Abstract
Mental stress evokes several physiological responses such as the acceleration of heart rate, increase of electrodermal activity and the release of adrenaline. Moreover, physiological stress responses interact with emotional and behavioral stress responses. In the present study we provide evidence that viscero-sensory feedback from the heart (cardiac perception) is an important factor modulating emotional and cognitive stress responses. In our study, we compared participants with high versus low cardiac perception using a computerized mental stress task, in which they had to respond to rapidly presented visual and acoustic stimuli. Additionally, we assessed physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance). Participants high in cardiac perception reported more negative emotions and showed worse task performance under the stressor than participants low in cardiac perception. These results were not moderated by physiological responses. We conclude that cardiac perception modulates stress responses by intensifying negative emotions and by impairing cognitive performance.
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Notes
Additionally we conducted correlation analyses between heart rate and skin conductance level under stress and emotional experience as well as cognitive performance. There was neither a significant correlation between heart rate under stress and emotional experience (all rs <.23, all ps >.12) nor between skin conductance level under stress and emotional experience (all rs <.17, all ps >.24). There was also no significant correlation between skin conductance level under stress and cognitive performance (all rs <.12, all ps >.42). Only the correlation between heart rate under stress and correct reactions (r = −.29, p < .05) as well as heart rate under stress and omitted reactions (r = .29, p = .05) reached significance.
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Authors Nicole K. Kindermann and Natalie S. Werner declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Animal and Human Rights and Informed Consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
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Kindermann, N.K., Werner, N.S. The impact of cardiac perception on emotion experience and cognitive performance under mental stress. J Behav Med 37, 1145–1154 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9564-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9564-7