• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2001

Objectives: The experience of traffic accident is a kind of the psychosocial stressors to person. The traffic accident-related patients may show the psychophysiologic hyperarousal. So we examined the differences of psychophysiologic response between patients with and without the memory of experienceing a traffic accident. Methods: Twenty-four traffic accident-related patients were divided into two groups according to ther memory of a traffic accident. In psychological assessment, levels of anxiety and depression were evaluated by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck's Depression Inventory, and Hamilton Rating Scales For Anxiety and Depression. Heart rate, electrodermal response (EDR), and electromyographic activity (EMG) were measured by biofeedback system, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure by automated vital sign monitor during baseline, task, and rest periods. We utilized script-driven imagery technique as a stressful task. The patients listened to the script describing their own traffic accident experience and were instructed to imagine the event during the task period. Statistically analytic data were obtained from the differences of psychological and psychophysiologic data between two groups. Results: The memory group did not show significantly higher EDR than the none memory group, but showed higher tendency during baseline, imagery, and rest periods. The memory group showed significantly lower EMG than the none memory group during rest period. However, there were no differences in other psychophysiologic reponses between the two groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that the memory group had higher tendency in autonomic arousal level such as electrodermal response than the none memory group. We suggest that physicians need to minimize repetitive imagery of traffic accident (reexperience), and decrease the autonomic hyperarousal in the treatment of traffic accident-related patients.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.107-119
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• 1997

Objectives: The psychophysiologic response pattern between healthy subjects and patients with generalized anxiety disorder, and the relationship among anxiety rating scales and those patterns in patients were examined. Methods: Twenty-three patients with generalized anxiety disorder(AD) and 23 healthy subjects were evaluated by Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety(HRSA) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before baseline stressful tasks. Subjective Units of Distress were evaluated just before baseline period, immediately after stressful tasks, at the end of the entire procedure, and psychophysiologic measures, i.e., skin temperature(ST), electromyographic activity(EMG), heart rate(HR), electrodermal response(EDR) during baseline & rest and during two psychologically stressful tasks (mental arithmetic, TM; talk about a stressful event, TT) were also evaluated. Results: 1) AD group showed significantly higher EMG level during rest after stressful tasks and higher HR level during all period except TM compared to control group. 2) AD group showed lower change in the startle response(SR) of ST, in the SR & the recovery response(RR) of EMG during TM, and in the RR of EDR immediately after TM than control group. AD group showed that the RR of EDR was significantly lower than the SR during stressful tasks. 3) We found that there was significantly negative correlation between state anxiety and the RR of EDR after TT in AD group. We also found that there were significantly positive correlations between HRSA score and the SRs of EDR during stressful tasks, and between state anxiety and the SR of EDR during TT. Conclusion: Our results suggest that patients with generalized anxiety disorder show higher autonomic arousal than healthy subjects and decreased physiologic flexibility or reduced autonomic flexibility.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.68-76
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• 2012

Objectives: Sleep disorders cause changes of autonomic nervous system (ANS) which affect cardiovascular system. Primary insomnia (PI) makes acceleration of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) tone by sleep deficiency and arousal. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) sets off SNS by frequent arousals and hypoxemias during sleep. We aimed to compare the changes of heart rate variability (HRV) indices induced by insomnia or sleep apnea to analyze for ANS how much to be affected by PI or OSAS. Methods: Total 315 subjects carried out nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG) were categorized into 4 groups - PI, mild, moderate and severe OSAS. Severity of OSAS was determined by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Then we selected 110 subjects considering age, sex and valance of each group's size [Group 1 : PI (mean age=$41.50{\pm}13.16$ yrs, AHI <5, n=20), Group 2 : mild OSAS (mean age=$43.67{\pm}12.11$ yrs, AHI 5-15, n=30), Group 3 : moderate OSAS (mean age $44.93{\pm}12.38$ yrs, AHI 16-30, n=30), Group 4 : severe OSAS (mean age=$45.87{\pm}12.44$ yrs, AHI >30, n=30)]. Comparison of HRV indices among the four groups was performed with ANCOVA (adjusted for age and body mass index) and Sidak post-hoc test. Results: We found statistically significant differences in HRV indices between severe OSAS group and the other groups (PI, mild OSAS and moderate OSAS). And there were no significant differences in HRV indices among PI, mild and moderate OSAS group. In HRV indices of PI and severe OSAS group showing the most prominent difference in the group comparisons, average RR interval were $991.1{\pm}27.1$ and $875.8{\pm}22.0$ ms (p=0.016), standard deviation of NN interval (SDNN) was $85.4{\pm}6.6$ and $112.8{\pm}5.4$ ms (p=0.022), SDNN index was $57.5{\pm}5.2$ and $87.6{\pm}4.2$ (p<0.001), total power was $11,893.5{\pm}1,359.9$ and $18,097.0{\pm}1,107.2ms^2$(p=0.008), very low frequency (VLF) was $7,534.8{\pm}1,120.1$ and $11,883.8{\pm}912.0ms^2$ (p=0.035), low frequency (LF) was $2,724.2{\pm}327.8$ and $4,351.6{\pm}266.9ms^2$(p=0.003). Conclusions: VLF and LF which were correlated with SNS tone showed more increased differences between severe OSAS group and PI group than other group comparisons. We could suggest that severe OSAS group was more influential to increased SNS activity than PI group.