W2: Cardiovascular Methods Flashcards
advantageous to measure the autonomic nervous system (ANS)?
Not susceptible to self-report biases as (2)
- These measurements are of automatic and uncontrollable responses so people can not lie about their heart rate or change it
- This is useful when studying sensitive topics
Advantageous to measure to autonomic nervous system
Allows for moment-to-moment reactions and therefore (2)
- Allows to track for changes in activity
- Which allows deeper understanding of physiological processes inside the body
Advantageous of measuring ANS
as may precede conscious awanress (2)
Theory + example (2)
- Cannon-Bard Theory of emotion - physiology precedes psychology
- See bear and heart rate increases and sweat and run and after all that stuff occurs then you feel that you are scared and that’s why you are scared
Advantageous of measuring ANS
Patterns of cardiovascular activity is linked to vulnerabilities in (2)
Mental and physical health
Can be used as a risk factor for cause or progression
Measuring ANS Activity Options (4)
- Electrodermal activity (or also known as galvanic skin response)
- Cardiovascular activity
- Blood pressure
- Heart rate
Electrodermal activity (EDA) measures the response of (2)
sweat glands
Measures anxiety/stress/arousal
Electrodermal activity (EDA) measures the response of sweat glands
Mostly densely located in the
hands and soles of the feet (get very sweaty there)
EDA measures the response of sweat glands because
sympathetic activation stimulates sweat glands to overcome a stressor in the environment
Measure EDA through skin conductance which is measured by
- apply sensors to the arm which passes a small electrical current through the skin
Measuring EDA
Skin conductance assesses
The resistance to the electrical current to the skin
Measuring EDA
High and less resistance (2)
Less resistance = more sweat there and assume more sympathetic activation is going on and more anxious
High resistance = vice versa
Resistence is the opposite of
Condutance
Skin conductance is measured in
Microsiemens
The more emotionally aroused an individual is, the more the SCR (skin condutance)
amount is increased
Skin conductance is not immediate, it takes
time
It could be minutes after we stress someone out to see their sweat appear and condutance increase
Since skin condutance is not immediate
we can examine
- “Phases” of change
Since skin condutance is not immediate
we can examine phases of change and tend to average over large periods of time of skin conductance as…
- Conductance changes slowly over longer periods (minutes)
Recording skin condutance (EDA)
Procedure (2)
- Ag/Ag CL (silver) electrodes placed on the fingers or plans (these conductive to electricity)
- Prepare before applying electrodes by cleaning skin (via water or alcohol) and applying electrolyte gel (containing KCL or NaCL - salt- conductive)
Recording skin condutance (EDA)
Why apply electrolyte gel to electrode
Allows for better recording of signal
Analysing conductance
Cleaning the data with smoothing fitlers as raw data is messy as (2)
- Movement artefacts (if you move slightly then causes data to move around and shift)
- Missing data: Moving too quickly (e.g., sneezes) creates temporarily disconnection of gel and sensors
Analysing conductance
How to deal with missing data? (2)
- Replaces missing data with estimations made by software
- Use regression-bases algorithms
Cardiovascular measures
Options (4)
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Respiration
- Impedance cardiography (ICG)
- Blood pressure (BP)
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
The heart produces
Electrical signals