Change in baroreflex sensitivity during mirror drawing : Effect of task difficulty

NAGANO Yuichiro

doi:10.5674/jjppp1983.20.233

This study investigated the effect of encouraged active coping through changed task difficulty on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS), an index of vagal activity, by use of mirror drawing (MD) which is considered to be a typical attentional task.<BR>This study consisted of two experiments. In both of these, heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured, and BRS was computed using the sequence scanning method. In the first experiment, 24 subjects carried out simple computerized MD. As a result, increases in HR, SBP, DBP, and BRS were observed. In the second experiment, 14 subjects performed two MD conditions. In the restricted condition, a maximum time for going round the star and a limit to the degree of deviation outside its border were established whereas in the non-restricted condition, these parameters were not applied. Increase in HR, SBP, and DBP was more remarkable in the former than in the latter condition. BRS increased in the latter, but decreased in the former.<BR>From the first experiment, it was revealed that simple MD fundamentally increases vagal activity. This may be attributable to the attentional nature of MD. In the second experiment, it was found that the encouragement of active coping suppressed vagal activity, even in the attentional task. These results suggested that the amount of mental effort required by the task has a large influence on the suppression of vagal activity. (Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology, 20 (3) : 233-239, 2002.)

Change in baroreflex sensitivity during mirror drawing : Effect of task difficulty

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