Linking Emotional Reactivity Between Laboratory Tasks and Immersive Environments Using Behavior and Physiology

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychophysiology
• Human Factors

Background:

• Individual emotional responses vary significantly with context and task parameters.
• Physiological markers like heart rate and brain activity are linked to emotional reactivity, stress, and anxiety.
• Interactions between physiological systems and contextual influences on emotional responses remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cross-session relationships between behavioral and physiological measures of emotional reactivity.
• To examine how brain activity and heart rate variability predict emotional and stress responses in different contexts.
• To characterize integrated behavioral and physiological responses to emotional stimuli in high-stress professions.

Main Methods:

• Recruited military and law enforcement personnel for two experimental sessions on separate days.
• Laboratory session: recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) during exposure to high-arousal negative images.
• Immersive simulation session: recorded electrocardiography (ECG) during a 'shoot-don't-shoot' task.

Main Results:

• Behavioral performance was modulated by emotional intensity in the lab and stress in the simulation.
• Higher emotional intensity ratings in the lab correlated with higher self-reported anxiety in the simulation.
• Theta band brain connectivity predicted low-frequency heart rate variability (HRV) across sessions, particularly in highly reactive individuals.

Conclusions:

• Behavioral and physiological data reveal cross-session links in emotional reactivity.
• Brain connectivity patterns can predict physiological stress responses, especially under high emotional load.
• Findings provide an integrated framework for understanding emotional reactivity in operational contexts.