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Cardiac defense reactivity and cognitive flexibility in high‐ and low‐resilience women
Author(s) -
Otero Julia,
Muñoz Miguel A.,
FernándezSantaella María Carmen,
VerdejoGarcía Antonio,
SánchezBarrera María B.
Publication year - 2020
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/psyp.13656
Subject(s) - psychology , flexibility (engineering) , neuropsychology , cognition , psychological resilience , cognitive flexibility , adaptation (eye) , resilience (materials science) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , neuroscience , statistics , physics , mathematics , thermodynamics
Resilience is a protective health variable that contributes to successful adaptation to stressful experiences. However, in spite of its relevance, few studies have examined the psychophysiological and neuropsychological mechanisms involved in resilience. The present study analyzes, in a sample of 54 young women, the relationships between high‐ and low‐resilience, measured with the Spanish versions of Connor ‐ Davidson Resilience Scale questionnaire and the Resilience Scale, and two indices of psychophysiological and neuropsychological adaptability, the cardiac defense response (CDR) and cognitive flexibility. The CDR is a specific reaction to an unexpected intense noise characterized by two acceleration‐deceleration heart rate components. Cognitive flexibility, defined as the ability to adapt our behavior to changing environmental demands, is measured in this study with the CAMBIOS neuropsychological test. The results showed that the more resilient people, in addition to having better scores on mental health questionnaires, had a larger initial acceleration‐deceleration of the CDR‐indicative of greater vagal control, obtained better scores in cognitive flexibility, and evaluated the intense noise as less unpleasant than the less resilient people. No group differences were found in the second acceleration‐deceleration of the CDR‐indicative of sympathetic cardiac control, in the skin conductance response, or in subjective intensity of the noise. The present findings broaden the understanding of how resilient people change their adaptable responses to address environmental demands.