Abel L, Richer R, Hauck F, Kurz M, Ringgold V, Schindler-Gmelch L, Eskofier B, Rohleder N (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Book Volume: 160
Article Number: 106818
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106818
Background
There is evidence that exposure to acute psychosocial stress and the concurrently occuring negative emotions can alter various physiological and psychological responses, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels. Additionally, previous studies have shown that low-grade systemic inflammation, which is a common response to acute psychosocial stress, can lead to changes in gait. However, stress-induced changes in gait following exposure to psychosocial stress are underexplored.
Methods
N=39 participants (44% women; 24.0 ± 3.5 years), underwent both the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and an adapted version of the friendly-TSST (f-TSST) in a randomized order on two consecutive days. Four trials of 4 x 10 m gait tests were performed before and after the (f-)TSST, respectively. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were recorded with a sensor-based motion capture system.
Results
We observed no significant stress-induced effects on the trials 10 minutes and 20 minutes after the end of the (f-)TSST. No effects resulting from the low-grade inflammatory response, which typically commences 60 minutes after the stressor, were observed.
Conclusion
In contrast to our hypothesis, acute psychosocial stress does not elicit major changes in movement that could be detected in gait. Possible explanations are that the physiological and emotional reactions following the TSST are not strong enough to show movement changes in gait. Additionally, results are limited by the delay of 10 minutes between the end of the TSST and the first trial of the gait tests, caused by the post-stress self-report assessment.
APA:
Abel, L., Richer, R., Hauck, F., Kurz, M., Ringgold, V., Schindler-Gmelch, L.,... Rohleder, N. (2024). Does acute stress exposure change gait patterns? Psychoneuroendocrinology, 160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106818
MLA:
Abel, Luca, et al. "Does acute stress exposure change gait patterns?" Psychoneuroendocrinology 160 (2024).
BibTeX: Download