Part 1: Setting up and preparing the skin
<ol>
<li>Set up the following sensors breathing belt, EMG, ECG, skin conductance, temperature, ground;</li>
<li>Prepare the skin by gently rubbing with an alcohol wipe in the following locations: forehead above the eyes for EMG, inside of both wrists for ECG, back of left hand for the ground (location of ground electrode may vary depending on equipment used);</li>
<li>Attach sensors to the skin in the following locations: breathing belt around the waist, EMG on the forehead above each eye, ECG on the inside of each wrist, skin conductance on middle finger of left hand, thermometer on the pointer of left hand, ground on the back of left hand;</li>
<li>Select session for Breathing+HRV;</li>
<li>Make sure that impendence is acceptable for all sensors and that the sensors are responsive to client&rsquo;s movement and producing reasonable readings.</li>
</ol>
Part 2: Recording
<ol>
<li>Explain the procedure to the client.</li>
<li>(min 0-2) Instruct the client to sit quietly with eyes open. Record a two-minute baseline.</li>
<li>(min 2-4) At the end of two minutes, begin a two-minute cognitive stressor &ndash; arithmetic problems gradually increasing in difficulty to be solved without use of pen &amp; paper or calculator (if arithmetic is particularly difficult for the client, ask them to repeatedly subtract seven starting from 100, i.e., &ldquo;serial sevens&rdquo;). Give the following instructions to the client: &ldquo;In the next 2 minutes, I will be asking you to solve some math problems. Please work as quickly as you can and tell me the answer&rdquo;. Do not provide feedback as to whether the client&rsquo;s answer is correct or incorrect and provide minimal encouragement (eg., &ldquo;just do the best you can&rdquo;) so as not to eliminate the mild stress inducing properties of this exercise.</li>
<li>(min 4-6) Let the client know that this part of the assessment is over and ask him/her to sit quietly with eyes open for 2 minutes.</li>
<li>(min 6-8) Begin physical stressor: turn on loud noxious noise (babies crying, car crashes, etc.) and ask the client to listen to the sounds without tuning out.</li>
<li>(min 8-10) Turn off noise, and ask the client to sit quietly with eyes open for 2 minutes.</li>
<li>(min 10-12) Begin emotional stressor: ask the client to talk about a stressful incident that they remember well, include the details of the event, what they were thinking and feeling. Provide minimal empathic response so as not to mitigate the stress response.</li>
<li>(min 12-14) Interrupt the client&rsquo;s story, even if he/she has not finished, and instruct the client to sit quietly with eyes open.</li>
<li>Stop recording, save the data, and let the client know that the assessment is done.</li>
</ol>
Part 3: Debriefing and treatment planning
<ol>
<li>Ask the client about their experience during the assessment. Which parts were particularly stressful and why? Did he/she feel any physiological changes happening?</li>
<li>Review data according to the criteria described in appendix I.</li>
<li>Chose physiological parameters that need to be addressed based on above analysis. If sensor reading at baseline is higher or lower than normal, the treatment goal is to help the client bring that physiological parameter to normal in a non-stressful environment. If sensor reading during the stressor is higher or lower than normal, the treatment goal is to help the client identify stressors and be able to maintain normal level of physiological functioning under stress. If sensor reading during down time indicates lack of recovery, the treatment goal is to help the client bring that physiological parameter to normal level quickly following a stressor. Any or all of these goals may be included in the treatment plan.</li>
</ol>
Appendix I
Stress assessment interpretation guidelines
(all &ldquo;bold&rdquo; answers indicate areas to be addressed)
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">EMG (normal reading &lt;3 microvolts)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is EMG elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is EMG elevated past the baseline at any of the 3 stressors?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of EMG to baseline level during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">Heart rate (normal range 60-80 beats per minute)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is heart rate elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is heart rate elevated past the baseline at any of the 3 stressors?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of heart rate to baseline level during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">Breathing rate (normal rate &lt;12 breaths per minute)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is breathing rate elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is breathing rate elevated past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of breathing rate to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">Skin conductance</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is skin conductance elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is skin conductance elevated past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of skin conductance to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">Finger temperature (normal reading &gt;90F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is finger temperature low at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Does finger temperature decrease past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of finger temperature to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">Heart rate variability (norms vary by age)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is heart rate variability low at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Does heart rate variability decrease past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of heart rate variability during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Appendix I
Stress assessment interpretation:
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">EMG (normal reading &lt;3 microvolts)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is EMG elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is EMG elevated past the baseline at any of the 3 stressors?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of EMG to baseline level during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Heart rate (normal range 60-80 beats per minute)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is heart rate elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is heart rate elevated past the baseline at any of the 3 stressors?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of heart rate to baseline level during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Breathing rate (normal rate &lt;12 breaths per minute)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is breathing rate elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is breathing rate elevated past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of breathing rate to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Skin conductance (normal reading &lt;5 micro ohms)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is skin conductance elevated at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Is skin conductance elevated past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of skin conductance to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Finger temperature (normal reading &gt;90F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is finger temperature low at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Does finger temperature decrease past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of finger temperature to baseline during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Heart rate variability (norms vary by age)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Is heart rate variability low at baseline?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Does heart rate variability decrease past the baseline for any stressor?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Is there recovery of heart rate variability during rest periods?</td>
<td>yes _</td>
<td>no _</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Treatment planning: If a reading is higher or lower than normal at baseline, goal of treatment is to help client bring that physiological parameter to normal in all circumstances If a reading is higher or lower than normal during the stressor, goal of treatment is to help client identify stressors and be able to maintain normal level of physiological functioning under stress If a reading indicates lack of recovery during down time, goal of treatment is to help client bring that physiological parameter to normal level quickly following a stressor.

<ol>
	<li>Arena, J., Schwartz, M. S., Schwartz, M. S., Andrasik, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Psychophysiological+assessment+and+biofeedback+baselines.">Psychophysiological assessment and biofeedback baselines.</a> A Practitioners Guide. , 128-158 (2005).</li><li>Schwartz, N. M., Schwartz, M. S., Schwartz, M. S., Andrasik, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Definitons+of+biofeedback+and+applied+psychophysiology.">Definitons of biofeedback and applied psychophysiology.</a> A Practitioners Guide. , 27-42 (2005).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Completed psychophysiological in the appendi stress assessment provides a biofeedback practitioner with information necessary for formulating a treatment plan. This assessment provides information about both the individual&rsquo;s response stereotypy, or uniformity of certain physiological responses to all stressors, and stimulus-response specificity, or individual&rsquo;s unique physiological responses to different kinds of stressors. With this information, the client is then able to learn to predict what kind of physiological response to expect in which situation and be able to modify his/her response accordingly.
Following the assessment, it is important for the practitioner to inquire about the client&rsquo;s subjective experience of the stressors in order to catch any mismatch between client&rsquo;s subjective experience and physiological readings. Such mismatch would then need to be addressed during treatment.
It is also important to keep in mind that effects of the stressor presented first may impact client&rsquo;s response to subsequent stressors. One possible solution to this problem is to present stressors to the same client in different order on several occasions. However, this is time consuming and may not be feasible in a clinical, non-research, setting.
The protocol presented here is a general guideline, with many possible modifications depending on each client&rsquo;s individual needs and on the equipment available to the practitioner. Placement of EMG sensors may vary depending on the presenting problem (eg., massester and/or sternocleidomastoid muscle for TMJD, upper trapezius and/or frontalis muscle for tension headaches). Particular stressors presented may vary according to what the client is likely to encounter in real life. With different equipment used, particular settings/programs used would vary accordingly.
Biofeedback practitioners should use their training to tailor the treatment to each individual client, with appropriate use of complementary psychotherapy to facilitate biofeedback treatment.

<table><tbody><tr><td>Physiolab I-330-C2</td><td>J&amp;amp;J</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PLUS 12 ch</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

psychophysiological stress assessment using biofeedback 

In the last half century, research in biofeedback has shown the extent to which the human mind can influence the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, previously thought to be outside of conscious control. By letting people observe signals from their own bodies, biofeedback enables them to develop greater awareness of their physiological and psychological reactions, such as stress, and to learn to modify these reactions. Biofeedback practitioners can facilitate this process by assessing people s reactions to mildly stressful events and formulating a biofeedback-based treatment plan. During stress assessment the practitioner first records a baseline for physiological readings, and then presents the client with several mild stressors, such as a cognitive, physical and emotional stressor. Variety of stressors is presented in order to determine a person's stimulus-response specificity, or differences in each person's reaction to qualitatively different stimuli. This video will demonstrate the process of psychophysiological stress assessment using biofeedback and present general guidelines for treatment planning.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Psychophysiological Stress Assessment Using Biofeedback at JoVE.com

Psychophysiological Stress Assessment Using Biofeedback

In this video we will describe one method of assessing person's psychophysiological reaction to stress using biofeedback. We will also present general guidelines for treatment planning.

Psychophysiological Stress Assessment Using Biofeedback 

In the last half century, research in biofeedback has shown the extent to which the human mind can influence the functioning of the autonomic nervous ...

psychophysiological-stress-assessment-using-biofeedback

Nanyang Technological University

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

13.3K Views.  Cambridge Health Alliance. In this video we will describe one method of assessing person's psychophysiological reaction to stress using biofeedback. We will also present general guidelines for treatment planning.

Video: Psychophysiological Stress Assessment Using Biofeedback

An Alternative to the Traditional Cold Pressor Test: The Cold Pressor Arm Wrap

Recently research on the relationship between stress and cognition, emotion, and behavior has greatly increased. These advances have yielded insights into important questions ranging from the nature of stress&#39; influence on addiction1 to the role of stress in neural changes associated with alterations in decision-making2,3. As topics being examined by the field evolve, however, so too must the methodologies involved. In this article a practical and effective alternative to a classic stress induction technique, the cold pressor test (CPT), is presented: the cold pressor arm wrap (CPAW). CPT typically involves immersion of a participant&#39;s dominant hand in ice-cold water for a period of time4. The technique is associated with robust activation of the sympatho-adrenomedullary (SAM) axis (and release of catecholamines; e.g.&#160;adrenaline and noradrenaline) and mild-to-moderate activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis with associated glucocorticoid (e.g.&#160;cortisol) release. While CPT has been used in a wide range of studies, it can be impractical to apply in some research environments. For example use of water during, rather than prior to, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential to damage sensitive and expensive equipment or interfere with acquisition of MRI signal. The CPAW is a practical and effective alternative to the traditional CPT. Composed of a versatile list of inexpensive and easily acquired components, CPAW makes use of MRI-safe gelpacs cooled to a temperature similar to CPT rather than actual water. Importantly CPAW is associated with levels of SAM and HPA activation comparable to CPT, and can easily be applied in a variety of research contexts. While it is important to maintain specific safety protocols when using the technique, these are easy to implement if planned for. Creation and use of the CPAW will be discussed.

The cold pressor test is a classic stress induction task used in a wide range of research examining the relationship between stress and cognition, emotion, and behavior. In this article, a practical and versatile alternative to the traditional cold pressor test is presented: the cold pressor arm wrap.

Recently research on the relationship between stress and cognition, emotion, and behavior has greatly increased. These advances have yielded insights into ...

Behavior

The Trier Social Stress Test Protocol for Inducing Psychological Stress

This article demonstrates a psychological stress protocol for use in a laboratory setting. Protocols that allow researchers to study the biological pathways of the stress response in health and disease are fundamental to the progress of research in stress and anxiety.1 Although numerous protocols exist for inducing stress response in the laboratory, many neglect to provide a naturalistic context or to incorporate aspects of social and psychological stress. Of psychological stress protocols, meta-analysis suggests that the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is the most useful and appropriate standardized protocol for studies of stress hormone reactivity.2 In the original description of the TSST, researchers sought to design and evaluate a procedure capable of inducing a reliable stress response in the majority of healthy volunteers.3 These researchers found elevations in heart rate, blood pressure and several endocrine stress markers in response to the TSST (a psychological stressor) compared to a saline injection (a physical stressor).3 Although the TSST has been modified to meet the needs of various research groups, it generally consists of a waiting period upon arrival, anticipatory speech preparation, speech performance, and verbal arithmetic performance periods, followed by one or more recovery periods. The TSST requires participants to prepare and deliver a speech, and verbally respond to a challenging arithmetic problem in the presence of a socially evaluative audience.3 Social evaluation and uncontrollability have been identified as key components of stress induction by the TSST.4 In use for over a decade, the goal of the TSST is to systematically induce a stress response in order to measure differences in reactivity, anxiety and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) or sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis during the task.1 Researchers generally assess changes in self-reported anxiety, physiological measures (e.g. heart rate), and/or neuroendocrine indices (e.g. the stress hormone cortisol) in response to the TSST. Many investigators have adopted salivary sampling for stress markers such as cortisol and alpha-amylase (a marker of autonomic nervous system activation) as an alternative to blood sampling to reduce the confounding stress of blood-collection techniques. In addition to changes experienced by an individual completing the TSST, researchers can compare changes between different treatment groups (e.g. clinical versus healthy control samples) or the effectiveness of stress-reducing interventions.1

This article describes a protocol for inducing psychological stress in participants, which enables researchers to measure psychological, physiological and neuroendocrine responses to stress within single participants or between groups.

This article demonstrates a psychological stress protocol for use in a laboratory setting.  Protocols that allow researchers to study the biological ...

Medicine

Use of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, and Self-reports to Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During a Laboratory Exam Activity

Typically, self-reports are used in educational research to assess student response and performance to a classroom activity. Yet, addition of biological and physiological measures such as salivary biomarkers and galvanic skin responses are rarely included, limiting the wealth of information that can be obtained to better understand student performance. A laboratory protocol to study undergraduate students&#39; responses to classroom events (e.g., exams) is presented. Participants were asked to complete a representative exam for their degree. Before and after the laboratory exam session, students completed an academic achievement emotions self-report and an interview that paralleled these questions when participants wore a galvanic skin sensor and salivary biomarkers were collected. Data collected from the three methods resulted in greater depth of information about students&#39; performance when compared to the self-report. The work can expand educational research capabilities through more comprehensive methods for obtaining nearer to real-time student responses to an examination activity.

Research on undergraduate students' academic achievement emotions have primarily relied on self-reports in laboratory settings. Studies rarely include bio-physiological measures to these self-reports. This protocol will describe a methodology that integrates self-reports with and bio-physiological measures to assess student response and performance during a laboratory examination activity.

Typically, self-reports are used in educational research to assess student response and performance to a classroom activity. Yet, addition of biological ...

Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life

Music listening is associated with stress-reducing effects. However, most of the results on music listening and stress were gathered in experimental settings. As music listening is a popular activity of daily life, it is of utmost importance to study the effects of music listening on psychobiological stress in an everyday, daily-life setting. Here, a study protocol is presented that allows the assessment of associations between music listening and psychobiological stress in daily life by noninvasively measuring salivary cortisol (as a marker of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis) and salivary alpha-amylase (as a marker of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)). The protocol includes advice on the study design (e.g., sampling protocol), the materials and methods (e.g., the assessment of psychobiological stress in daily life, the assessment of music listening, and the manual), the selection of participants (e.g., the approval of the institutional review board and inclusion criteria), and the statistical analyses (e.g., the multilevel approach). The representative results provide evidence for a stress-reducing effect of music listening in daily life. Particularly, specific reasons for listening to music (especially relaxation), as well as the presence of others while doing so, increase this stress-reducing effect. At the same time, music listening in daily life differentially affects the HPA axis and ANS functioning, thus emphasizing the need for a multi-dimensional assessment of stress in daily life.

A study protocol is presented on how to assess associations between music listening and psychobiological stress (as measured by subjective stress levels, salivary cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase) in daily life. Advice on study design, materials, methods, selection of participants, and statistical handling is provided. Representative results are presented and discussed.

Music listening is associated with stress-reducing effects. However, most of the results on music listening and stress were gathered in experimental ...

A Community-based Stress Management Program: Using Wearable Devices to Assess Whole Body Physiological Responses in Non-laboratory Settings

A pragmatic breath-based intervention to benefit human performance and stress management is timely and valuable to individuals seeking holistic approaches for emotional regulation and optimizing compensatory reserve mechanisms. This protocol is designed to not only teach mind-body awareness but also to provide feedback utilizing physiological data and survey results. The primary findings of this study showed that heart coherence and alpha variables were significantly correlated after four weeks of the breath-based meditation stress protocol. Meditation and rhythmic breathing produced significant increases in alpha brain activity. These brain physiological responses conformed to the Pleth Variability Index (PVI) changes, suggesting the ability of the human body to enter into a meditative state and effectively manage stress. When assessed after four weeks of daily practicing the techniques employed in the stress management protocol, based on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, subjects improved in applying mindfulness skills. The overall mindfulness score, Pleth variability index (PVI), and perfusion index (PI) increased after the 4-week intervention period. Results from electroencephalography (brain waves) were consistent with a meditative state during the post-study follow-up session. This provides evidence that wearable devices are feasible for data collection during a breath-based stress management intervention. This protocol can be easily and efficiently implemented into any study design in which physiological data are desired in a non-laboratory-based setting.

Stress is an unavoidable and persistent component of life and holistic approaches for its management are being considered. A standardized methodology was created to demonstrate the feasibility of a breath-based stress management protocol that can be used with commercially available portable technology.

A pragmatic breath-based intervention to benefit human performance and stress management is timely and valuable to individuals seeking holistic approaches ...

Enactive Phenomenological Approach to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Mixed Methods Point of View

The single Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and the TSST for groups (TSST-G) are the most used protocols to experimentally induce psychosocial stress. These tests are based on uncontrollability and social-evaluative threat, inducing psychological and physiological consequences (e.g., anxiety, emotional states, salivary cortisol increases). Many quantitative experimental studies have investigated these stress inducers and these consequences. But, as far as we know, this study is the first to provide a qualitative analysis to access the participants' voices so as to understand the dynamics of their experience throughout the TSST and the TSST-G. This paper outlines a mixed methods approach to the TSST. This approach can help to maximize the information that can be gained from the TSST, which researchers often use without looking more closely at what is qualitatively happening psychologically for participants during the stressor itself. In this way, this protocol is an example of mixed methods, showing the added value of using the enactive phenomenological approach to analyze experimental protocols more deeply. This kind of mixed methods is helpful to access the experience, to understand the actor's point of view, and to analyze in-depth the dynamics of cognitive processes like intentions, perceptions, enacted knowledge, and emotion. The discussion section shows the different uses of a mixed methods protocol, exploiting the enactive phenomenological approach to analyze a protocol or to give a cross vision of the same research subject. This section deals with different existing applications, pointing out some critical steps in this mixed methods approach.

Here, we present an original mixed method combining a quantitative and a qualitative approach to examine accurately participants&#39; experiences during the Trier Social Stress Test and the Trier Social Stress Test for groups.

The single Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and the TSST for groups (TSST-G) are the most used protocols to experimentally induce psychosocial stress. ...

Evaluation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Wrist Wearables to Estimate Stress on Students

Wearable commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices have become popular during the last years to monitor sports activities, primarily among young people. These devices include sensors to gather data on physiological signals such as heart rate, skin temperature or galvanic skin response. By applying data analytics techniques to these kinds of signals, it is possible to obtain estimations of higher-level aspects of human behavior. In the literature, there are several works describing the use of physiological data collected using clinical devices to obtain information on sleep patterns or stress. However, it is still an open question whether data captured using COTS wrist wearables is sufficient to characterize the learners' psychological state in educational settings. This paper discusses a protocol to evaluate stress estimation from data obtained using COTS wrist wearables. The protocol is carried out in two phases. The first stage consists of a controlled laboratory experiment, where a mobile app is used to induce different stress levels in a student by means of a relaxing video, a Stroop Color and Word test, a Paced Auditory Serial Addition test, and a hyperventilation test. The second phase is carried out in the classroom, where stress is analyzed while performing several academic activities, namely attending to theoretical lectures, doing exercises and other individual activities, and taking short tests and exams. In both cases, both quantitative data obtained from COTS wrist wearables and qualitative data gathered by means of questionnaires are considered. This protocol involves a simple and consistent method with a stress induction app and questionnaires, requiring a limited participation of support staff.

A protocol to evaluate solutions based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) wrist wearables to estimate stress in students is proposed. The protocol is carried out in two phases, an initial laboratory-based stress induction test, and a monitoring stage taking place in the classroom while the student is performing academic activities.

Wearable commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices have become popular during the last years to monitor sports activities, primarily among young people. ...

Engineering

Measuring Biophysical and Psychological Stress Levels Following Visitation to Three Locations with Differing Levels of Nature

Visitation to natural environments has been linked to psychological stress reduction. Although most stress-related research has relied on self-report formats, a growing number of studies now incorporate biological stress-related hormones and catalysts, such as cortisol and &#945;-amylase, to measure levels of stress. Presented here is a protocol to examine the effects on levels of biophysical and psychological stress following visitation to three different locations with differing levels of nature. Biophysical and self-reported psychological stress levels are measured immediately upon entering the selected locations and just prior to the visitors leaving the site. Using a &#34;drool&#34;&#160;method, the biophysical measure consists of 1-2 mL samples of saliva provided by study subjects upon entry to one of three study locations. As prescribed by extant literature, the saliva is collected within a 45 minute time frame following the end of the visitor&#8217;s engagement at the location. Following saliva collection, the samples are labeled and transported to a biological lab. Cortisol is the biophysical variable of interest in this study and measured using an ELISA process with a TECAN plate reader. To measure self-reported stress, the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), which reports levels of worry, tension, joy, and perceived demands. Data are collected at all three sites in the late afternoon through early evening. When compared across all three settings, stress levels, as measured by both the biological markers and self-reports, are significantly lower after visitation to the most natural setting.

The purpose of this paper is to identify changes in stress levels after visitation to three different settings and to describe the methods used in identifying stress levels based on measures of salivary cortisol, &#945;-amylase, and a psychological self-report instrument.&#160;

Visitation to natural environments has been linked to psychological stress reduction. Although most stress-related research has relied on self-report ...

A Cross-Disciplinary and Multi-Modal Experimental Design for Studying Near-Real-Time Authentic Examination Experiences

Over the past ten years, research into students&#39; emotions in educational environments has increased. Although researchers have called for more studies that rely on objective measures of emotional experience, limitations on utilizing multi-modal data sources exist. Studies of emotion and emotional regulation in classrooms traditionally rely on survey instruments, experience-sampling, artifacts, interviews, or observational procedures. These methods, while valuable, are mainly&#160;dependent on participant or observer subjectivity and is limited in its authentic measurement of students&#39; real-time performance to a classroom activity or task. The latter, in particular, poses a stumbling block to many scholars seeking to objectively measure emotions and other related measures in the classroom, in real-time.
The purpose of this work is to present a protocol to experimentally study students&#39; real-time responses to exam experiences during an authentic assessment situation. For this, a team of educational psychologists, engineers, and engineering education researchers designed an experimental protocol that retained the limits required for accurate physiological sensor measurement, best-practices of salivary collection, and an authentic testing environment. In particular, existing studies that rely on physiological sensors are conducted in experimental environments that are disconnected from educational settings (e.g., Trier Stress Test), detached in time (e.g., before or after a task), or introduce analysis error (e.g., use of sensors in environments where students are likely to move). This limits our understanding of students&#39; real-time responses to classroom activities and tasks. Furthermore, recent research has called for more considerations to be covered around issues of recruitment, replicability, validity, setups, data cleaning, preliminary analysis, and particular&#160;circumstances (e.g., adding a variable in the experimental design) in academic emotions research that relies on multi-modal approaches.

An experimental design was developed to investigate the real-time influences of an examination experience to assess the emotional realities students experience in higher education settings and tasks. This design is the result of a cross-disciplinary (e.g., educational psychology, biology, physiology, engineering) and multi-modal (e.g., salivary markers, surveys, electrodermal sensor) approach.

Over the past ten years, research into students&#39; emotions in educational environments has increased. Although researchers have called for more studies ...

The use of Biofeedback in Clinical Virtual Reality: The INTREPID Project

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a constant and unspecific anxiety that interferes with daily-life activities. Its high prevalence in general population and the severe limitations it causes, point out the necessity to find new efficient strategies to treat it. Together with the cognitive-behavioral treatments, relaxation represents a useful approach for the treatment of GAD, but it has the limitation that it is hard to be learned. The INTREPID project is aimed to implement a new instrument to treat anxiety-related disorders and to test its clinical efficacy in reducing anxiety-related symptoms. The innovation of this approach is the combination of virtual reality and biofeedback, so that the first one is directly modified by the output of the second one. In this way, the patient is made aware of his or her reactions through the modification of some features of the VR environment in real time. Using mental exercises the patient learns to control these physiological parameters and using the feedback provided by the virtual environment is able to gauge his or her success. The supplemental use of portable devices, such as PDA or smart-phones, allows the patient to perform at home, individually and autonomously, the same exercises experienced in therapist's office. The goal is to anchor the learned protocol in a real life context, so enhancing the patients' ability to deal with their symptoms. The expected result is a better and faster learning of relaxation techniques, and thus an increased effectiveness of the treatment if compared with traditional clinical protocols.

The Project on Virtual Reality Intelligent Multi-sensor System for the Treatment of Anxiety-related Disorders (INTREPID) is aimed at developing a multi-sensor context-aware virtual reality system for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.

Psychophysiological Stress Assessment Using Biofeedback

Podsumowanie

Przeglądaj więcej filmów

Rozdziały w tym wideo

An Alternative to the Traditional Cold Pressor Test: The Cold Pressor Arm Wrap

The Trier Social Stress Test Protocol for Inducing Psychological Stress

Use of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, and Self-reports to Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During a Laboratory Exam Activity

Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life

A Community-based Stress Management Program: Using Wearable Devices to Assess Whole Body Physiological Responses in Non-laboratory Settings

Enactive Phenomenological Approach to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Mixed Methods Point of View

Evaluation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Wrist Wearables to Estimate Stress on Students

Measuring Biophysical and Psychological Stress Levels Following Visitation to Three Locations with Differing Levels of Nature

A Cross-Disciplinary and Multi-Modal Experimental Design for Studying Near-Real-Time Authentic Examination Experiences

The use of Biofeedback in Clinical Virtual Reality: The INTREPID Project