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Voluntary Heart Rate Control During Static Muscular Effort
Author(s) -
Clemens William J.,
Shattock Rachel J.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1979.tb01470.x
Subject(s) - psychology , biofeedback , heart rate , turnover , physical medicine and rehabilitation , session (web analytics) , stressor , physical therapy , medicine , blood pressure , clinical psychology , management , world wide web , computer science , economics
To test the hypothesis that voluntary heart rate (HR) control is possible with simultaneous muscular effort, 8 male subjects were trained in feedback assisted bidirectional HR control, and also practiced hand grip exercises requiring different levels of effort for 3 consecutive daily sessions. In a fourth session subjects were required to increase and decrease HR while simultaneously performing muscle contractions of 0%, 10%, 30% and 50% of maximum voluntary contractions. Substantial and reliable variations in HR were produced by instructions and by muscular effort during the first 3 sessions; and in the fourth session bidirectional HR control continued even with the relatively elevated baselines induced by muscular effort. Concomitant chin EMG levels did not vary with degree of muscular effort nor with instructions to increase or decrease HR, but increased over the course of any type of trial. Discussion suggests the use of artificially elevated baselines as a strategy for studying HR deceleration and concludes that the present study provides strong evidence of subjects' abilities to voluntarily control HR during muscular effort. This conclusion lends support to the notion that biofeedback therapies may be of clinical utility in real life by modulating the eliciting effects of stressors.