title: Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in type A females during a psychomotor task.
abstract: This study investigated changes in autonomic nervous activities due to psychological stress in Type A females. Eight Type A and eight Type B females performed a psychomotor task for 30 minutes. Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was used to examine the autonomic nervous activities. Results showed the low frequency (LF) component and LF/HF ratio in Type A females increased after the onset of the task. There were no significant differences in task performance between Type A and Type B females. The subjective mental workload increased gradually in Type A females during the tasks, whereas in Type B females this parameter did not change in a consistent manner. The results suggest that the sympathetic nervous system in Type A females was more stimulated by the task and Type A females felt a greater subjective mental workload than did Type B females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Kinki University, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka, Japan. rinta@im.kindai.ac.jp
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akatsu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumashiro
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kume
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014434:Type A Personality; D016526:Workload