides objective tools for the assessment of psychological dimensions.
Highlights
Psychological assessment refers to the practice of standardized evaluation of performance or impairment in different domains of thinking, learning and behavior
16 out of 25 sub-scales divided the subjects in two groups numerically comparable, we performed the statistical analysis on the scores obtained in these 16 sub-scales
For example we considered a sample of 103 subjects for interpersonal reactivity (IRI) Empathic Concern and IRI Personal Distress sub-scales, referring to a study which explored the relationship among psychological mindedness and several aspects of awareness which comprended this indices of empathy (Beitel et al, 2005) and a sample of 582 subjects for IRI fantasy sub-scale taking this data from a guide study on the empathy scales (Davis, 1980)
Summary
Psychological assessment refers to the practice of standardized evaluation of performance or impairment in different domains of thinking, learning and behavior. Such an assessment can be used to characterize and quantify different behaviors in healthy subjects or to reveal the presence of behavioral disorders such as anxiety and social phobia. Psychological dimensions through ANS dynamics (Cohen et al, 1992) These approaches are useful in performing an individual assessment for which the performance of one person can be interpreted through pre-existing norms, as well as in group assessment which allows for different comparisons (within a single group or between groups) (Kenny et al, 2008). It is worthwhile noting that self-report questionnaires and interviews currently represent the standard clinical practice in diagnosing psychiatric disorders (Cohen et al, 1992; Valenza et al, 2013a, 2014c)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
