Physicians' psychophysiological stress reaction in medical communication of bad news: A critical literature review.

Introduction: Stress is a common phenomenon in medical professions. Breaking bad news (BBN) is reported to be a particularly distressing activity for physicians. Traditionally, the stress experienced by physicians when BBN was assessed exclusively using self-reporting.

Psychophysiological activation during preparation, performance, and recovery in high- and low-anxious music students.

The present study provides a comprehensive view of (a) the time dynamics of the psychophysiological responding in performing music students (n = 66) before, during, and after a private and a public performance and (b) the moderating effect of music performance anxiety (MPA). Heart rate (HR), minute ventilation (VE), and all affective and somatic self-report variables increased in the public session compared to the private session. Furthermore, the activation of all variables was stronger during the performances than before or after.

Hyperventilation in anticipatory music performance anxiety.

Objectives And Methods: Self-report studies have shown an association between music performance anxiety (MPA) and hyperventilation complaints. However, hyperventilation was never assessed physiologically in MPA. This study investigated the self-reported affective experience, self-reported physiological symptoms, and cardiorespiratory variables including partial pressure of end-tidal CO(2) (Petco(2)), which is an indicator for hyperventilation, in 67 music students before a private and a public performance.