Relationship between inhibition control factors, successful training and health of students in the conditions of stress loads of the educational process

Abstract

The aim of the study was to clarify the role of inhibitory control, taking into account the importance of its central and autonomous components in success level of university students. Methods. The study involved 58 students aged 17-21 years. The functions of executive attention control were evaluated on the basis of testing the reaction time during the selection of congruent and incongruent visual stimuli. As an autonomous component of inhibitory control, heart rate variability indices were considered. For self-assessment of health status, the SF-36 questionnaire was used. Results. A connection between student success level and the functions of executive and autonomous control systems has been established. It indicated that faster selection of information and shorter decision making time, but greater tension in autonomic regulation of cardiac activity with increased tone of the sympathetic nervous system corresponded to a higher success level. According to the results of the regression analysis, the success predictors were indicators of the speed of information selection, the functions of the executive attention system and the adequacy of the processes of autonomous regulation, which explain from 10 to 19 % of its variability. According to the SF-36 questionnaire, the best self-esteem of physical health corresponded to a lower heart rate, and mental health-a lower index of autonomic balance, that was, the predominance of the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system. Conclusions. Higher success level corresponded to the best indicators of the central component of inhibitory control-effective selection of information, but with a greater strain of autonomous regulation of cardiac activity. This indicated the need to increase the stress resistance of students with high examination scores and train executive control of attention when success level was low.