Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) patients often experience anxiety-related respiratory disorders, including hyperventilation, but their respiratory indicators are not routinely monitored during scanning. Free from metal parts and immune to electromagnetic radiation, fibre-optic sensors have the potential to better control the patient’s condition by providing continuous non-invasive monitoring of the respiratory rate (RR). The study was purposed to assess the relationship between anxiety in MRI patients and their RR acquired by a fibre-optic sensor system. Forty-four subjects were involved in the study. The mean RR values recorded for 2 minutes immediately after the beginning and immediately before the end of the scanning were assessed relative to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) X-1 scores obtained immediately before and immediately after the scanning, respectively. A growth mixture model analysis was performed to statistically differentiate two groups of subjects according to the trends in repeated measures of RR. A significant lowering of the anxiety state was observed in the group characterised by a decrease in RR, whereas essentially no change in anxiety level was observed in the group with a stable RR. The t-test showed significant differences in changes in anxiety between these groups (t₍₃₉₎ = −2.349, p = 0.012, Cohen’s d = 2.13).

The purpose of the experiment was to test the relationship between attributes of color, self-rated arousal, and autonomic reactions to color stimuli. Sixteen colored backgrounds of different hue, saturation, and brightness were each viewed by 64 subjects (females, M_age = 22.48) while skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. Subjective judgments relating to pleasantness (valence) and arousal were also measured. Results show that among color attributes only saturation had an effect on SCR magnitude, F(1, 63) = 6.31, p < .05, η_G² = .01. There was also significant correlation, r(14) = .64, p < .01, between aggregated SCR magnitude and arousal ratings. It confirms that SCR could be used as a marker of phasic arousal even in response to the abstract, devoid of content stimuli. Saturation seems to be the main property connected with color’s ability to elicit orienting response. More saturated stimuli are better in capturing attention regardless of hue, thus suggesting that at the first stage of color perception, color intensity is more important than qualitative properties. Such results clarify some incoherent findings known from previous studies on psychophysiological responses to color stimuli.

This paper presents a camera-based prototype sensor for detecting fatigue and drowsiness in drivers, which are common causes of road accidents. The evaluation of the detector operation involved eight professional truck drivers, who drove the truck simulator twice—i.e., when they were rested and drowsy. The Fatigue Symptoms Scales (FSS) questionnaire was used to assess subjectively perceived levels of fatigue, whereas the percentage of eye closure time (PERCLOS), eye closure duration (ECD), and frequency of eye closure (FEC) were selected as eye closure-associated fatigue indicators, determined from the images of drivers’ faces captured by the sensor. Three alternative models for subjective fatigue were used to analyse the relationship between the raw score of the FSS questionnaire, and the eye closure-associated indicators were estimated. The results revealed that, in relation to the subjective assessment of fatigue, PERCLOS is a significant predictor of the changes observed in individual subjects during the performance of tasks, while ECD reflects the individual differences in subjective fatigue occurred both between drivers and in individual drivers between the ‘rested’ and ‘drowsy’ experimental conditions well. No relationship between the FEC index and the FSS state scale was found.

BACKGROUND: Acceleration load causes several physiological changes that play important roles in pilot performance. One of the problems is determining individual factors responsible for the differences in changes in the level of central nervous system (CNS) arousal after exposure to acceleration loads. We were interested in whether the coping style and anxiety as a trait might differentiate the subjects in terms of reactions of the CNS to +G_z load-related stress.METHODS: Examined were 31 male volunteers with ages between 23 and 30 yr. Measurements were obtained under controlled conditions before, during, and every 2 min up to 12 min after centrifugation. The study was conducted using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory. The value of Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold (CFFT) corresponded to the level of CNS arousal.RESULTS: Two significantly different trends of changes in CNS arousal were identified: class 1 (higher level of fatigue following +G_z load) and class 2 (lower level of fatigue following +G_z load). Significant differences were observed in CISS scores with Task-Oriented Coping value in class 1 (M = 65.94, SD = 5.47) being considerably greater than in class 2 (M = 62, SD = 4.37). For Emotion-Oriented and Distraction Coping, the mean value in class 1 (M = 29.53, SD = 7.72; M = 16.82, SD = 3.8) was significantly lower than in class 2 (M = 34.33, SD = 6.68; M = 19.42, SD = 3.4).DISCUSSION: The nature of the changes in CFFT values over time is associated with coping style. Coping styles are very valuable in the prediction of CNS arousal caused by exposure to +G_z stress.Biernacki MP, Lewkowicz R, Zieliński P, Wojtkowiak M. Coping and changes in arousal after exposure to +G_z load. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):1034–1039.

Background: We evaluated if the intragastric balloon (IGB) treatment leads to the increase in physical activity (PA) and whether they are related to cognitive improvements. Methods: Fourteen morbidly obese patients (151 ± 24 kg, BMI = 51.8 ± 6.5, 107 ± 26% excess weight, 43.3 ± 10.6 years) underwent 6-day-long, uninterrupted evaluations of PA 1 month before IGB insertion and 1 month after its removal. Results: Active energy expenditure and physical activity duration increased by more than 80% (p < 0.001) whereas the number of steps per day by 20% (p = 0.016). There was a pattern of relationships between cognitive improvements and increases in PA (p < 0.05). In particular, working memory improvements correlated with the increase in time spent on light physical activities (r = 0.673, p = 0.004). Conclusion: The relationships suggest that an increase in physical activity mediates cognitive improvements in bariatric patients.