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Assessing response to stressful emotions: a controlled crossover study using pupillometry
Ana Carolina Noronha1, Francisca Castro Mendes1,2,3, Pedro Carvalho1
1Basic and Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Porto Biomedical Journal
|January 29, 2025
Summary
Pupillometry effectively measures autonomic nervous system responses to acute stress, like fear and horror. This innovative technique captures real-time physiological reactions, proving feasible for stress assessment.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Psychophysiology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Autonomic protective responses, driven by fear and horror, function as
- survival intelligence.
- Pupillometry offers an innovative method for real-time capture of autonomic nervous system reactions to stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of pupillometry for assessing acute autonomic responses to a passive, real-life stressor.
Main Methods:
- A nonrandomized controlled crossover trial involving 13 medical students viewing audiovisual stimuli (fear-inducing war scene vs. control).
- Pupillometry parameters were measured before and after stimulus exposure, with data analyzed using Wilcoxon tests.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in baseline and final pupil diameter were observed between the fear-inducing and control stimuli at T1 (P=0.030 and P=0.012, respectively).
- A trend towards differences in final pupil diameter (P=0.060) and average constriction velocity (P=0.059) was noted after the fear stimulus compared to baseline.
Conclusions:
- Pupillometry shows promise as a method to evaluate changes in autonomic nervous system activity induced by acute, passive stress.
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