Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback
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Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback · Sep 2018
Pre-service Teachers and Stress During Microteaching: An Experimental Investigation of the Effectiveness of Relaxation Training with Biofeedback on Psychological and Physiological Indices of Stress.
Pre-service teacher stress is an understudied research area, with the majority of research focusing on subjective reports of stress. The present study sought to examine the influence of stress-reduction techniques on both subjective and objective indicators of stress during microteaching in preservice teachers. A sample of 44 preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups; biofeedback, relaxation, or control. ⋯ Examination of the psychological ratings identified that feelings of calm increased across time; this showed that participants were more comfortable with the microteaching situation with repeated practice. However, none of the physiological interventions were effective in reducing stress. The present study highlights practice as a useful strategy to reduce stress in microteaching situations and points to the importance of employing evidence-based interventions when attempting to reduce stress.
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Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback · Mar 2018
Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Does Not Substitute for Asthma Steroid Controller Medication.
Despite previous findings of therapeutic effects for heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) on asthma, it is not known whether HRVB can substitute either for controller or rescue medication, or whether it affects airway inflammation. Sixty-eight paid volunteer steroid naïve study participants with mild or moderate asthma were given 3 months of HRVB or a comparison condition consisting of EEG alpha biofeedback with relaxing music and relaxed paced breathing (EEG+), in a two-center trial. All participants received a month of intensive asthma education prior to randomization. ⋯ These data suggest that HRVB should not be considered an alternative to asthma controller medications (e.g., inhaled steroids), although both biofeedback conditions produced some beneficial effects, warranting further research, and suggesting potential complementary effects. Various hypotheses are presented to explain why HRVB effects on asthma appeared smaller in this study than in earlier studies. Clinical Trial Registration NCT02766374.
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Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback · Dec 2017
Auditory Event-Related Potentials in the Interictal Phase of Migraine Indicate Alterations in Automatic Attention.
Migraine has been characterized by interictal cortical hyperresponsivity. We compared event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to unattended tone pairs in migraineurs (interictal) versus non-headache controls, with particular interest in attention-related activity (i.e., the N1 component). Electroencephalograms were recorded from 11 interictal migraineurs and 14 headache-free controls while they watched a silent video. ⋯ The three migraineurs without aura had larger N1s than the eight with aura. Our findings are consistent with interictal hyperresponsivity of cortical generators of these ERPs in migraineurs. However, areas that inhibit the responses with stimulus repetition do not seem to be affected.
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Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback · Sep 2017
Reducing Anxiety and Improving Academic Performance Through a Biofeedback Relaxation Training Program.
The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of a biofeedback relaxation training program on anxiety and academic performance. The program consisted of five biofeedback sessions coupled with three training activities focused on deep breathing, guided imagery, and muscle relaxation. The participants were second-year psychology undergraduates from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, northern Spain). ⋯ Furthermore, they scored lower on anxiety and higher on academic performance in comparison with the control subjects. This suggests that the inclusion of biofeedback training programs in educational contexts could be a way of reducing anxiety and improving academic performance. It may also deepen our understanding of the dynamic interplay between psychophysiological, cognitive, and emotional processes.
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Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback · Dec 2016
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Patients Exhibit a Blunted Parasympathetic Response to an Emotional Stressor.
Diminished parasympathetic reactivity is a physiological feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The objective of this study was to compare female PTSD patients with non-traumatized healthy women with respect to autonomic cardiovascular regulation during exposure to two stressors. Hospitalized PTSD patients (n = 52) and controls (n = 37) completed standardized laboratory-based stress testing including a mental arithmetic test and a standardized audiotape recording of a crying infant. ⋯ Under the crying infant condition, a vagal dominance was observed only in controls, and not in PTSD patients. Our data demonstrate that, in PTSD patients, diminished parasympathetic reactivity is not restricted to trauma-related events but can also be observed in response to a social stimulus such as listening to a crying infant. This finding suggests that the altered vagal reactivity in PTSD patients reflects the physiological consequences of a generally disturbed autonomous response to emotionally relevant stressors.