The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response

• Sponsor: University of Redlands (Other)
• Overall Status: Completed
• CT.gov ID: NCT06098352
• Collaborator: (none)
• Enrollment: 20
• Location: 1
• Arm: 1
• Actual Duration (Days): 8
• Patients Per Site Per Month: 76.1

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the impact of taking a continuous performance attention test on the physiological stress response in college students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does taking an attention test cause participants to have increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and sweat?

• Does taking an attention test cause participants to have a decrease in heart rate variability?

• Are there relationships between participants' levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and mindfulness to their physiological changes?

Participants will

• Answer questionnaires about anxiety, stress, and mindfulness

• Have baseline measurements taken for blood pressure, sweat, and heart rate variability

• Take the PEBL Continuous Performance Task (a 14 minute attention test) while having the measurements listed above taken again

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Stress	Behavioral: PEBL Continuous Performance Task	N/A

Detailed Description

The PEBL Continuous Performance Task is an example of a mental stressor which requires vigilance and effort. We hypothesize that a sympathetic nervous system response will be evident in comparing physiological parameters during the attention task versus the preceding resting baseline period. Exploratory analyses will assess relationships between psychological measures of anxiety, stress, and mindfulness with this physiological response and the number of errors on the attention test.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Actual Enrollment: 20 participants
• Allocation: N/A
• Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
• Intervention Model Description: All participants will be measured at baseline and then during an attention task.All participants will be measured at baseline and then during an attention task.
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Official Title: The Impact of a Continuous Performance Task on the Stress Response
• Actual Study Start Date: Sep 17, 2013
• Actual Primary Completion Date: Sep 25, 2013
• Actual Study Completion Date: Sep 25, 2013

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: PEBL Continuous Performance Task Participants will take the PEBL Continuous Performance Task, a 14 minute attention test requiring participants to press the space bar when certain letters are shown on the screen.	Behavioral: PEBL Continuous Performance Task; A PEBL version of the Conners Continuous Performance Task; Other Names: Conners Continuous Performance Task

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Blood pressure [Measured once after an 8 minute resting baseline, then 2 minutes into the attention task, and 10 minutes into the attention task. Data collection was then complete.]

   Systolic and diastolic

2. Skin conductance level [Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.]

   levels of sweat due to sympathetic nervous system activation

3. Heart rate variability [Measured continuously during an 8 minute resting baseline, then continuously for the 14 minute attention task. Data collection was then complete.]

   Normalized high frequency HRV

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) [Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)]

   Spielberger, C.D., R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene, 1970. Scores on each of the state and trait sections range from 20 (low anxiety) to 80 (high anxiety)

2. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) [Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)]

   Cohen, S., T. Kamarck, and R. Mermelstein. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1983. Scores range from 0 (low perceived stress) to 40 (high perceived stress)

3. Mindful Awareness and Attention Scale (MAAS) [Questionnaire completed on day of enrollment (<30 minutes)]

   Brown, K.W. and R.M. Ryan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003. Scores range from 1 (least mindful) to 6 (most mindful)

4. PEBL Continuous Performance Task Foil Accuracy Rate [14 minute attention task on the day of the experiment]

   For trials where participants were presented with a foil, the percent in which the participant did not commit a commission error (participant correctly did not press spacebar). Ranges from 0 - 100% accuracy.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years and Older
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

• English language proficiency

• First year, first semester student enrolled in Students Together Empowering Peers course at the University of Redlands

Exclusion Criteria:

• severe mental health issues

• currently taking anti-anxiety medication

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	University of Redlands	Redlands	California	United States	92373

Sponsors and Collaborators

• University of Redlands

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Lisa E Olson, Ph.D., University of Redlands

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

• Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Apr;84(4):822-48. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822.
• Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983 Dec;24(4):385-96. No abstract available.
• Spielberger, C.D., R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene, Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. 1970: Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
• The PEBL Project. (2019). PEBL. Retrieved from https://pebl.sourceforge.net

• Responsible Party: Lisa Olson, Professor of Biology, University of Redlands
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06098352
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2013-31-REDLANDS
• First Posted: Oct 24, 2023
• Last Update Posted: Oct 24, 2023
• Last Verified: Oct 1, 2023

• Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: Yes
• Plan to Share IPD: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Keywords provided by Lisa Olson, Professor of Biology, University of Redlands: stress; anxiety; blood pressure; skin conductance level; heart rate variability; attention

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Oct 24, 2023