Book of Abstracts - New Frontiers 2022

Abstracts of poster presentations

CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE DURING ACUTE STRESS IN SUBJECTS WITH SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY TRAITS

K. Hrivikova 1 , Z. Romanova 1,2 , I. Riecansky 3 , D. Jezova 1

1 Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; 2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia; 3 Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of experimental medicine of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia Several factors, including major mental disorders such as schizophrenia, determine the cardiovascular and endocrine responses to acute stressors. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that individuals with schizotypal personality traits exhibit an altered reactivity of the cardiovascular system during stressful situations. We have examined volunteers of both sexes, who were divided into a group with schizotypal personality traits present and a group without them (control group) based on their scores in the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Probands were exposed to an acute stress stimulus in the form of public speech. The stressfulness of the model was assessed using a questionnaire for subjective stress perception. We have observed significant increases in systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate over time in individuals with schizotypal personality traits which was comparable to those in the control group. However, the perceived stress was higher in the schizotypal group compared to control subjects. We failed to find a difference in stress perception between men and women, but systolic blood pressure levels were higher in men compared to women, supporting known sex differences in the cardiovascular system activity. In conclusion, individuals with a possible predisposition to the development of schizophrenia exhibit an adequate activation of the cardiovascular system during stressful situations.

Keywords: schizotypy, blood pressure, heart rate, stress perception

Funding:The study was supported by project VEGA 2/0022/19.

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