Premium
The Effects of Psychological and Environmental Stressors on Peristaltic Esophageal Contractions in Healthy Volunteers
Author(s) -
Young Larry D.,
Richter Joel E.,
Anderson Karen O.,
Bradley Laurence A.,
Katz Philip O.,
McElveen Lisa,
Obrecht W.F.,
Dalton Chris,
Snyders R. Miller
Publication year - 1987
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.1469-8986.1987.tb00265.x
Subject(s) - peristalsis , anxiety , psychology , stressor , stimulus (psychology) , audiology , cold pressor test , impulse (physics) , anesthesia , developmental psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , heart rate , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics , psychotherapist , blood pressure
The relationship between various stressful stimulus conditions, measures of anxiety, and altered esophageal motility was investigated in mo experiments employing normal adult volunteers. In Experiment 1, subjects were administered separately I00dB continuous white noise and a cold pressor task. In Experiment 2. subjects were administered in a counterbalanced order intermittent and unpredictable bursts of 100dB white noise and a cognitive task consisting of solvable and unsolvable discrimination problems. Results of both experiments showed that the amplitudes of peristaltic esophageal contractions and levels of state anxiety self‐reports were significantly higher during periods of stress than during preceding baseline periods. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, esophageal contraction velocities and anxiety‐related behaviors were significantly greater during stress periods than during baselines. Contrary' to previous studies, few abnormal tertiary esophageal contractions were elicited by stress. The present results identify increased amplitude of the peristaltic contractions as the primary esophageal response to stress. Technological and methodological differences between this study and previous Investigations of affective disturbance among patients with chronic esophageal chest pain also are examined.