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. 2022 Oct;59(10):e14064.
doi: 10.1111/psyp.14064. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress and academic achievement

Annie T Ginty  1 , Alexandra T Tyra  1 , Danielle A Young  1 , Ryan C Brindle  2 , Susanne R de Rooij  3 , Sarah E Williams  4
Affiliations

Cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress and academic achievement

Annie T Ginty et al. Psychophysiology. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress have been associated with cognitive function. However, previous work has assessed cardiovascular reactions and cognitive function in the laboratory at the same time. The present study examined the association between cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress in the laboratory and academic performance in final year high school students. Heart rate, blood pressure, stroke volume, and cardiac output reactions to an acute psychological stress task were measured in 131 participants during their final year of high school. Performance on high school A-levels were obtained the following year. Higher heart rate and cardiac output reactivity were associated with better A-level performance. These associations were still statistically significant after adjusting for a wide range of potentially confounding variables. The present results are consistent with a body of literature suggesting that higher heart rate reactions to acute psychological stress are associated with better cognitive performance across a variety of domains.

Keywords: acute psychological stress; cardiovascular reactivity; cognitive function.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Scatterplot of the unadjusted relationship between heart rate reactivity (bpm) to acute psychological stress and A‐level scores. Solid line represents line of best fit (linear); dotted lines represent upper and lower 95% confidence intervals
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Scatterplot of the unadjusted relationship between cardiac output reactivity (L/min) to acute psychological stress and A‐level scores. Solid line represents line of best fit (linear); dotted lines represent upper and lower 95% confidence intervals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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