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Complex sympathetic arousal during negative emotional stress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Z. Visnovcova ,
N. Ferencova ,
L. Bona Olexova  and
I. Tonhajzerova
Z. Visnovcova*
Affiliation:
Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in MartinComenius University in Bratislava, Martin, Slovak Republic
N. Ferencova
Affiliation:
Department Of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine Comenius University, Martin, Slovak Republic
L. Bona Olexova
Affiliation:
Department Of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine Comenius University, Martin, Slovak Republic
I. Tonhajzerova
Affiliation:
Department Of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine Comenius University, Martin, Slovak Republic
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a key role in maintenance of the homeostasis and adaptability of the body to different stimuli. The disturbances of ANS, especially sympathetic dysregulation in stress response, are associated with various disorders.

Objectives

Thus, we aimed to study the sympathetic arousal in response to negative emotional stress and during recovery using heart rate variability (HRV) nonlinear analysis (symbolic dynamics parameter 0V%) and skin conductance level (SCL) as sympathetically-mediated indices in healthy students.

Methods

Seventy students (age: 23.1±0.2yr., 39 females) were examined during complex stress response: baseline – negative emotional stress – recovery. RR intervals (for HRV analysis) and electrodermal activity were continuously recorded during each period lasting six minutes. Evaluated parameters: HRV nonlinear analysis - symbolic dynamics index 0V% as cardiac sympathetic index, skin conductance level (SCL) as sympathetic cholinergic index.

Results

Regarding electrodermal activity, the parameter SCL significantly increased in response to negative emotional stress (p<0.001) and remained higher after stress (recovery phase, p<0.001). Symbolic dynamics index 0V% was without significant changes.

Conclusions

Our findings revealed increased sympathetically-mediated index SCL in response to negative emotional stress and in recovery phase indicating higher sympathetic arousal during complex stress response in young people. Surprisingly, cardiac sympathetic index 0V% was not sensitive to detect discrete changes in sympathetic arousal to negative emotion. We suggest that detailed knowledge about complex sympathetic regulatory mechanisms to emotional stress in healthy probands represents the first step for understanding of pathomechanisms leading to abnormal stress response in mental disorders.

Conflict of interest

This study was funded by the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency under grants VEGA 1/0044/18; VEGA 1/0190/20 and Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic under the project registration number 2018/20-UKMT-16.

Keywords

sympathetic nervous systemelectrodermal activityheart rate variabilitynegative emotional stress
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S486
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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