Finger Pulse Volume Research Articles

Cardiovascular autonomic reflex function after bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation for ventricular arrhythmias

Bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (BCSD) is an effective therapy for ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in cardiomyopathies (CMPs). After BCSD, residual autonomic nervous system (ANS) function is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess ANS responses in patients with CMP before and after BCSD as compared with demographically matched healthy controls. Patients with CMP undergoing BCSD and matched healthy controls were recruited. Noninvasive measures-finger cuff beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP), electrocardiography, palmar electrodermal activity (EDA), and finger pulse volume (FPV)-were obtained at rest and during autonomic stressors-posture change, handgrip, and mental stress. Maximal as well as specific responses to stressors were compared. Eighteen patients with CMP (mean age 54 ± 14 years; 16 men, 89%; left ventricular ejection fraction 36% ± 14%) with refractory VAs and 8 matched healthy controls were studied; 9 patients with CMP underwent testing before and after (median 28 days) BCSD, with comparable ongoing medication. Before BCSD, patients with CMP (n = 13) had lower resting systolic BP and FPV than did healthy controls (P < .01). Maximal FPV and systolic BP reflex responses, expressed as percent change were similar, while diastolic BP, mean BP, and EDA responses were blunted. After BCSD, resting measurements were unchanged relative to presurgical baseline (n = 9). EDA responses to stressors were abolished, confirming BCSD, while maximal FPV and BP responses were preserved. Diastolic BP, mean BP, and FPV responses to orthostatic challenge pointed toward a better tolerance of active standing after BCSD as compared with before. Responses to other stressors remained unchanged. Patients with CMP and refractory VAs on optimal medical therapy have detectable but blunted adrenergic responses, which are not disrupted by BCSD.

Endothelial function testing and cardiovascular disease: focus on peripheral arterial tonometry.

During recent decades, a number of methods have been developed to assess endothelial function, contributing to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. Recently, the advent of noninvasive, reproducible techniques for assessment of endothelial function has opened novel possibilities of application in the clinical setting. Peripheral arterial tonometry is a relatively novel, user-friendly technique measuring finger pulse volume amplitude changes induced by reactive hyperemia following 5 minutes of ischemia in the upper limb. Current evidence indicates that this technique has the potential to significantly impact the field of cardiovascular research and prevention of cardiovascular disease. However, a number of methodological, pathophysiological, and clinical aspects still need to be clarified before widespread application of this promising technique. This review focuses on the current knowledge and future perspectives of peripheral arterial tonometry, in comparison with the most widely used noninvasive technique, ie, flow-mediated dilation.

Finger pulse waveform length in the detection of concealed information

An attempt was made to assess the efficiency of the finger pulse waveform length (FPWL), in detection of concealed information. For this purpose, two mock-theft experiments were designed. In the first, 40 guilty participants were examined while electrodermal, respiration and finger pulse volume were recorded. Results showed that detection accuracy with the FPWL was at least as good as the accuracy obtained with the other two measures (respiration changes and skin conductance responses). Detection efficiency was further improved when a combination of FPWL with the other two measures was used. In the second experiment, 39 guilty and 23 innocent participants were instructed to deny knowledge while the transducers were not attached to them. Then, the same questions were repeated while electrodermal, respiration and finger pulse volume were recorded. Results showed reduced rates of identification compared to the first experiment, which were explained by habituation. However, finger pulse was less affected by habituation than both respiration and skin conductance. Results suggested that the FPWL might be a useful addition to the existing measures in the detection of concealed information.

Potential interactions among linguistic, autonomic, and motor factors in speech

Though anecdotal reports link certain speech disorders to increases in autonomic arousal, few studies have described the relationship between arousal and speech processes. Additionally, it is unclear how increases in arousal may interact with other cognitive-linguistic processes to affect speech motor control. In this experiment we examine potential interactions between autonomic arousal, linguistic processing, and speech motor coordination in adults and children. Autonomic responses (heart rate, finger pulse volume, tonic skin conductance, and phasic skin conductance) were recorded simultaneously with upper and lower lip movements during speech. The lip aperture variability (LA variability index) across multiple repetitions of sentences that varied in length and syntactic complexity was calculated under low- and high-arousal conditions. High arousal conditions were elicited by performance of the Stroop color word task. Children had significantly higher lip aperture variability index values across all speaking tasks, indicating more variable speech motor coordination. Increases in syntactic complexity and utterance length were associated with increases in speech motor coordination variability in both speaker groups. There was a significant effect of Stroop task, which produced increases in autonomic arousal and increased speech motor variability in both adults and children. These results provide novel evidence that high arousal levels can influence speech motor control in both adults and children.

No Influence of Melatonin on Cerebral Blood Flow in Humans

Melatonin has been attributed a role in a number of physiological processes. Changes in distal skin temperature and blood pressure after intake of melatonin suggest that melatonin induces peripheral vasodilation. The effect on the cerebral blood flow is still unknown. We examined the effect of a single pulse of melatonin on cerebral and peripheral blood flow, using the latter as a positive control. Ten male healthy volunteers (mean age, 22 +/- 3.2 yr) participated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. On one occasion 10 microg melatonin were infused i.v., and on the other occasion saline was infused as the matching placebo. Cerebral blood flow was measured using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging. Peripheral blood flow was determined from changes in the distal to proximal skin temperature gradient and finger pulse volume. Serum melatonin concentration increased from 12 +/- 5 pg/ml at baseline to 487 +/- 377 pg/ml at 5 min and 156 +/- 68 pg/ml at 10 min after melatonin administration. There was no significantly different time course for cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular resistance. Compared with placebo, melatonin significantly increased peripheral blood flow, as measured by distal to proximal skin temperature gradient and finger pulse volume. These data demonstrate that melatonin does not have an acute regulatory effect on cerebral blood flow in humans.

Anticipatory autonomic response to a public speaking task in women: The role of trait anxiety

The aim of this research was to study anticipatory autonomic responses their relationship to trait anxiety. Twenty-three women prepared an evaluated speech (S-condition) and 22 women an evaluated essay (W-condition). Heart rate (HR), finger pulse volume (FPV) and skin conductance were recorded before, during and after preparation of the task and during task performance; state-anxiety was evaluated before and after the task. In the total sample, state-anxiety was higher in the S- than in W-condition and this anxiety increase was accompanied by FPV reductions. However, when the sample was split according to trait anxiety scores, HR during preparation and increases of state-anxiety were greater in S- than W-condition in only in high-anxious women. Results suggest that specificity of anticipatory HR response to a public speaking task in women is moderated by cognitive anxiety.

Gender differences in cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to public speaking task: the role of anxiety and mood states

Gender moderates psychophysiological responses to stress. In addition to the hormonal background, different psychological states related to social stressors, such as anxiety and mood, could affect this response. The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of gender differences in the cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to a speech task and their relationship with anxiety and the mood variations experienced. For this, non-specific skin conductance responses (NSRs), heart rate (HR), and finger pulse volume (FPV) were measured at rest, and during preparation, task and recovery periods of an academic career speech in undergraduate men ( n=15) and women ( n=23), with assessment of changes in the state version of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. Men and women did not differ in trait anxiety, hostility/aggressiveness, or in the appraisal of the task, which were evaluated with the trait version of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and a self-report elaborated by ourselves, respectively. Women had higher FPV in all periods except during the task, and were more reactive to the stressor in state anxiety, and in the amplitude of NSRs. No gender differences for HR and for the frequency of NSRs were found. Anxiety and mood states were differently related to cardiovascular and electrodermal measurements in men and women. Further studies should consider the hormonal variations in addition to the psychological dimensions, in order to offer a more integrative perspective of the complex responses to stress.

Controlled Human Exposure to Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether in Gasoline: Symptoms, Psychophysiologic and Neurobehavioral Responses of Self-Reported Sensitive Persons

The 1990 Clean Air Act mandated oxygenation of gasoline in regions where carbon monoxide standards were not met. To achieve this standard, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was increased to 15% by volume during winter months in many locations. Subsequent to the increase of MTBE in gasoline, commuters reported increases in symptoms such as headache, nausea, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. The present study compared 12 individuals selected based on self-report of symptoms (self-reported sensitives; SRSs) associated with MTBE to 19 controls without self-reported sensitivities. In a double-blind, repeated measures, controlled exposure, subjects were exposed for 15 min to clean air, gasoline, gasoline with 11% MTBE, and gasoline with 15% MTBE. Symptoms, odor ratings, neurobehavioral performance on a task of driving simulation, and psychophysiologic responses (heart and respiration rate, end-tidal CO(2), finger pulse volume, electromyograph, finger temperature) were measured before, during, and immediately after exposure. Relative to controls, SRSs reported significantly more total symptoms when exposed to gasoline with 15% MTBE than when exposed to gasoline with 11% MTBE or to clean air. However, these differences in symptoms were not accompanied by significant differences in neurobehavioral performance or psychophysiologic responses. No significant differences in symptoms or neurobehavioral or psychophysiologic responses were observed when exposure to gasoline with 11% MTBE was compared to clean air or to gasoline. Thus, the present study, although showing increased total symptoms among SRSs when exposed to gasoline with 15% MTBE, did not support a dose-response relationship for MTBE exposure nor the symptom specificity associated with MTBE in epidemiologic studies.

Controlled human exposure to methyl tertiary butyl ether in gasoline: symptoms, psychophysiologic and neurobehavioral responses of self-reported sensitive persons.

The 1990 Clean Air Act mandated oxygenation of gasoline in regions where carbon monoxide standards were not met. To achieve this standard, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was increased to 15% by volume during winter months in many locations. Subsequent to the increase of MTBE in gasoline, commuters reported increases in symptoms such as headache, nausea, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. The present study compared 12 individuals selected based on self-report of symptoms (self-reported sensitives; SRSs) associated with MTBE to 19 controls without self-reported sensitivities. In a double-blind, repeated measures, controlled exposure, subjects were exposed for 15 min to clean air, gasoline, gasoline with 11% MTBE, and gasoline with 15% MTBE. Symptoms, odor ratings, neurobehavioral performance on a task of driving simulation, and psychophysiologic responses (heart and respiration rate, end-tidal CO(2), finger pulse volume, electromyograph, finger temperature) were measured before, during, and immediately after exposure. Relative to controls, SRSs reported significantly more total symptoms when exposed to gasoline with 15% MTBE than when exposed to gasoline with 11% MTBE or to clean air. However, these differences in symptoms were not accompanied by significant differences in neurobehavioral performance or psychophysiologic responses. No significant differences in symptoms or neurobehavioral or psychophysiologic responses were observed when exposure to gasoline with 11% MTBE was compared to clean air or to gasoline. Thus, the present study, although showing increased total symptoms among SRSs when exposed to gasoline with 15% MTBE, did not support a dose-response relationship for MTBE exposure nor the symptom specificity associated with MTBE in epidemiologic studies.

Elevated levels of psychophysiological arousal and cortisol in patients with somatization syndrome.

This study investigates psychological and psychobiological processes in patients with somatization syndrome. We compared physiological measures (heart rate, finger pulse volume, electrodermal activity, electromyography), cortisol levels, and subjective well-being during rest and during a mental stress task as well as selective attention and memory for illness-related words in 58 patients with somatization syndrome and 21 healthy controls. The somatization group had higher morning salivary cortisol concentrations, higher heart rates, and lower levels of finger pulse volume. During the mental stress task, patients with somatization syndrome felt more distressed and had higher heart rates, whereas controls showed habituation to the experimental situation. We were unable to demonstrate an attention or memory bias specific for somatization. The results point to several psychological, psychophysiological, and psychobiological mechanisms that might be involved in the maintenance of somatization syndrome. These results are discussed from a cognitive-psychobiological perspective.

Psychophysiologic sensitization to headlight glare among professional drivers with and without cardiovascular disease.

Previous studies have shown that young, healthy professional drivers show heightened central nervous system arousal and cardiovascular hyperreactivity to simulated headlight glare. Electroencephalographic and cardiovascular response and recovery to simulated headlight glare (the glare pressor test) were examined in 4 groups of male professional drivers (age 25-52 years)--12 with ischemic heart disease (IHD), 12 with hypertension (HTN), 10 with borderline hypertension (BHTN), and 34 who were healthy--and in 23 non-professional driver controls--with the aim of assessing sensitization to this night driving stressor in relation to degree of cardiovascular disease severity. After glare exposure the IHD drivers showed the most pronounced alpha blockade, a rise in diastolic blood pressure (DBP; p < .05), and, unlike the other groups, a persistent fall in finger pulse volume (p < .02). The BHTN group reacted initially with DBP rise and finger pulse drop (ps < .05 and .02, respectively), mainly without central nervous system arousal. The DBP remained constant in normotensive professional drivers older than 40. The drivers' cardiovascular responses to glare were inversely related to reported stressors and subjective experience. Anxiety trait and long work hours were associated with heightened central arousal to glare in professional drivers. The results suggest that there may be progressive degrees of sensitization to glare exposure in these samples, with the least among normotensive professional drivers older than 40, moderate levels in borderline hypertensives, and the most severe in drivers with IHD.

Mood and physiological effects of subcutaneous nicotine in smokers and never-smokers

This study compared the effect of subcutaneous nicotine injections (2 × 0.3 mg and 2 × 0.6 mg) with saline on subjective and physiological measures in 18 never-smokers and 18 smokers (24-h nicotine deprived), under conditions of rest and cognitive testing. Prior to the injections the mood of the smokers had deteriorated to a level significantly below that of the never-smokers as a result of tobacco withdrawal. Cognitive tests caused reductions in calmness and increased alertness but there was no evidence of nicotine improving mood in either group under either condition. The 0.6 mg dose worsened mood in never-smokers and caused unpleasant symptoms (e.g. dizziness and arm pain) in both groups. Compared with smokers, never-smokers experienced stronger symptoms of nicotine toxicity and a greater reduction in alertness in response to the 0.6 mg dose, suggesting chronic tolerance to some nicotine effects in smokers. Nicotine produced similar increases in heart rate and decreases in finger pulse volume in both groups. Our results imply that if nicotine has a mood enhancing effect it occurs only after tolerance has been acquired to its primary adverse effects, and that its ability to reverse the mood deterioration caused by tobacco withdrawal is susceptible to situational factors such as our experimental conditions.

操船訓練時の操船者緊張レベルの推定 : 指尖脈波を用いて

The finger pulse volume sences a finger's peripheral blood vessel. The volume decreases at a tense situation. In this study, a tension is estimated by this senser on student's training the ship's maneuvering. Their trainings are three scenarios, a slalom, a buoy approaching and an on the spot terning. Once more, the students are under the training both with a ship's simulator and a training ship (Oshima Maru : 220GT). Then, the students are devided two groups, an experience group with a simulator and no experience group. As the results, (1) In according to a pile of training, the mean of the tensions were high stabilized. (2) The tension's mean on the training of ship's maneuvering, at the actual ship's maneuvering was more increasingly then at a simulator's maneuvering. (3) At the buoy-approaching, the experience group was more low tension's mean than the no experience group.

Coping dispositions and physiological recovery from a speech preparation stressor

Reductions in autonomic activation and muscle tension were considered to indicate adaptive relaxation following relief from a presumed stressor. Repressive coping styles were predicted to give less fall in various psychophysiological indices of activation, indicating a physiological ‘cost’ (of repression of feelings). Forty-two male volunteers were unexpectedly given 3 min to prepare a speech for immediate delivery. But then no speech was required, only relaxation while listening to 8 min of soothing music. Concurrent psychophysiological indices included integrated neck trapezius muscle electromyogram. non-specific skin conductance response (rate and mean amplitude), heart rate, finger pulse volume, and finger pulse volume fluctuation rate. Saliva was sampled after speech preparation and relaxation, and [K + ] and [Na + ] were measured. Eysenck's ‘Eysenck Personality Questionnaire’, Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory and Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness Scale, Roger's Emotion Control Questionnaire, and Krohne's Mainz Coping Inventory were applied. Introverts showed more tension (higher tonic electromyogram) during speech preparation and afterwards did not exhibit adaptive reduction in electromyogram. Emotional inhibition correlated negatively with electromyogram change. These results support the hypothesis that slow muscular relaxation following release from a stressor is a feature of introversion and emotional inhibition.

Antihypertensive Monotherapy and Stress-Induced Changes in Physiological Activity

The effects of two types of laboratory stressors, a structured interview and the cold pressor test, on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were studied in normotensive individuals (n = 16), unmedicated hypertensive patients (n = 12), and medicated hypertensive patients (n = 46). Fifteen patients were in the bisoprolol group, 16 patients were in the enalapril group, and 15 patients were in the nitrendipine group. Concurrent physiologic measures, finger pulse volume (FPV), electrodermal activity, and respiratory frequency (RF), were also used to evaluate the level of stress reached by the subjects during and after the tasks. No significant differences were evident between the different treatments in BP and other physiologic responses to stressors. Patients receiving bisoprolol maintained lower HR and systolic BP values, but these differences were not related to the reaction to the stressors. No significant differences were noted in diastolic BP (DBP) between the different groups. The highest physiologic responses were obtained during the structured interview. Antihypertensive monotherapy does not attenuate cardiovascular reactions induced by acute stress in controlled laboratory conditions. In laboratory studies of the relationships between stress and hypertension, it is important that social stressors be used and that physiologic rather than cardiovascular measures of stress be recorded.

Classical conditioning of vascular responses in mild hypertensives and normotensives

Using a discriminative classical conditioning paradigm, this study addresses the question of whether vascular responses are more easily acquired or slower to extinguish in mild hypertensives than in normotensive controls. We subjected 18 mild hypertensives, with a resting systolic/diastolic blood pressure of 141/100 mmHg, and 17 normotensive controls similar in age, with resting systolic/diastolic blood pressure 122/80 mmHg, to a discriminative Pavlovian conditioning paradigm with tones of 8 s duration serving as conditioned stimuli (CS) and a mild electric shock as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Digital finger pulse volume (FPV) responses were recorded during an acquisition phase, where CS+, but not CS-, was repeatedly paired with the UCS (12 trials), and an extinction phase where shocks were withheld (12 trials). During the acquisition phase, mild hypertensives displayed greater anticipatory vasoconstrictive responses both to CS+ and CS- compared with normotensive controls. In addition, unconditioned FPV responses were enhanced in mild hypertensives. During the extinction phase, mild hypertensives evidenced increased resistance to extinction since conditioned vasoconstriction was more frequently observed in response to CS+ than to CS- in mild hypertensives only. Thus, vascular dysregulation in mild hypertensives was evident both for unconditioned and conditioned vasoconstriction. Data are compatible both with a centrally determined increased conditionability in mild hypertensive compared with normotensive and with a decreased threshold for peripheral vascular responsiveness among mild hypertensives.

The stability of individual patterns of autonomic responses to motion sickness stimulation : P. S. Cowings, K. H. Naifeh and W. B. Toscano 1990 Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine61(5), 399–405. (7 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables, 22 references) (in English)

As part of a program to develop a treatment for motion sickness based on self-regulation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, this study examined the stability of an individual's pattern of ANS responses to motion sickness stimulation on repeated occasions. Motion sickness symptoms were induced in 58 people during 2 rotating chair tests. Physiological responses measured were heart rate, finger pulse volume, respiration rate, and skin conductance. Using standard scores, we examined stability of responses of specific magnitudes across both tests. Correlational analyses, analysis of variance, and a components of variance analysis all revealed marked, but quite stable, individual differences in ANS responses to both mild and severe motion sickness. These findings confirm our prior observation that people are sufficiently unique in their ANS responses to motion sickness provocation to make it necessary to individually tailor self-regulation training. Further, these data support our contention that individual ANS patterns are sufficiently consistent from test to test so as to serve as an objective indicator of individual motion sickness malaise levels.

The autonomic orienting response and CT scan findings in schizophrenia

CT scan measures of prefrontal sulcal prominence, parieto-occipital sulcal prominence, ventricle-brain ratio (VBR), and third ventricle width (TVW) were examined in 24 schizophrenic patients who were grouped on the basis of their autonomic orienting response (OR) status. A two-component definition of the OR was used that required concordance across both electrodermal and finger pulse volume components for response status assignment. The nine OR responders had significantly greater TVW than the 15 OR nonresponders. Although OR responders had higher values also on the other CT scan measures, these differences were not significant. These findings are consistent with the possibility that OR responsiveness and nonresponsiveness are related to different pathological dimensions of schizophrenia.

Orienting in schizophrenia: habituation to auditory stimuli of constant and varying intensity in patients high and low in skin conductance responsivity.

Groups of schizophrenics and normal controls were exposed to different series of tones of constant (80dB) and variable intensity (60, 80, and 100 dB). Measurements included bilateral skin conductance, finger pulse volume, and heart rate. Both groups were split on the common median in skin conductance response to constant intensity tones to form matched patient and control groups of low and high responsivity. The low and high responsive schizophrenic groups were more clearly separated than the two control groups in rate of spontaneous skin conductance fluctuations, skin conductance magnitudes, and skin conductance levels, primarily because of generalized hyperactivity in high responsive patients. This pattern was clearest for the most intense tone and left hand recordings. High responsive schizophrenics also showed larger response amplitudes, shorter rise and recovery times, and a smaller ratio of elicited to spontaneous responses, than high responsive controls. Finger pulse volume responses recorded from the left hand were smaller in the patient groups, whereas patients and controls did not differ in right hand recordings. High skin conductance responsive subjects showed more heart rate deceleration than low responsive subjects, and schizophrenics had more decelerative responses than controls.

The influence of aerobic exercise on physiological stress responsivity.

ABSTRACTThe present study examined the relationship between aerobic exercise participation and physiological stress responsivity to psychosocial stressors. Male subjects (N = 107) who were either intense aerobic exercisers, moderate aerobic exercisers, or nonexereisers completed a telephone interview, a personality assessment battery, a life stress questionnaire, and a physical exercise and hobby questionnaire. Subjects then participated in a stressful laboratory procedure where they faced two stressors: an electric shock procedure, and a difficult “intelligence test.” Pulse rate, finger pulse volume, and skin resistance were assessed during the entire laboratory procedure.Although results demonstrated consistent significant cardiovascular (i.e., pulse rate and pulse volume) differences among the exercise groups during the entire laboratory procedure in that exercisers were less physiologically reactive to the stressors and the recovery periods, most of these results failed to reach significance when statistically controlling for the baseline/anticipation‐of‐stressors physiological measures. The implications of this study for further research are discussed.