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Human urinary biogenic amines and some physiological responses during situation stress
P Helin1, K Kuoppasalmi, J Laakso
1Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, Finland.
Summary
Competitive shooting stress significantly elevates physiological responses, including heart rate and blood pressure, and urinary stress metabolites. Mental tension correlated with skin conductance but inversely with blood pressure, showing varied stress responses.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Psychophysiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Competitive shooting involves high situational stress.
- Understanding the physiological and biochemical stress responses is crucial for athlete performance.
- Previous research has not comprehensively examined multiple stress markers simultaneously in elite shooters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of situational stress during a shooting competition on various physiological and biochemical stress indicators.
- To explore correlations between self-assessed mental tension, physiological parameters, and urinary stress metabolite levels.
- To compare stress responses between different shooting disciplines (rifle vs. pistol).
Main Methods:
- Studied 9 elite shooters (7 male, 2 female) during training (baseline) and competition.
- Measured self-assessed mental tension, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), skin conductance level (SCL), and electromyography (EMG).
- Analyzed urinary levels of metanephrine, normetanephrine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl acetic acid, and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA).
Main Results:
- Competition significantly increased HR, SBP, DBP, SCL, and EMG compared to baseline.
- Urinary biogenic amine metabolite excretion levels were significantly higher during competition.
- Mental tension correlated positively with SCL and negatively with SBP; catecholamine metabolites showed strong correlations, as did 5-HIAA with catecholamines.
Conclusions:
- Shooting competitions induce significant psychophysiological and biochemical stress responses.
- There is a marked divergence in the behavior of various stress-responsive variables.
- The findings highlight complex interactions between psychological, physiological, and biochemical stress markers in elite athletes.