Jorge Javier Ricarte

Gender differences in cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to public speaking task: the role of anxiety and mood states

Gender moderates psychophysiological responses to stress. In addition to the hormonal background, different psychological states related to social stressors, such as anxiety and mood, could affect this response. The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of gender differences in the cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to a speech task and their relationship with anxiety and the mood variations experienced. For this, non-specific skin conductance responses (NSRs), heart rate (HR), and finger pulse volume (FPV) were measured at rest, and during preparation, task and recovery periods of an academic career speech in undergraduate men (n=15) and women (n=23), with assessment of changes in the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. Men and women did not differ in trait anxiety, hostility/aggressiveness, or in the appraisal of the task, which were evaluated with the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and a self-report elaborated by ourselves, respectively. Women had higher FPV in all periods except during the task, and were more reactive to the stressor in state anxiety, and in the amplitude of NSRs. No gender differences for HR and for the frequency of NSRs were found. Anxiety and mood states were differently related to cardiovascular and electrodermal measurements in men and women. Further studies should consider the hormonal variations in addition to the psychological dimensions, in order to offer a more integrative perspective of the complex responses to stress.

Anticipatory autonomic response to a public speaking task in women: The role of trait anxiety

The aim of this research was to study anticipatory autonomic responses their relationship to trait anxiety. Twenty-three women prepared an evaluated speech (S-condition) and 22 women an evaluated essay (W-condition). Heart rate (HR), finger pulse volume (FPV) and skin conductance were recorded before, during and after preparation of the task and during task performance; state-anxiety was evaluated before and after the task. In the total sample, state-anxiety was higher in the S- than in W-condition and this anxiety increase was accompanied by FPV reductions. However, when the sample was split according to trait anxiety scores, HR during preparation and increases of state-anxiety were greater in S- than W-condition in only in high-anxious women. Results suggest that specificity of anticipatory HR response to a public speaking task in women is moderated by cognitive anxiety.

Testosterone and attribution of successful competition

Mood, personal merit, and/or its perception have been suggested to be mediating factors in testosterone responses to competition. Previously we have found that personal contribution and attribution were related to testosterone levels after successful competition. To confirm such associations, two basketball teams (n = 17 players) that emerged as winners in two actual matches were studied. Salivary testosterone levels and mood were measured before and after the games. Individual contribution to the outcome was assessed, and personal satisfaction and causal attribution of outcome were reported by players. Testosterone concentrations increased to near significance in Team 1 but not in Team 2, who attributed their victory more to luck than did Team 1. This latter team showed notably decreased vigor, and both teams showed fatigue at the end of the match. Post-match testosterone levels were only significantly, negatively related to external attribution. The results support the idea that causal attribution of the outcome is contributing to the variance of the testosterone responses to real confrontations where the outcome is highly dependent on personal merit.

Psychophysiological responses to the Stroop Task after a maximal cycle ergometry in elite sportsmen and physically active subjects

Physical fitness moderates the psychophysiological responses to stress. This study attempts to determine whether the degree of fitness could affect the response to physical and psychological stress after comparing two groups of men with good physical fitness. Saliva samples from 18 elite sportsmen, and 11 physically active subjects were collected to determine hormonal levels after carrying out a maximal cycle ergometry. Heart rate and skin conductance level were continuously recorded before, during, and after a modified version of the Stroop Color-Word Task. With similar scores in trait anxiety and mood, elite sportsmen had lower basal salivary testosterone, testosterone/cortisol ratio, and HR before an ergometric session than physically active subjects, but no differences were found in salivary cortisol and blood pressure. Salivary testosterone and cortisol responses were lower and testosterone/cortisol ratio responses higher in elite sportsmen. During the Stroop Task, elite subjects showed lower heart rate and skin conductance level over the entire measurement period, and greater heart rate recovery with respect to the baseline values than physically active subjects. The effects of two standardised laboratory stressors on a set of psychophysiological variables were different when elite sportsmen and physically active subjects were compared.

Effects of Physical Training on Endocrine and Autonomic Response to Acute Stress

Abstract The effects of physical training on autonomic response to acute stress are controversial. In this study, heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) were continuously recorded in response to a mental stressor in a sample of elite athletes before and after a period of training and competition. The free testosterone to cortisol ratio (FTCR) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were used as markers of training impact. After the training, the men and women showed a significant FTCR decrement, although mood and the autonomic response to the acute stressor were not strongly altered. Although men showed significantly lower HR values after training, the results suggest that subjects suffered a transitory state of hormonal overstrain rather than a serious problem of adaptation to training.