PC-based instrumentation for electrodermal activity measurement

A PC-based EDA measuring system is presented. The system is composed of a laptop with a PCMCIA DAQ-card running LabVIEW® software, a small front-end with a dual op-amp IC and a few passive components, and three skin-surface electrodes. The electrode system gives a monopolar measurement below the measuring electrode regardless of the electrode sizes, unless very small. Usage of the system is demonstrated by measurements from a mental stress experiment on 17 volunteers. There was a significant correlation (R=0.51, p<0.001) between the self-assessed stress-level and the EDA response frequency. The system allows easy on-site customization in software of measuring parameters, signal-quality monitoring and non-linearity detection in real time. We believe that the most suited use for the system is for stationary experimental purposes where this flexibility is desired. The system is easy to reproduce by engineers interested in doing EDA researc

An Investigation on Bilateral Asymmetry in Electrodermal Activity

The Multiple Arousal Theory (Picard et al., 2016) was proposed to explain retrospective observations of bilateral differences in electrodermal activities occurring in threat-related high-stake situations. The theory proposes different cortical and subcortical structures to be involved in the processing of various facets of emotional states. Systematic investigations of this effect are still scarce. This study tested the prediction of bilateral electrodermal effects in a controlled laboratory environment where electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded bilaterally during normal activity and two stress-tasks in 25 healthy volunteers. A visual search stress task with a performance-related staircase algorithm was used, ensuring intersubjectively comparable stress levels across individuals. After completion of the task, a sense of ownership of an attractive price was created and loss aversion introduced to create a high-stake situation. Confirmation of the theory should satisfy the hypothesis of a bilateral difference in EDA between the dominant and non-dominant hand, which is larger during high-stake stressors than during low-stake stressors. The bilateral difference was quantified and compared statistically between the two stress-tasks, revealing no significant difference between them nor any significant difference between the stress tasks and the period of normal activity. Subgroup analysis of only the participants with maximum self-rating of their desire to win the price (n = 7) revealed neither any significant difference between the two tasks nor between the stress-tasks and the period of normal activity. Although the theory was not confirmed by this study, eight cases suggestive of bilateral difference within the recordings were identified and are presented. Because the study is limited in using one of several possible operationalizations of the phenomenon, it is not possible to draw a general conclusion on the theory. Nevertheless, the study might contribute to a better understanding and encourage systematic review and hypothesis development regarding this new theory. Possible explanations and suggestions for future pathways to systematically investigate the Multiple Arousal Theory are discussed

An Investigation on Bilateral Asymmetry in Electrodermal Activity

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The Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching: Four Pedagogical Prescriptions to Move Active Learning Pedagogy Forward

Digital learning technologies are expected to reform higher education: The recent Digital Education Action Plan (2021–2027) of the European Commission (EC) states that digital education should facilitate more personalised, flexible, and student-centred teaching (European Commission, 2021). This places great demands on university teachers, whose technological skills have long been considered the most formidable barrier to the digital transformation of higher education (Børte et al., 2020). Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a steep technological learning curve among higher education teachers. Overnight, university teachers were forced to adapt their teaching to a digital, online format to meet the needs of more than 1.5 billion students across the globe who have been affected by COVID-19 restrictions (UNESCO, 2021). Despite a great willingness to change, over a year into the pandemic, the frustration among (university) teachers has become apparent. A United Kingdom survey found that higher education teachers thought that their pedagogical practis had been “reduced to the fulfilment of rudimentary technical functions” and that they played more of a transmissionist pedagogical role (Watermeyer et al., 2020). Taking the perspective of the students, recent survey data from Norwegian higher education shows that, during the pandemic, lack of motivation and sense of loneliness have been an increasing problem among students (NOKUT the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, 2020). From this we learn that a fully digital approach in higher education has limitations both when it comes to pedagogical practices and students’ well-being

Beyond expectation: a case for nonpersonal contextual factors in a more comprehensive approach to the placebo effect and the contribution of environmental psychology

Creating an optimized health care environment to maximize the probability and magnitude of placebo effects draws on a number of well-researched mechanisms such as the patient’s positive expectation toward treatment outcome. Patient-centered communication styles influence expectations and can thus be considered as a form of supplemental treatment. Unconsciously processed contextual triggering and facilitating placebo effects are omnipresent in clinical settings as well as in all other social and physical environments. Contextual cues in both the social and physical domain exert influences on the recipient’s emotional state and recreational experiences. While the majority of research focuses on improving the patients’ expectations, classical conditioning effects of nonsocial contextual factors have been largely neglected in discussions on practical implementation of placebo-enhancing environments. Built on the empirically well-supported argument that conditioning processes act as a powerful tool to mobilize self-healing resources just as verbally induced expectations do, we argue for a stronger consideration of the effects of permanent, nonsocial and nonverbal environmental contexts. Environmental psychology is a new field of research within the psychological domain and offers a toolbox of opportunities for medical psychological research and health care practitioners to improve the treatment outcomes and benefits of health care environments

PC-based instrumentation for electrodermal activity measurement

A PC-based EDA measuring system is presented. The system is composed of a laptop with a PCMCIA DAQ-card running LabVIEW® software, a small front-end with a dual op-amp IC and a few passive components, and three skin-surface electrodes. The electrode system gives a monopolar measurement below the measuring electrode regardless of the electrode sizes, unless very small. Usage of the system is demonstrated by measurements from a mental stress experiment on 17 volunteers. There was a significant correlation (R=0.51, p<0.001) between the self-assessed stress-level and the EDA response frequency. The system allows easy on-site customization in software of measuring parameters, signal-quality monitoring and non-linearity detection in real time. We believe that the most suited use for the system is for stationary experimental purposes where this flexibility is desired. The system is easy to reproduce by engineers interested in doing EDA researc

Group‐based multimodal physical therapy in women with chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction - Chronic pelvic pain in women is a complex condition, and physical therapy is recommended as part of a broader treatment approach. The objective of this study was to compare structured group‐based multimodal physical therapy in a hospital setting (intervention group) with primary‐care physical therapy (comparator group) for women with chronic pelvic pain. Material and methods - Women aged 20‐65 years with pelvic pain ≥6 months and referred for physical therapy were eligible. The primary outcome measure was change in the mean pelvic pain intensity from baseline to 12 months, measured using the numeric rating scale (0‐10). Secondary outcomes were changes in scores of “worst” and “least” pain intensity, health‐related quality of life, movement patterns, pain‐related fear of movements, anxiety and depression, subjective health complaints, sexual function, incontinence, and obstructed defecation. The differences between the groups regarding change in scores were analyzed using the independent t test and Mann‐Whitney U test. Sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome was performed with a linear regression model adjusted for the baseline value. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results - Of the 62 women included, 26 in the intervention group and 25 in the comparator group were available after 12 months for data collection and analysis. The difference between the groups for change in the mean pain intensity score was −1.2 (95% CI −2.3 to −0.2; P = .027), favoring the intervention group. The intervention group showed greater improvements in respiratory patterns (mean difference 0.9; 95% CI 0.2‐1.6; P = .015) and pain‐related fear of movements (mean difference 2.9; 95% CI −5.5 to −0.3; P = .032), and no significant differences were observed between the groups for the other secondary outcomes. Conclusions - Although the reduction in the mean pelvic pain intensity with group‐based multimodal physical therapy was significantly more than with primary‐care physical therapy, the difference in the change between the groups was less than expected and the clinical relevance is uncertain

Group-based multimodal physical therapy in women with chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction - Chronic pelvic pain in women is a complex condition, and physical therapy is recommended as part of a broader treatment approach. The objective of this study was to compare structured group‐based multimodal physical therapy in a hospital setting (intervention group) with primary‐care physical therapy (comparator group) for women with chronic pelvic pain. Material and methods - Women aged 20‐65 years with pelvic pain ≥6 months and referred for physical therapy were eligible. The primary outcome measure was change in the mean pelvic pain intensity from baseline to 12 months, measured using the numeric rating scale (0‐10). Secondary outcomes were changes in scores of “worst” and “least” pain intensity, health‐related quality of life, movement patterns, pain‐related fear of movements, anxiety and depression, subjective health complaints, sexual function, incontinence, and obstructed defecation. The differences between the groups regarding change in scores were analyzed using the independent t test and Mann‐Whitney U test. Sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome was performed with a linear regression model adjusted for the baseline value. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results - Of the 62 women included, 26 in the intervention group and 25 in the comparator group were available after 12 months for data collection and analysis. The difference between the groups for change in the mean pain intensity score was −1.2 (95% CI −2.3 to −0.2; P = .027), favoring the intervention group. The intervention group showed greater improvements in respiratory patterns (mean difference 0.9; 95% CI 0.2‐1.6; P = .015) and pain‐related fear of movements (mean difference 2.9; 95% CI −5.5 to −0.3; P = .032), and no significant differences were observed between the groups for the other secondary outcomes. Conclusions - Although the reduction in the mean pelvic pain intensity with group‐based multimodal physical therapy was significantly more than with primary‐care physical therapy, the difference in the change between the groups was less than expected and the clinical relevance is uncertain

Group-based multimodal physical therapy in women with chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction: Chronic pelvic pain in women is a complex condition, and physical therapy is recommended as part of a broader treatment approach. The objective of this study was to compare structured group-based multimodal physical therapy in a hospital setting (intervention group) with primary-care physical therapy (comparator group) for women with chronic pelvic pain. Material and methods: Women aged 20-65 years with pelvic pain ≥6 months and referred for physical therapy were eligible. The primary outcome measure was change in the mean pelvic pain intensity from baseline to 12 months, measured using the numeric rating scale (0-10). Secondary outcomes were changes in scores of “worst” and “least” pain intensity, health-related quality of life, movement patterns, pain- related fear of movements, anxiety and depression, subjective health complaints, sexual function, incontinence, and obstructed defecation. The differences between the groups regarding change in scores were analyzed using the independent t test and Mann-Whitney U test. Sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome was performed with a linear regression model adjusted for the baseline value. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 62 women included, 26 in the intervention group and 25 in the comparator group were available after 12 months for data collection and analysis. The difference between the groups for change in the mean pain intensity score was −1.2 (95% CI −2.3 to −0.2; P = .027), favoring the intervention group. The intervention group showed greater improvements in respiratory patterns (mean difference 0.9; 95% CI 0.2-1.6; P = .015) and pain-related fear of movements (mean difference 2.9; 95% CI −5.5 to −0.3; P = .032), and no significant differences were observed between the groups for the other secondary outcomes. Conclusions: Although the reduction in the mean pelvic pain intensity with group- based multimodal physical therapy was significantly more than with primary-care physical therapy, the difference in the change between the groups was less than ex- pected and the clinical relevance is uncertain

Group-based multimodal physical therapy in women with chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction - Chronic pelvic pain in women is a complex condition, and physical therapy is recommended as part of a broader treatment approach. The objective of this study was to compare structured group‐based multimodal physical therapy in a hospital setting (intervention group) with primary‐care physical therapy (comparator group) for women with chronic pelvic pain. Material and methods - Women aged 20‐65 years with pelvic pain ≥6 months and referred for physical therapy were eligible. The primary outcome measure was change in the mean pelvic pain intensity from baseline to 12 months, measured using the numeric rating scale (0‐10). Secondary outcomes were changes in scores of “worst” and “least” pain intensity, health‐related quality of life, movement patterns, pain‐related fear of movements, anxiety and depression, subjective health complaints, sexual function, incontinence, and obstructed defecation. The differences between the groups regarding change in scores were analyzed using the independent t test and Mann‐Whitney U test. Sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome was performed with a linear regression model adjusted for the baseline value. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results - Of the 62 women included, 26 in the intervention group and 25 in the comparator group were available after 12 months for data collection and analysis. The difference between the groups for change in the mean pain intensity score was −1.2 (95% CI −2.3 to −0.2; P = .027), favoring the intervention group. The intervention group showed greater improvements in respiratory patterns (mean difference 0.9; 95% CI 0.2‐1.6; P = .015) and pain‐related fear of movements (mean difference 2.9; 95% CI −5.5 to −0.3; P = .032), and no significant differences were observed between the groups for the other secondary outcomes. Conclusions - Although the reduction in the mean pelvic pain intensity with group‐based multimodal physical therapy was significantly more than with primary‐care physical therapy, the difference in the change between the groups was less than expected and the clinical relevance is uncertain