The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response

NCT06098352 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2013-31-REDLANDS
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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

Conditions

Stress

Keywords

stress; anxiety; blood pressure; skin conductance level; heart rate variability; attention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 Outcomes (4)

• State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

  Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)

• Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

  Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)

• Mindful Awareness and Attention Scale (MAAS)

  Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)

• PEBL Continuous Performance Task Foil Accuracy Rate

  14 minute attention task on the day of the experiment

Study Arms (1)

PEBL Continuous Performance Task

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will take the PEBL Continuous Performance Task, a 14 minute attention test requiring participants to press the space bar when certain letters are shown on the screen.

Behavioral: PEBL Continuous Performance Task

Interventions

PEBL Continuous Performance Task BEHAVIORAL

A PEBL version of the Conners Continuous Performance Task

Also known as: Conners Continuous Performance Task

PEBL Continuous Performance Task

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

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

You may not qualify if:

• severe mental health issues
• currently taking anti-anxiety medication

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Redlands: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Redlands

Redlands, California, 92373, United States

Location

Related Publications (5)

• 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.

  PMID: 12703651 BACKGROUND

• 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.

  PMID: 6668417 BACKGROUND

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

  BACKGROUND

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

  BACKGROUND

• Bautista BR, Gurning J, Marks M, Ortyn D, Salinas R, Olson LE. The sympathetic nervous system response to a Continuous Performance Task. MicroPubl Biol. 2024 Jun 12;2024:10.17912/micropub.biology.001059. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001059. eCollection 2024.

  PMID: 38938412 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Lisa E Olson, Ph.D.

  University of Redlands

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Biology

Model Details: All participants will be measured at baseline and then during an attention task.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 18, 2023
• First Posted: October 24, 2023
• Study Start: September 17, 2013
• Primary Completion: September 25, 2013
• Study Completion: September 25, 2013
• Last Updated: October 24, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: Starting after publication, and up to 10 years after publication
• Access Criteria: Will be provided to researchers affiliated with an academic institution upon request

Locations

US (1)