title: Standardized mental stress in healthy volunteers induced by delayed auditory feedback (DAF).
abstract: Using delayed auditory feedback (delay 0.175 s) a standardized form of mental stress was investigated in 8 healthy male volunteers. After a resting period and a period of undelayed reading, the volunteers were exposed for 5 min to the DAF stress. During the DAF period heart rate increased by 10% and systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased by 9% and 18%, respectively. As a measure of acute sympathetic activation, plasma concentrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine rose by 68% and 49%, respectively. The activity od dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in plasma was increased by 25%. From these results it can be concluded that the DAF procedure provides a suitable method for inducing a standardized mental stress in normal subjects, which can be measured as changes in biochemical and cardiovascular variables.
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000097:blood; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005246:Feedback; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002395:Catecholamines; D007773:Lactates