Comparative evaluation of the autonomic response to cognitive and sensory stimulations through wearable sensors

Abstract

Psychological stress is known to activate the autonomic nervous system (ANS), thus representing a useful target to be monitored to understand the physiological, unconscious effect of stress on the human body. However, little is known about how differently the ANS responds to cognitive and sensory stimulations in healthy subjects. To this extent, we enrolled 23 subjects and administered a stress protocol consisting of the administration of sensory (olfactory) and cognitive (mathematical) stressors. Autonomic parameters were unobtrusively monitored through wearable sensors for capturing electrocardiogram and skin conductance signals. The results obtained demonstrated an increase of the heart rate during both stress protocols, with a similar decrease of the heart rate variability. Cognitive stress test appears to affect the autonomic parameters to a greater extent, confirming its effects on the human body. However, olfactory stimulation could be useful to study stress in specific experimental settings when the administration of complex cognitive testing is not feasible.