Effects of Auditory and Visual Stimulation on Acute Stress Response
Advisor(s)
Rema Suniga (r-suniga@onu.edu)
Confirmation
1
Document Type
Poster
Location
McIntosh Activities Room
Start Date
19-4-2024 12:00 PM
End Date
19-4-2024 12:50 PM
Abstract
Hospital settings evoke stressful responses; however, exposure to forest imagery or classical music has decreased stress response. Thus, this study investigated the acute effects of auditory and visual stimulation on heart rate (HR), blood pressure and brain activity in a simulated hospital setting. With IRB approval, 10 college-aged students (18-22 yrs) were presented with 6 sensory stimuli over a 7-minute period, in this order: stressful visual, stressful audio, a combination of stressful visual and audio, calming visual, calming audio, and a combination of calming visual and audio while EKG (mV) and EEG (uV and Hz) were simultaneously recorded and blood pressure (mm Hg) was measured. All cardiovascular parameters (HR in bpm, MAP [mean arterial pressure], SP [systolic pressure], and DP [diastolic pressure]) and brain activity (alpha and beta waves) were measured in triplicate per subject and expressed as % change compared to resting conditions. Based on this study, % change in all cardiovascular responses to the six sensory stimuli regardless of gender or by either (except for HR, N=5), were not significantly different. Interestingly, mean % change in HR in response to either stressful audio (p=0.016) or combined stressful audio and visual (p= 0.013) was higher in females than in males. The response to either calming audio (p=0.01) or combined calming audio and visual stimulation (p=0.002) was also lower in males than in females. A significant EEG impact was observed only with alpha wave frequency in that females had a higher % increase than in males.
Recommended Citation
Stephenson, Maggie; LaSalle, Amaris; James, Lauren; and Bergman, Hannah, "Effects of Auditory and Visual Stimulation on Acute Stress Response" (2024). ONU Student Research Colloquium. 20.
https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/student_research_colloquium/2024/Posters/20
Level of Access
Restricted to ONU Community
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Effects of Auditory and Visual Stimulation on Acute Stress Response
McIntosh Activities Room
Hospital settings evoke stressful responses; however, exposure to forest imagery or classical music has decreased stress response. Thus, this study investigated the acute effects of auditory and visual stimulation on heart rate (HR), blood pressure and brain activity in a simulated hospital setting. With IRB approval, 10 college-aged students (18-22 yrs) were presented with 6 sensory stimuli over a 7-minute period, in this order: stressful visual, stressful audio, a combination of stressful visual and audio, calming visual, calming audio, and a combination of calming visual and audio while EKG (mV) and EEG (uV and Hz) were simultaneously recorded and blood pressure (mm Hg) was measured. All cardiovascular parameters (HR in bpm, MAP [mean arterial pressure], SP [systolic pressure], and DP [diastolic pressure]) and brain activity (alpha and beta waves) were measured in triplicate per subject and expressed as % change compared to resting conditions. Based on this study, % change in all cardiovascular responses to the six sensory stimuli regardless of gender or by either (except for HR, N=5), were not significantly different. Interestingly, mean % change in HR in response to either stressful audio (p=0.016) or combined stressful audio and visual (p= 0.013) was higher in females than in males. The response to either calming audio (p=0.01) or combined calming audio and visual stimulation (p=0.002) was also lower in males than in females. A significant EEG impact was observed only with alpha wave frequency in that females had a higher % increase than in males.