ISSN 0362-1197, Human Physiology, 2007, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 502–504. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2007. Original Russian Text © E.A. Pivovarova, R.M. Gorodnichev, 2007, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2007, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 132–134.
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Influence of the Unified State Examination on the Functional State in High School Students E. A. Pivovarova and R. M. Gorodnichev Velikie Luki State Academy of Physical Education and Sports, Velikie Luki, Pskov oblast, Russia Received March 14, 2007
Abstract—The results of a local comparative experiment are presented in the course of which physiological reactions to emotional and mental stress related to the situation of taking an examination in two forms—a traditional examination and the unified state examination (USE)—were compared. It was shown that the physiological stress during the USE is slightly higher than during the traditional examination. DOI: 10.1134/S0362119707040202
using a PAKPF-Mirazh hardware–software complex (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2003) attached to a PC. All the studies were conducted in the following periods: 1.5–2 months before the USE and the traditional examination (baseline); one day before the examinations; immediately after the examinations were completed; and three days after the examinations. The cardiac rhythm was recorded continuously during the examination period. The SI was calculated for conventionally chosen periods of an examination in every student: at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. Statistical data processing was carried out using a Pentium 4 PC by means of the Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and STATISTICA 6.0 software. Changes in the average group values of the parameters studied when the USE was taken are shown in the table. As is evident from the analysis of the results, some changes in the bodies of schoolchildren occur one day before the USE. For example, the SI increased by
502
a
R es/m R, in cyc l
l TV ,m
V• ml/CO2 , min
b
V•O , mi2n
% 100 80 60 40 20 0 –20
ml/
Twenty-three apparently healthy 11th-year students of both sexes aged between 16 and 17 were the subjects of the study. The assessment of cardiac rhythm parameters was performed by the technique proposed by R.M. Baevskii et al. [10] using Polar S810 cardiac rhythm monitors providing continuous automatic recording of the R–R intervals. The following parameters were determined: the mode (Mo), amplitude of the mode (AMo), range of deviation (∆X), and stress index (SI). External respiration parameters, including the respiration rate (RR), tidal volume (TV), é2 consumption ( V˙ O2 ), CO2 release ( V˙ O2 ), and respiratory quotient (RQ) values, were studied with a Marafon-FVD.KU gas analyzer (Medpass, St. Petersburg, Russia). Computeraided testing was performed to assess the anxiety level according to Spielberger and the level of functional mobility of the CNS by the critical flicker frequency. Integrated psychophysiological testing was carried out
arb SI, . un its BP mms , Hg
One of the most important problems of modern physiology and medicine is the study of emotional stress caused by different extreme factors, including examinations [1–5]. The study of the changes in the body’s functional parameters during different examinations at schools is of practical importance because it allows us to obtain data necessary for the search for means and ways of minimizing unfavorable changes in various functions of students’ bodies. In the specialized literature, there are data on functional changes in high school students in the process of taking examinations in the traditional form [6–9]. However, there are no works pertaining to the analysis of the state of the main body systems of high school students when they take the unified state examination (USE) that was recently introduced by the Russian Government. Therefore, the goal of this work was to study the specific features of functional changes in the body of 11th-year high school students under the influence of taking the USE and a traditional examination.
Fig. 1. Changes in the average group parameters of the students when taking (a) the USE and (b) the traditional examination.
INFLUENCE OF THE UNIFIED STATE EXAMINATION ON THE FUNCTIONAL STATE
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Parameters of the physiological state of high school students during the USE (M ± m) Medical checkup time Parameter
1.5–2 months before the examination
one day before the examination
immediately after the examination
three days after the examination
SI, arb. units BPs, mm Hg
98.7 ± 6.0 109.5 ± 2.0
129.7 ± 11.7 110.2 ± 2.7
134.8 ± 6.2 119.5 ± 3.6
103.8 ± 2.8 110.9 ± 2.6
V˙ O2 , ml/min
253.7 ± 8.9
260.9 ± 10.3
317.7 ± 9.5
276.8 ± 11.9
V˙ CO2 , ml/min
175.1 ± 1.8
181.2 ± 5.8
231.3 ± 8.0
199.2 ± 11.4
RQ RR, cycles/min TV, ml
0.69 ± 0.02 16.6 ± 0.9 364.6 ± 7.5
0.69 ± 0.02 17.4 ± 1.3 378.1 ± 10.6
0.73 ± 0.03 18.3 ± 1.5 436.9 ± 10.1
0.72 ± 0.02 18.7 ± 1.7 402.6 ± 16.9
31.4% (p < 0.05). This gives evidence for the development of a state of moderate emotional stress caused by waiting for the forthcoming examination. More significant functional changes were observed in the period of taking the USE and immediately after it. Note that changes in most parameters studied were substantially higher during the USE compared to the traditional examination (Fig. 1). Compared to the background values, V˙ O2 and V˙ CO2 increased by 25.2 ± 0.4 and 32.1 ± 0.3%, respectively, after the USE, whereas these values did not change significantly after the traditional examination. The RQ values (p > 0.05) tended to increase, which suggests activation of carbohydrate metabolism in the students. The analysis of the cardiac rhythm values in the process of examinations showed that, during the USE, the greatest SI increase occurred in the middle of an examination (by 70%). Simultaneously, we observed an increase in the AMo and Mo values and a decrease in ∆X by 32.3 (p < 0.05), 28.3 (p < 0.05), and 45.4% (p < 0.05), respectively. During the traditional examination, the greatest SI increase was observed at the beginning of the examination (by 66.1%). When the AMo, Mo, and ∆X values were analyzed, we observed a pattern of changes similar to that during the USE but less pro% 100 80 60 40 20 0
a
(a) b
1
2
3
4
nounced. For example, AMo increased by only 8.1%. Three days after the USE or the traditional examination, the parameters almost returned to the baseline values. The changes described above give evidence for an autonomic balance shift to a moderately marked predominance of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system, which is indicative of increasing centralization of the cardiac rhythm control [5, 6, 10]. The increase in the cardiac rhythm values indicates that the excitation state during the USE is overcome by a more significant strain of the regulatory systems of the body than during the traditional examination. The increase in the tone of the sympathetic loop of regulation by the heart rate in the high school students examined may be considered to be a mechanism of functioning of the cardiovascular system necessary for these conditions of their activity. It should be noted that changes in the parameters of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems during the USE are different from those observed during stressful sports and operator activities [11, 12]. For example, when athletes performed dynamic work of submaximal intensity causing limiting changes in many functional parameters, the systolic blood pressure (BPs) increased % 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 –10
(b)
1
2
3
4
Fig. 2. Changes in the parameters of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in subjects with (a) high and (b) low levels of CNS functional mobility and anxiety influenced by (a) the USE and (b) the traditional examination. Abscissa: (1) SI; (2) V˙ O2 ; (3) V˙ CO2 ; (4) BPs. HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
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by 90–100% and V˙ O2 increased by a factor of 20 [12, 13]. Significant functional changes are also characteristic of operator activity accompanied by concentration and making of responsible decisions. For example, in a group of nuclear power station operators, an increase in BPs to 140 mm Hg or higher was observed after a working shift [14]. To study the influence of the psychophysiological characteristics of the subjects on the pattern of functional changes, we analyzed the data on subjects with a high level of functional mobility of the CNS and a high anxiety level (group I) and subjects with low levels of these parameters (group II). In the subjects with a high level of these parameters, the functional changes caused by the USE were substantially greater (Fig. 2a). During the traditional examination, a greater SI increase was observed in the high school students characterized by a high level of CNS mobility and anxiety, whereas there were no statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to the remaining parameters studied (Fig. 2b). CONCLUSIONS Thus, both the USE and the traditional form of examination are a stress factor leading to changes in the functional state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The type of examination, as well as the psychophysiological features of the subjects, determines the degree of changes in the physiological parameters of the subjects. The physiological cost of the reaction of the high school students to emotional and mental stress is somewhat higher when they take the USE compared to the traditional form of examination. High levels of CNS mobility and anxiety determine a greater SI increase during the USE. REFERENCES 1. Myasishchev, V.N., Emotsional’nyi stress (Emotional Stress), Leningrad: Meditsina, 1970. 2. Vyatkin, B.A., Upravlenie psikhicheskim stressom v sportivnykh sorevnovaniyakh (Control over Mental Stress in Sports Competitions), Moscow: Fizkul’tura i Sport, 1981. 3. Sudakov, K.V., Individual’naya ustoichivost’ k emotsional’nomu stressu (Emotional Resistance to Emotional Stress), Moscow, 1998.
4. Budylina, S.M., The Influence of Emotional Examination Stress on Gustatory Perceptions in Purpose-Oriented Human Activity, in Emotsii i povedenie: sistemnyi podkhod (Emotions and Behavior: A Systemic Approach) (Abstracts of Conference), Moscow: 1984, p. 12. 5. Shcherbatykh, Yu.V., Self-Regulation of Autonomic Homeostasis in Emotional Stress, Fiziol. Chel., 2000, vol. 26, no. 5, p. 151 [Hum. Physiol. (Eng. Transl.), 2003, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 641. 6. Dayan, A.V., Oganesyan, A.O., Gevorkyan, E.S., et al., Reaction of Cardiac Activity of Senior Pupils of Schools Providing Differentiated Education upon Examination Stress, Fiziol. Chel., 2003, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 37 [Hum. Physiol. (Eng. Transl.), 2003, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 160]. 7. Agajanyan, N.A., Ruzhenkova, I.V., Starshinov, Yu.P., et al., Characteristics of Adaptation of the Cardiovascular System in Adolescents, Fiziol. Chel., 1997, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 93 [Hum. Physiol. (Eng. Transl.), 1997, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 82. 8. Shangin, A.V. and Shostak, V.I., Specific Features of Coupling of Respiration and Blood Circulation in Young Individuals in Emotional Stress caused by the Examination Situation, Fiziol. Chel., 1992, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 117. 9. Shcherbatykh, Yu.V., The Use of Autogenous Training for Optimizing the Level of Stress in Higher School Students, in Aktual’nye problemy sovremennoi biologii i meditsiny (Urgent Problems of Modern Biology and Medicine), Dnepropetrovsk, 1997. 10. Baevskii, R.M., Kirillov, O.I., and Kletskin, S.Z., Matematicheskii analiz izmenenii serdechnogo ritma pri stresse (Mathematical Analysis of Cardiac Rhythm Changes in Stress), Moscow: Nauka, 1984. 11. Son’kin, V.D., Lyubomirskii, L.E., Vasil’eva, R.M., et al., Determining the Functional Capacities of Schoolchildren with Different Ways of Grading Physical Exercise, in Novye issledovaniya: Al’manakh (New Research: Almanac), Moscow: Verdana, 2004, nos. 1–2 (6–7), p. 360. 12. Cherapkina, L.P., Fiziologicheskie osnovy vodnykh vidov sporta (Physiological Basis of Water Sport), Omsk: Sibirsk. Gos. Univ. Fiz. Kul’t, 2005. 13. Volkov, N.I., Popov, O.I., Gabrys’, T., and ShmatlyanGabrys’, U., Physiological Criteria of Standardizing Training and Competitive Loads in High Achievement Sports, Fiziol. Chel., 2005, vol. 31, no. 5, p. 125. 14. Komissarov, V.I. and Laskova, I.V., The Influence of a Working Shift on the Neuroautonomic Functions in the Autonomic Power Plant (APP) Operators, Ross. Fiziol. Zh. im. I.M. Sechenova, 2004, vol. 90, no. 8, p. 319.
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