Effect of Environment on the Central and Peripheral Nervous System

N/AEnrolling By InvitationNCT06778356

University of South Florida95 enrolled

Overview

The main goal of this study is to understand how different environments influence both mental responses, like overthinking (rumination), and physical reactions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, after a challenging task.

This study aims to explore the restorative effects of nature exposure on rumination- a mental process that affects attention-and cardiovascular responses to a challenging task. A total of 95 participants will be randomly assigned to either a built or natural environment. Each participant will take part in a 2.5-hour session. Initially, an electrocardiogram (ECG) will be attached to measure heart activity. Participants will then engage in a 30-minute task designed to immerse them in their assigned environment (the ABC engagement task). Following this, they will have a 10-minute period of quiet relaxation to establish baseline cardiovascular measures. After baseline, participants will complete a challenging task (the Remote Associates Test (RAT)), which is designed to induce sympathetic arousal. Afterward, they will rest quietly for another 10 minutes to monitor cardiovascular recovery. Finally, participants will complete post-task surveys through Qualtrics, assessing their state of rumination, perceived difficulty of the task, effort levels, and expectations of success.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Rumination

Interventions

Built environmentOTHER

Participants will complete the study session at a University student center.

Natural environmentOTHER

Participants will complete the study session in a nature trail.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Individuals 18 years of age or older. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals with a history of cardiovascular disease or disorders, those who are pregnant, or are taking medications which may alter/affect cardiovascular function.

Locations (1)

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA)

Time frame: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia will be measured during a baseline (20 minutes), challenging task (19 minutes) and the recovery period (10 minutes).

Blood pressure

Time frame: Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) will be measured during a baseline (20 minutes), challenging task (19 minutes), and recovery period (10 minutes).

Remote Associates Test (RAT)

In this study, the remote associates test (RAT) will be used as a challenging task to induce sympathetic arousal. Each RAT item consists of three words, participants will be asked to generate a fourth word/solution associated with the words presented by means of a compound word, synonymy, or semantic association. The participant has provided a fourth/solution word or the 30 second time limit. The task will consist of a total of 39 trials, including 5 practice trials.

Time frame: Participants will complete the RAT task for 19 minutes (44 trials).

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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