The interactive effect of change in perceived stress and trait anxiety on vagal recovery from cognitive challenge

Abstract

The present study tested the hypothesis that the change in state negative affect (measured as perceived stress) after cognitive challenge moderates the relationship of trait anxiety and anger to vagal recovery from that challenge. Cardiac vagal control (assessed using heart rate variability) and respiratory rate were measured in a sample of 905 participants from the Midlife in the United States Study. Cognitive challenges consisted of computerized mental arithmetic and Stroop color-word matching tasks. Multiple regression analyses controlling for the effects of the demographic, lifestyle, and medical factors influencing cardiac vagal control showed a significant moderating effect of change in perceived stress on the relationship of trait anxiety to vagal recovery from cognitive challenges (Beta = .253, p= .013). After adjustment for respiratory rate, this effect became marginally significant (Beta = .177, p= .037). In contrast, for the relationship of trait anger to vagal recovery, this effect was not significant either before (Beta = .141, p=.257) or after (Beta = .186, p=.072) adjusting for respiratory rate. Secondary analyses revealed that among the individuals with higher levels of trait anxiety, greater reductions in perceived stress were associated with greater increases in cardiac vagal control after the challenge. In contrast, among the individuals with lower levels of trait anxiety, changes in perceived stress had no impact on vagal recovery. Therefore, change in perceived stress moderates the relationship of trait anxiety, but not trait anger, to vagal recovery from cognitive challenge.

Effortful control and resiliency exhibit different patterns of cardiac autonomic control

“…This finding is consistent with research indicating the importance of vagal rebound in adaptive stress responding (Mezzacappa et al, 2001;Spangler, 1997). Vagal recovery has been linked to correlates of EC, such as low negative affect and executive function, but the present results are among the first to directly tie EC to vagal control of stress recovery (Crowley et al, 2011). Although not of primary focus, resting CVC was positively related to EC, which is consistent with relations of EC to vagal control of recovery following mental arithmetic.…”

Differences in autonomic functions as related to induced stress between children with and without cerebral palsy while performing a virtual meal-making task

“…Yet the extent of this effect on performance outcome probably depends on the task characteristics and particularly how familiar he/she is with the task. Crowley et al (2011) suggest that trait anxiety alone may not be sufficient to account for vagal responses; rather it is the perceived stress that moderates the association between trait anxiety and vagal response during the performance of a cognitive challenge. Thus it may be that children with CP perceived the tasks in the present study as stressful, leading to changes in both autonomic function and performance.…”

Acute mental stress assessment via short term HRV analysis in healthy adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis

“…Therefore, the power spectrum density measures were considered if reported in normalized units or ms 2 , for the low frequency bands (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) and the high frequency bands (HF, 0.15-0.4 Hz). When papers shortlisted for meta-analysis reported features in a non-conventional way, these measures were excluded from the pooling or converted in ms 2 , if possible.…”

“…Stress may cause cognitive dysfunctions, cardiovascular diseases, depression [1,2] and may lead to death and illness [3]. There is, in fact, an average of 50% of employees, which suffer of 'work stress' [4].…”