Neurovascular responses to mental stress
Key result
Mental stress decreased forearm vascular resistance by 27% (P<0.01) but did not change calf vascular resistance, demonstrating differential vascular control of the arm and leg.
Why the study?
Does mental stress cause differential neural and vascular responses in the arm and leg in healthy subjects?
Population
22 healthy subjects (12 in Study 1, 10 in Study 2)
Comparison
Mental stress (5 min of mental arithmetic) vs Baseline (pre-stress) and recovery periods
Follow-up
Immediate recovery after 5 min of mental stress
Authors
Discussion
Loading...
Member takes
Implication
Mental stress may elicit limb-specific vascular responses in healthy subjects; leaves open relevance to cardiovascular risk or disease states.
Study Design
Type
Observational (n=22)
Structured PICO
Does mental stress cause differential neural and vascular responses in the arm and leg in healthy subjects?
P
Population
22 healthy subjects evaluated for concurrent neural and vascular responses during and after 5 minutes of mental stress.
E
Exposure
Mental stress (5 min of mental arithmetic)
C
Comparator
Baseline (pre-stress) and recovery periods
O
Outcome
Concurrent neural (muscle sympathetic nerve activity) and vascular (blood flow, vascular resistance) responses during and after mental stress in both limbssurrogate
Main Result
p-value: p=<0.01
Mental stress induces differential vascular control in the arm versus leg that is independent of muscle sympathetic outflow, with a robust sympathetic rebound during recovery.
Cite This Study
Carter et al. (2005) conducted an observational in Healthy (n=22). Mental stress (mental arithmetic) vs. Baseline was evaluated on Forearm vascular resistance (FVR) (p=<0.01). Mental stress decreased forearm vascular resistance by 27% (P<0.01) but did not change calf vascular resistance, demonstrating differential vascular control of the arm and leg.