title: A tale of two mechanisms: a meta-analytic approach toward understanding the autonomic basis of cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress.
abstract: A series of meta-analyses was undertaken to determine the contributions of sympathetic and parasympathetic activation to cardiovascular stress reactivity. A literature search yielded 186 studies of sufficient quality that measured indices of sympathetic (n = 113) and/or parasympathetic activity (n = 73). A range of psychological stressors perturbed blood pressure and heart rate. There were comparable aggregate effects for sympathetic activation, as indexed by increased plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine, and shortened pre-ejection period and parasympathetic deactivation, as indexed by heart rate variability measures. Effect sizes varied with stress task, sex, and age. In contrast to alpha-adrenergic blockade, beta-blockade attenuated cardiovascular reactivity. Cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress would appear to reflect both beta-adrenergic activation and vagal withdrawal to a largely equal extent.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Brindle
authors.forename: Annie T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Ginty
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cardiovascular reactivity; Meta-analysis; Parasympathetic; Stress; Sympathetic