Physiology + Anatomy Project : How do different kinds of movies affect blood pressure

[Guest Michigan]

Hi there,

I'm looking for anything that could give me more information and details on my current project : how do different kinds of movies affect our blood pressure?

 

me and my partner were planning on testing it ourselves, by taking blood pressure while watching a horror movie and a comedy.

however, i'd like to find out more and i'd also like to find more sources and documents that deal with this or are similar to it.

 

i hope someone here can help me out, that'd be perfect and i'd appreciate it very much.

 

see ya

[YT2095]

Music, especialy with a bass beat at 125 bpm or above will certainly make your heart rate faster (it`s some sort of sympathetic response).

 

try watching a Horror film with sound off, you`ll probably laugh at some parts

[Radical Edward]

Auton Neurosci. 2002 May 31;97(2):129-35.

 

Pupillary and cardiovascular responses to a video movie in senior human subjects.

 

Ando T, Tanaka A, Fukasaku S, Takada R, Okada M, Ukai K, Shizuka K, Oyamada H, Toda H, Taniyama T, Usui T, Yoshizawa M, Kiryu T, Takagi M, Saida S, Bando T.

 

Division of Integrative Physiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Japan.

 

The effects of watching video movies on autonomic functions were estimated by measuring changes in pupillary and cardiovascular parameters in 10 senior subjects. The subjects looked at a series of video images (with accompanied sounds) taken during the execution of motor vehicles. The images were rear-projected on a large screen for 15 min. Pupil diameter and parameters of the light reflex were measured by an infrared pupillometer before and after the video presentation. Their electrocardiograms (ECG) and blood pressure were measured continuously. Subjects were divided into two groups depending on their values of blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose level. Subjects in Group A had blood pressures of less than 140 mm Hg and a fasting plasma glucose level of less than 7 mmol/dl (normal group). Other subjects were included in Group B (mild hypertension or diabetes mellitus group). While changes in pupillary light reflex after video viewing were minimal in the members of Group A, amplitudes of the pupillary reflex in the members of Group B varied over a significantly wide range. By the spectral analysis of cardiovascular rhythm, %LF and %HF components of blood pressure rhythm were significantly different between the two groups before video viewing. However, the ratios of frequency components before and after video viewing were not significantly different between the two groups. Our findings suggest that pupillary light reflex was less precisely controlled in subjects with mild autonomic dysfunction after prolonged audiovisual stimulation.

 

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Percept Mot Skills. 2001 Dec;93(3):797-805.

 

Autonomic reactivity during viewing of an unpleasant film.

 

Baldaro B, Mazzetti M, Codispoti M, Tuozzi G, Bolzani R, Trombini G.

 

Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy.

 

The effect of an aversive, high-arousing film on heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and electrogastrographic activity (EGG) was investigated. Previous studies have indicated a larger heart-rate deceleration for visual stimuli depicting surgery or blood compared to neutral content, and this phenomenon is similar to the bradycardia observed in animals in response to fear. The heart-rate deceleration is clearly parasympathetically driven, and it is considered a general index of attention. An accurate index of cardiac vagal tone can be obtained by means of quantification of the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The relationship between cardiac vagal tone and EGG is complex, but animal research has shown that suppressing vagal activity dampens gastric motility. We have investigated whether a movie depicting surgery is associated with greater heart-rate deceleration, larger increase in respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and greater increase in EGG activity compared to a neutral movie. In addition, if both respiratory sinus arrhythmia and EGG are indices of vagal tone, a positive correlation between these physiological responses was expected. Analysis indicated an effect of the surgery movie on heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, but not on EGG activity. Moreover, the expected correlation was not found. Implications for future studies are discussed.

 

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that's all I could find you could look up the full articles, the journals are there. It's an intersting study you have going there, and there are lots of parameters, such as how would a devout christian might react when comparing "the passion of christ" and "the exorcist" for example

[Guest Michigan]

thank you very much for your quick responses !