Differences In Psychophysiological Responses Research Articles

Analysing the effect of non-acoustical parameters on physiological response due to traffic noise exposure

Traffic noise, as an environmental stressor, impacts both auditory and non-auditory human health through a combination of acoustical and non-acoustical parameters. This study investigates the effects of sex, noise sensitivity, and cross-cultural differences on physiological stress responses to traffic noise exposure. A psychophysiological listening experiment was conducted with 60 participants from the United Kingdom and India to analyze the variation in physiological responses to the noise stimuli. The findings reveal significant gender differences in psychophysiological responses, with females exhibiting higher physiological arousal and potentially experiencing greater stress levels at moderate loudness levels compared to males. Moreover, individuals with high noise sensitivity displayed heightened stress levels and physiological arousal. Additionally, British participants exhibited higher physiological arousal, as indicated by increased skin conductance response parameters, compared to the Indian group. This suggests that exposure to Indian traffic noise, characterized by louder sounds and increased honking, leads to heightened stress levels among British participants. In conclusion, these findings contribute to our understanding of the relationship between traffic noise and physiological outcomes, shedding light on the influence of non-acoustical parameters. It also underscore the potential health implications of chronic noise exposure on human health.

Psychophysiological Responses to a Brief Self-Compassion Exercise in Armed Forces Veterans.

Armed Forces personnel are exposed to traumatic experiences during their work; therefore, they are at risk of developing emotional difficulties such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), following traumatic experiences. Despite evidence to suggest that self-compassion is effective in reducing the symptoms of PTSD, and greater levels of self-compassion are associated with enhanced resilience, self-compassion in armed forces personnel and armed forces veterans remains under-researched. As a result, it is not known if therapeutic approaches that use self-compassion interventions are an acceptable and effective treatment for this population. Having previously shown that a one-off self-compassion exercise has temporary beneficial psychophysiological effects in non-clinical participants, we conducted this proof-of concept study to investigate whether this exercise is equally beneficial in veterans who had experienced deployment to a combat zone. Additionally, we examined if brief a self-compassion exercise can temporarily reduce hyperarousal symptoms and increase feelings of social connectedness. The current study also investigated the association between PTSD symptom severity, emotion regulation, and self-compassion in 56 veterans. All participants listened to a loving-kindness meditation for self-compassion (LKM-S) and psychophysiological recordings were taken throughout. Psychophysiological effects were observed including heart-rate (HR), skin conductance (SCL), and heart-rate variability (HRV) to determine associations with PTSD and changes in response associated with the self-compassion induction. PTSD symptom severity, dispositional emotion regulation, and self-compassion were measured, and participants also completed state measures of hyperarousal and social connectedness before and after the LKM-S. The findings partially demonstrated that self-compassion can be elicited in a veteran population but there were considerable individual differences in psychophysiological responses. The findings are discussed in light of existing theories of PTSD and self-compassion and the implications of using self-compassion based psychological approaches with veterans.

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

ObjectiveThe aims of the present study were twofold: 1) to examine the effects of a virtual reality version of Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) using a placebo as the control condition; 2) to delineate sex differences in psychophysiological responses following the TSST-VR.MethodsHealthy young male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) undergraduates were randomly assigned to a psychosocial stress protocol condition or to a non-stressful control condition (placebo) also under virtual reality environment (VR). Electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured throughout the condition. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the perceived stress before and after the condition. We also included subjective scales of emotional states and coping.ResultsDifferent ANOVAs showed that after VR, the stress group reported higher scores on VAS than the non-stress group. Before VR, compared with females, the males showed stronger EDA and higher HRV. Under VR, the males had lower HR. After VR, the males’ HR was still lower than females’, but their HRV was higher than females’. Finally, the correlation between subjective and objective reactivity demonstrated that HRV during the experiment 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.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the TSST-VR could be used as an available tool for testing sex differences to psychosocial stress induction in experimental settings. Compared with females, males were more sensitive to stress. The scores on depression, negative affect and positive coping before the stress induction may be able to predict the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system across the stress situations.

Initial evidence for pharmacological modulation of observational threat learning by the GABAergic, but not the noradrenergic system in humans

Threat responses are often shaped by social information, such as observation of aversive outcomes for others. Yet, the neurochemistry regulating observational learning of threats is largely unknown. Here, we examined the impact of the GABAergic and noradrenergic system, which are central in regulating threat learning from first-hand experiences, on observational threat learning in humans. To this end, 61 participants received either 1 mg Lorazepam (enhancing GABAergic signalling N = 18), 20 mg Yohimbine (enhancing Noradrenergic transmission, N = 16), Placebo (double blind and randomized control for Lorazepam and Yohimbine, N = 12) or no treatment (N = 15) prior to observational threat conditioning. Participants acquired conditioned threat responses by observation of another individual who is presented with a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). Participants' threat responses were tested by direct exposure to the CSs immediately after learning, as well as two days later (drug free).Our results indicate decreased fear ratings to socially acquired CSs by enhanced GABAergic transmission as compared to the control group (placebo and no treatment) during the immediate test. We could not provide evidence for noradrenergic modulation of socially acquired threat responses. Further, we found no differences in psychophysiological responses (Skin conductance responses) or long-term persistence of conditioned responses.Our results provide initial evidence for an impact of the GABAergic system on social acquisition of threats.

Psychophysiological Responses of People with Psychopathic Tendencies to the Concealed Information Test.

This study was designed to investigate differences in psychophysiological responses among individuals with psychopathic tendencies. A total 40 students were participated and were divided into two groups based on Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) scores: a high psychopathic tendency group selected from the top 5% of LSRP scores, and a low psychopathic tendency group selected from the bottom 5% of LSRP scores. All participants were instructed to perform a mock crime and complete the concealed information test (CIT). Results indicate that significant differences between crime-relevant questions and irrelevant questions were observed for respiration line length and skin conductance response in both groups, but heart rate did not significantly differ between groups. There were no differences in psychophysiological responses between the groups. In conclusion, CIT was found to be an effective method for detecting crime-relevant information in individuals with psychopathic tendencies.

Gender Differences in Psychophysiological Responses to Music Listening

AbstractThis study presents a comparative account of psychophysiological responses to music listening in healthy males and females. The stimulus material was a slow-paced taped rāga Desi-Todi on a flute. The participants listened to music for 30 minutes a day, for 20 days. Pre- and post-treatment procedure was adopted for assessments on psychophysiological measures. The study supports the following conclusions: (1) music listening produced significant decreases in the blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) and heart rate of females, but had no significant effect in males; (2) music listening reduced stress, anxiety and depression, enhanced life satisfaction, optimism and hope, and was perceived as making life more meaningful in males and females; (3) the effects of music listening, that is, reduction in negative affect, enhancement of positive affect (except the ‘hope’ scores), and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, were more intense in females than males.Keywords: music listening, gender differences, psychophysiological responses, negative affect, positive affect, blood pressure, heart rateFrenchDifférences en fonction du sexe des réactions psycho- physiologiques à l’écoute musicaleCette études présente un compte-rendu comparatif des réactions psycho- physiologiques à l’écoute musicale par des hommes et des femmes sains. Le matériel sonore de stimulation était l’enregistement d’un motif lent joué à la flute dans le style Raga (Desi-Todi). Les participants ont écouté cette musique à raison de 30 mn par jour pendant 20 jours. Une procédure a été adoptée pour évaluer les mesures psycho-physiologiques en pré et post-traitement. L’étude soutient les conclusions suivantes : (1) l’écoute musicale a produit une baisse significative de la pression artérielle (diastolique et systolique) et de la fréquence cardiaque chez les femmes, mais n’a pas eu d’effet significatif chez les hommes; (2) l’écoute musicale a réduit le stress, l’anxiété et la dépression, amélioré le sentiment de satisfaction, d’optimisme et d’espérance, et a été perçue comme rendant la vie plus riche de sens chez l’homme et la femme; (3) les effets de l’écoute musicale, c’est-à-dire la réduction des effects négatifs, l’amélioration des effets positifs (à l’exception des résultats concernant l’espérance), et la diminution de la pression sanguine et de la fréquence cardiaque étaient plus intenses chez les femmes que chez les hommes.Mots clés :écoute musicale, différence sexuelle, réactions psycho-physiologiques, effet négatif, effet positif, pression artérielle, fréquence cardiaque

Psycho-physiological responses of drivers to road section types and elapsed driving time on a freeway

This paper addresses drivers’ psycho-physiological condition under the influence of various freeway section types and elapsed driving times. The authors analyzed the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals (α, β, and θ) of 51 drivers on a freeway in Korea. The findings show that the driver’s workload increases in tunnels and on left-curved sections, and that his or her concentration and response ability decrease after 60 min of elapsed driving time. The β/α ratios of EEG signals were found to be most effective in detecting differences in psycho-physiological responses. The results can help to promote safety on freeways by encouraging drivers to take rests every hour.

Music, text, music-and-text and psychophysiological responses: A randomized controlled trial

Interventions using music, text, and music and text together for relaxation and visualization stimulation are used frequently by music therapists and psychotherapists in their clinical practice. However, there is not much research comparing the impact of these interventions on psychophysiological responses. The goal of this pilot study was to compare the interaction with psychophysiological reactions of different types of interventions using visualization. The reactions, including respiratory rate, galvanic skin response, heart rate, and blood pressure, were measured with a polygraph. Healthy nonmusician adults (n=20) were randomly assigned to three groups: group M listened to music, group T listened to text with verbal visualization instructions, and group M+T listened to the music and text combined. Statistically significant differences in psychophysiological responses to these conditions were found. Additionally, all of the interventions were rated as highly pleasurable by participants. The implications of the results are discussed for both clinical practice and future research projects. The results of this pilot study may contribute to and direct further investigations.

Individual differences in psychophysiological responses in stress states

Individual differences in psychophysiological responses in stress states

Effects of Menopausal Hot Flashes on Mental Workload

This study examined the differences in psychophysiological responses during mental task performance between women with (Group S) and without (Group A) menopausal hot flashes. Twelve women who reported experiencing daily moderate or severe menopausal hot flashes (Group S) and twelve women who reported having no hot flashes (Group A) participated in a mental arithmetic (Task) and a control (Non-task) experiment that occurred twice during 30 min. Although Group S experienced frequent hot flashes during mental arithmetic task, no significant differences between the two groups emerged for the percentage of correct responses and reaction time, and cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses. However, the STAI state anxiety score was significantly higher in Group S than in Group A during both rest and mental tasks, and stress-related cortisol secretion showed a tendency to increase in Group S compared with Group A after task. The present study indicates that there were no significant differences in physiological responses and cognitive performance between women with and without menopausal hot flashes during mental arithmetic, but women with menopausal hot flashes might perceive higher psychological stress during rest and mental arithmetic tasks than asymptomatic women.

Individual response differences in spider phobia: Comparing phobic and non-phobic women of different reactivity levels

In contrast to previous stress research, studies concerning phobic disorders have never systematically investigated individual response differences between phobic participants integrating numerous different response measures. The aim of this article is to clarify the existence of significant individual response differences in psychophysiological responses (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance responses (SCR), corrugator, cortisol), subjective ratings (e.g., valence, arousal), and avoidance behavior in 46 spider phobic and 44 non-phobic women when exposed to 20 phobic and 20 neutral pictures. Previous studies that did not attend to individual response differences showed that, during phobic stimulation, phobic individuals have increased psychophysiological responses (heart rate, SCR, and corrugator responses), more negative valence rating, and more subjective arousal than non-phobic individuals. These results were confirmed by our data. With regard to individual response uniqueness, 1/3–2/3 of spider-phobic women with low responsiveness in heart rate, cortisol, and avoidance behavior were indistinguishable from non-phobic women during phobic stimulation. With SCR, corrugator EMG, and subjective ratings, no individual response uniqueness was found. Based on the findings, exposure therapy might be improved by tailoring interventions to individuals with a therapeutic focus on those psychophysiological measures that show the highest individual responsivity.

Gender and stress: Differential psychophysiological reactivity to stress reexposure in the laboratory

Research has shown that women are more prone to the development of depression and anxiety disorders throughout their lifetimes. Stress reactivity and adaptation to repeated stressors have been linked to depression and anxiety, but studies examining gender differences in psychophysiological responses to repeated stressors are very limited. This study examined gender differences in response to initial and repeated exposure to a laboratory stressor as well as potential mechanisms for these differences. Participants viewed a Holocaust video on two occasions with a 2-day interval between sessions. Self reported negative affect and cardiovascular reactivity were recorded at both sessions. Although gender differences were not found following initial exposure, women exhibited significantly greater heart rate (HR) and negative affect (NA) reactivity to the second exposure as compared to men. Women also reported significantly greater intrusive thoughts and avoidance after the first exposure than men, but these were not found to be significant mediators. The findings indicate that women may be more vulnerable to repeated stress exposures compared to men suggesting sensitization. The implications of our findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Gender Differences in Psychophysiological Responses to Disgust

Several studies have revealed that women report stronger feelings of disgust than men ( Gross & Levenson, 1995 ; Schienle, Schäfer, Stark, Walter, & Vaitl, 2005 ). However, the extent to which this gender difference also influences physiological disgust responses remains an open question. In Experiment 1, 54 female and 41 male participants were exposed to slides of different disgust-content. In Experiment 2, 47 women and 53 men watched two film clips showing hygiene-related or food-related disgust stimuli, respectively. Differences between males and females in reported and physiological disgust responses (heart rate, electrodermal activity, salivary cortisol, secretory immunoglobulin A) were tested by analysis of variance. Replicating previous studies, women reported stronger feelings of disgust than men across all disgust inductions. Additionally, in Study 1, women showed a higher increase in skin conductance level than men. In conclusion, gender moderates subjective responses to disgust, whereas physiological disgust responses are only marginally moderated by gender. Gender stereotypes as an explanation for the results are discussed.

Individual Differences in Physiological Responses and Type A Behavior Pattern.

The relationships between individual differences in psychophysiological responses and tendency of Type A behavior pattern (TABP) were investigated during mental arithmetic (MA) at a steady rhythm, challenging calculation (Uchida-Kraepelin serial addition test: UK test), music listening, and exposure to an 80 dB SPL of white noise. Each mental task was sustained for 5 minutes. Sixteen healthy Japanese adults, (10 males and 6 females) with an age from 18 to 36 years old volunteered for this study. The KG's Daily Life Questionnaire (KG Questionnaire) was used to investigate the tendency toward TABP, which included three sub-factors: aggression-hostility, hard-driving and time urgency, and speed-power items. Recorded physiological variables were respiratory rate (RR), skin resistance response (SRR), eyeblinks, and heart rate (HR) calculated using frequency analysis to render high frequency power (HF) and the ratio of low/high frequencies (L/H ratio). During the MA and UK tests, significant increases in HR, L/H ratio, RR occurred, while significant decreases in HF were observed. Eyeblinks significantly increased during the MA test and significantly decreased during the UK test. During music and white noise, no significant changes occurred except for SRR, which decreased significantly. The coefficient of variances in each response was over 20% for almost all variables, indicating that individual differences in the magnitude of each response were large, even if the direction (increase or decrease) of the change was the same in almost all subjects. The highest correlation coefficients (r) between the mean values of relative magnitude for each variable and TABP scores during the MA and UK tests were obtained for the L/H ratio (MA: r = 0.591, UK test: r = 0.577) and the RR (MA: r = -0.576, UK test: r = -0.511). These values were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Similar results were obtained for TABP sub-factors. Though other investigations have reported relationships between HF and TABP, we found no significant relationship. It was suggested that sympathetic nerve activity became greater for TABP individuals than for Type B individuals under stress conditions.

Paranoid-nonparanoid differences — psychophysiological parallels

It was predicted that the psychological differences between paranoids and nonparanoids would be parallel by differences in psychophysiological responses to stimuli varying along both informational and motivational dimensions. Skin conductance and heart rate responses to stimuli in a guessing task were measured in a group of paranoid patients and compared with those from non-paranoid and non-patient controls. A group of nonschizophrenic patients on phenothiazine medication served as drug-matched controls. Skin conductance level, response frequency and amplitude data are reported; heart rate response changes were examined by means of times series analysis and reported as first and second deceleration and first and second acceleration components. It was predicted that paranoid patients would show a greater increase in skin conductance measures with cognitive demand, and an increase in acceleratory components of the heart rate to increase in motivational variables. The normal pattern of greater electrodermal responsing to the negative stimuli than the positive, and greater heart rate acceleration to the positive stimuli but not the negative (Fowles, 1980) was predicted to be reversed in schizophrenia patients, and possibly more marked in paranoids. Cognitive manipulations showed the predicted increase in electrodermal and heart rate responding in normal controls. The paranoid subjects showed a similar increase as a function of task demands, but there was no significant difference between the other groups. Motivational manipulations produced increased skin conductance responding and increases in heart rate acceleration components in normal controls, this was not parallelled in the patient groups. All subject groups failed to show greater electrodermal activity to negative than to positive stimuli. Normal controls showed significant heart rate acceleration to positive as compared to negative stimuli, this pattern was reversed in paranoid patients.

Does the gender relevance of the stressor influence sex differences in psychophysiological responses?

Does the gender relevance of the stressor influence sex differences in psychophysiological responses?

Individual differences in image and pulse-wave responses elicited by listening to music.

This study was undertaken to clarify individual differences in psycho-physiological responses observed in subjects listening to music. Forty-five healthy females listened to the third movement of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" via a biaural headphone at 69.4 dB(A) in Leq and 83.6 dB(A) in Lmax. This was undertaken twice with an interval of six days between sessions. Pulse-waves were recorded continuously before, during, and after listening by using a photoelectric plethysmograph. The psychological image each listener had of the music was measured immediately after listening by the SD method composed of fifteen scales with five rating points. The following results were obtained: 1) The pulse-wave height initially became low right after the onset of listening, though the degree of the decrement weakened in the second trial. Spectral analysis of pulse-waves revealed that the power percentage in the low frequency-bands below 0.3912 Hz grew markedly and that in the frequency-bands above 0.4238 Hz it dwindled during and after listening at the first trial. However, these changes of power percentage weakened in the second trial. 2) The image of the music being listened to changed significantly in 11 scales from the first trial to the second trial. 3) Subjects having a previous experience of listening to the music showed smaller image changes and responses in pulse-waves in the second trial than subjects having no such experience. 4) Previous experience of learning any music and the amount of contact with any music were not related to the image changes and pulse-wave responses in the second trial.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A/B Types and Psychophysiological Responses to Exercise Stress

Ten Type A's and 10 Type B's, as measured by the student version of the JAS and the TASRI, exercised on a cycle ergometer for 20 minutes at light (40% V02max), moderate (60% V02max), and high (80% V02max) intensity exercise to determine A/B differences in psychophysiological responses. The norepinephrine and epinephrine responses of A/B types were similar at the light and moderate intensities. However, at the high intensity, norepmephrine response of Type A's was significantly greater than that of Type B's. Epinephrine responses (p=.ll) evidenced the same, albeit nonsignificant, trend. Oxygen uptake and heart rate data indicated that this amine difference was not a function of differential workloads, suggesting that Type A's had a greater psychophysiological reactivity to high intensity exercise than Type B's. Ratings of perceived exertion were similar for Type A's and B's at all intensities. However, a significant interaction between behavioral pattern and intensity emerged for affect. Interpretation of this interaction indicated that Type A's were more positive than B's at light and moderate intensities, yet at the high intensity exercise A's were more negative than B's. The results of this study suggest that A and B types do differ in their psychophysiological responses during exercise, with A's evidencing more positive affect during light and moderate intensities, yet more negative affect and greater neuroendocrine responses during high intensity exercise than B's.

Individual differences in psychophysiological responses after alcohol ingestion.

We have conducted a study on the individual differences in psychophysiological responses to alcohol. The subjects were 12 flushers and 12 non-flushers. In the flushers, significant increases in the blood acetaldehyde (AcH) level, skin temperature and pulse rate were found. In the non-flushers, on the contrary, no significant increase was observed. There was no difference between the flushers and the non-flushers concerning the change in the blood ethanol (EtOH) level nor the change of P1 and P2 latencies in photopalpebral reflex (PPR). Also, no difference was found in the change of the state anxiety level. From these results, we concluded that there exists an obvious discrepancy between the central inhibitory response (elicited by EtOH) and the autonomic response (elicited by AcH) of the human subjects to a small amount of alcohol.

Paranoid/nonparanoid differences—Psychophysiological parallels

It was predicted that the psychological differences between paranoids and nonparanoids would be parallelled by differences in psychophysiological responses to stimuli varying along both informational and motivational dimensions. Skin conductance and heart rate responses to stimuli in a guessing task were measured in a group of paranoid patients and compared with those from non-paranoid and non-patient controls. A group of nonschizophrenic patients on phenothiazine medication served as drug-matched controls. Skin conductance level, response frequency and amplitude data are reported; heart rate response changes were examined by means of times series analysis and reported as first and second deceleration and first and second acceleration components. It was predicted that paranoid patients would show a greater increase in skin conductance measures with cognitive demand, and an increase in acceleratory components of the heart rate to increases in motivational variables. The normal pattern of greater electrodermal responding to the negative stimuli than the positive, and greater heart rate acceleration to the positive stimuli but not the negative (Fowles, 1980) was predicted to be reversed in schizophrenic patients, and possibly more marked in paranoids. Cognitive manipulations showed the predicted increase in electrodermal and heart rate responding in normal controls. The paranoid subjects showed a similar increase as a function of task demands, but there was no significant difference between the other groups. Motivational manipulations produced increased skin conductance responding and increases in heart rate acceleration components in normal controls, this was not parallelled in the patient groups. All subject groups failed to show greater electrodermal activity to negative than to positive stimuli. Normal controls showed significant heart rate acceleration to positive as compared to negative stimuli, this pattern was reversed in paranoid patients.