Institute of Psychobiology, Department of Clinical Psychophysiology, University of Trier, Germany.
Sankt-Franziska-Stift, Hospital for Psychosomatic Medicine, Bad Kreuznach, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018 Jan;87:141-146. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.10.013. Epub 2017 Oct 18.
Most widely-used stress-induction procedures (such as the TSST and the Cold Pressor Test) require considerable effort and overhead in terms of preparation, logistics, and staff recruitment. Moreover, while known to reliably induce HPA axis activation, especially when combined with social self-threat, most conventional laboratory stressors cannot be flexibly adapted to elicit either a mainly autonomic or an additional endocrine stress response. Being a promising alternative approach, a new version of the isometric handgrip test enriched by a social-evaluative component was evaluated in the present study. On two consecutive sessions, forty participants (20 women) performed a handgrip task at both 45% (stress) and 10% (control) of maximum voluntary isometric contraction lasting for 3min. During the stress test, continuous visual feedback on performance was given. Participants in the social-evaluative condition (50%) were observed and evaluated by a previously unknown person of the opposite sex, whereas in the standard condition feedback was provided via a computer monitor. Cardiovascular measures (heart rate, blood pressure) as well as additional indices of autonomic reactivity (skin conductance, heart-rate variability) were registered before, during, and after stress induction. Moreover, changes in salivary cortisol and in subjective well-being were assessed. Relative to control, significant increases in cardiovascular and sympathetic activity were found, irrespective of experimental group. Importantly, however, additional social evaluation resulted in elevated cortisol levels. Furthermore, evidence for reduced vagal tone during sustained socially evaluated handgrip emerged. In conclusion, the socially evaluated handgrip test represents a versatile, time-efficient method to induce stress in small laboratory settings.
最广泛使用的应激诱导程序（如 TSS 和冷加压试验）在准备、后勤和人员招募方面需要相当大的努力和开销。此外，虽然已知这些程序可以可靠地诱导 HPA 轴激活，尤其是与社交自我威胁结合使用时，但大多数传统的实验室应激源不能灵活适应，以引发主要自主或额外的内分泌应激反应。作为一种有前途的替代方法，本研究评估了一种新的等长握力测试版本，该版本通过社会评价成分得到了丰富。在连续两个会话中，四十名参与者（20 名女性）在 45%（应激）和 10%（对照）的最大自主等长收缩持续 3 分钟的情况下进行了握力测试。在应激测试期间，对表现进行连续的视觉反馈。在社会评价条件下（50%），参与者由一名未知的异性进行观察和评价，而在标准条件下，反馈则通过计算机监视器提供。在应激诱导前后，记录心血管测量（心率、血压）以及自主反应性的附加指标（皮肤电导、心率变异性）。此外，还评估了唾液皮质醇和主观幸福感的变化。与对照相比，无论实验分组如何，心血管和交感神经活动均显著增加。然而，重要的是，额外的社会评价会导致皮质醇水平升高。此外，在持续的社会评价性握力中，出现了迷走神经张力降低的证据。总之，社会评价性握力测试是一种在小型实验室环境中诱导应激的灵活、高效的方法。
