The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response

Stress Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06098352
• Other study ID #: 2013-31-REDLANDS
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 17, 2013
• Est. completion date: September 25, 2013

Study information

• Verified date: October 2023
• Source: University of Redlands
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the impact of taking a continuous performance attention test on the physiological stress response in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does taking an attention test cause participants to have increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and sweat?

• Does taking an attention test cause participants to have a decrease in heart rate variability?

• Are there relationships between participants' levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and mindfulness to their physiological changes?

Participants will

• Answer questionnaires about anxiety, stress, and mindfulness

• Have baseline measurements taken for blood pressure, sweat, and heart rate variability

• Take the PEBL Continuous Performance Task (a 14 minute attention test) while having the measurements listed above taken again

Description:

The PEBL Continuous Performance Task is an example of a mental stressor which requires vigilance and effort. We hypothesize that a sympathetic nervous system response will be evident in comparing physiological parameters during the attention task versus the preceding resting baseline period. Exploratory analyses will assess relationships between psychological measures of anxiety, stress, and mindfulness with this physiological response and the number of errors on the attention test.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 20
• Est. completion date: September 25, 2013
• Est. primary completion date: September 25, 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• English language proficiency

• First year, first semester student enrolled in Students Together Empowering Peers course at the University of Redlands

Exclusion Criteria:

• severe mental health issues

• currently taking anti-anxiety medication

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Stress

Intervention

Behavioral:
• PEBL Continuous Performance Task
A PEBL version of the Conners Continuous Performance Task

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Redlands	Redlands	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Redlands

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (4)

Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Apr;84(4):822-48. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822. — View Citation

Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983 Dec;24(4):385-96. No abstract available. — View Citation

Spielberger, C.D., R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene, Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. 1970: Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.

The PEBL Project. (2019). PEBL. Retrieved from https://pebl.sourceforge.net

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Blood pressure	Systolic and diastolic	Measured once after an 8 minute resting baseline, then 2 minutes into the attention task, and 10 minutes into the attention task. Data collection was then complete.
Primary	Skin conductance level	levels of sweat due to sympathetic nervous system activation	Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.
Primary	Heart rate variability	Normalized high frequency HRV	Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.
Secondary	State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)	Spielberger, C.D., R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene, 1970. Scores on each of the state and trait sections range from 20 (low anxiety) to 80 (high anxiety)	Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
Secondary	Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)	Cohen, S., T. Kamarck, and R. Mermelstein. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1983. Scores range from 0 (low perceived stress) to 40 (high perceived stress)	Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
Secondary	Mindful Awareness and Attention Scale (MAAS)	Brown, K.W. and R.M. Ryan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003. Scores range from 1 (least mindful) to 6 (most mindful)	Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)
Secondary	PEBL Continuous Performance Task Foil Accuracy Rate	For trials where participants were presented with a foil, the percent in which the participant did not commit a commission error (participant correctly did not press spacebar). Ranges from 0 - 100% accuracy.	14 minute attention task on the day of the experiment