LaMarca Ehlert
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie » Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ehlert » LaMarca Ehlert
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Evaluation of the effects of the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) on cortisol and the autonomic nerve system in high- and low-responder to the Cold Face Test (CFT) | ||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Stress plays an important role in the etiology of several somatic and psychiatric disorders. The Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) is a newer standardized stress test inducing a moderate stress response when referring to the cortisol response. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the biopsychological effects of the MIST on salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and affect. Additionally, the study was designed to evaluate the role of vagal function during stress. Thirty-two healthy male subjects participated in randomized order to a stress and a non-stress condition. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected repeatedly before, during and after the MIST, while RSA and HR were measured continuously during the whole examination with the LifeShirt system (Ventura, CA, USA). Vagal function was estimated by applying the cold face test (CFT). The MIST resulted in a significant multidimensional stress response (referring to mood and the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, sympathetic nervous system, and parasympathetic nervous system). Furthermore, we found a significant effect of vagal function on stress response: Subjects with a fast response to the CFT had a better mood and a smaller cortisol increase in response to stress compared to subjects with a slow response to the CFT. This finding supports an inverse relation between the vagus nerve and the HPA axis, and underlines the buffering role of a good vagal function during stressfull events. Therefore, this inverse relationship might explain one mechanism linking the vagus nerve to health. |
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| Publications / Publikationen | Arnrich, B., Setz, C., La Marca, R., Tröster, G. & Ehlert, U. (2010). What does your chair know about your stress level? IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in BioMedicine, 14(2), 207-214. La Marca, R., Waldvogel, P., Thörn, H., Tripod, M., Wirtz, P. H., Pruessner, J. & Ehlert, U. (2011). Association between Cold Face Test-induced vagal inhibition and cortisol response to acute stress. Psychophysiology, 48(3), 420-429. Setz, C., Arnrich, B., Schumm, J., Tröster, G., La Marca, R. & Ehlert, U. (2009). Discriminating Stress from Cognitive Load Using a Wearable EDA Device. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in BioMedicine, 14(2), 410-417. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | stress, MIST, CFT, cortisol, alpha-amylase, RSA, vagal activity | ||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Nachwuchsförderungskredit der Universität Zürich |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2008 to Jun 2009 |