Electric stimulation threat normal form acute stress induction system

Abstract

The invention discloses an electrical stimulation threat normal form acute stress inducing system, which is characterized in that electrical stimulation is triggered in real time according to the performance of a subject in a task execution process through dynamic coupling of a neuromuscular electrical stimulation instrument and a cognitive task; the electrical stimulation parameters are as follows: the voltage is 60V, the frequency is 10Hz, and the single time lasts 500ms; the cognitive tasks comprise a self-adaptive N-back task, a Stroop task and a situational awareness task (ATVAT). By integrating physiological threat (controllable electrical stimulation intensity) and psychological unpredictability (random stimulation time sequence), efficient and repeatable stress response induction is realized, and a reliable model is provided for mental disease mechanism experiments and stress intervention evaluation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of acute stress experiments, and particularly to an acute stress induction system with an electrostimulation threat paradigm. Background Art

[0002] Acute stress experiments are an important direction in the fields of neuroscience and psychology. Existing technologies mostly rely on mental tasks (such as mental arithmetic tests, social evaluation tasks) or physiological stimuli (such as cold pressor tests) to induce stress responses. However, traditional methods have problems of unstable induction effects and low standardization. For example, mental tasks are easily affected by individual cognitive differences, and it is difficult to precisely control the intensity of physiological stimuli. Although electrostimulation technology has been used to establish oxidative stress models or military stress training, these methods mostly focus on cell or animal experiments, or require complex equipment cooperation (such as virtual reality springboards, multimodal feedback systems), lack standardized electrostimulation parameter design for human acute stress, and are difficult to simulate the physiological-psychological synergistic effects of real threat scenarios.

[0003] The key defects of the existing technologies are as follows: First, the separation of physiological and psychological stimuli: Most stress paradigms only activate a single pathway of the sympathetic-adrenal medullary axis (SNS) or the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), and cannot synchronously induce fast / slow dual-channel stress responses; Second, high uncontrollability: For example, social evaluation tasks rely on manual intervention, and random electrostimulation lacks dynamic association with cognitive tasks; Third, insufficient ecological validity: Existing electrostimulation devices (such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators) are mostly used for treatment or training, with a single stimulation mode, and cannot simulate the unpredictability and urgency of real threat scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the related technologies to some extent.

[0005] To this end, the present invention proposes an acute stress induction system with an electrostimulation threat paradigm, which realizes efficient and reproducible induction of stress responses by integrating physiological threat (controllable electrostimulation intensity) and psychological unpredictability (random stimulation timing), and provides a reliable model for mental disease mechanism experiments and stress intervention evaluations.

[0006] To achieve the above object, on the one hand, the present invention proposes an acute stress induction system with an electrostimulation threat paradigm, including:

[0007] An electrostimulation module for performing neuromuscular electrostimulation on a subject; wherein, the parameters of the electrostimulation are a voltage of 60V, a frequency of 10Hz, and a single duration of 500ms;

[0008] The cognitive task module includes at least the following three tasks: the adaptive N-back task, the Stroop task, and the situation awareness task ATVAT. The cognitive task module, through the dynamic coupling of the neuromuscular electrical stimulator and the cognitive task, triggers electrical stimulation in real time according to the performance of the subject during the task execution to monitor the behavioral data of the subject in real time. The adaptive N-back task adopts a way of dynamically adjusting the difficulty and adjusts the task difficulty according to the correct rate of the subject.

[0009] The dynamic coupling unit is used to realize the real-time behavioral association between the electrical stimulation module and the cognitive task module. In the N-back task, electrical stimulation is applied when the N-back capacity of the subject does not increase or the task is executed incorrectly. In the Stroop task and the ATVAT task, electrical stimulation is directly triggered when the subject makes a wrong choice.

[0010] The timing control unit ensures that the timing of electrical stimulation application is strictly synchronized with the cognitive task stage, and electrical stimulation is applied 500 ms before the task starts or immediately 500 ms after the task is executed incorrectly.

[0011] The acute stress induction system of the electrical stimulation threat paradigm according to the embodiment of the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the adaptive N-back task includes:

[0013] Initially set as a 1-back task;

[0014] Dynamically adjust the task difficulty according to the correct rate of the subject completing the task. If the correct rate of the subject completing the task is greater than 90%, the task difficulty is increased. If the correct rate of the subject completing the task is equal to or lower than the current average correct rate, the task difficulty is decreased. If the correct rate is between the two, the task difficulty remains unchanged.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the Stroop task includes:

[0016] A fixation point is presented on the computer screen for 500 ms, and color words with colors are presented.

[0017] The subject is required to ignore the meaning of the word and report the color of the color word with the presented color.

[0018] There are two situations for the content presented on the screen: under the consistent condition, the color is the same as the meaning of the word;

[0019] Under the inconsistent condition, the color is different from the meaning of the word.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the ATVAT task includes:

[0021] Present photos showing the road conditions briefly;

[0022] The subjects answer questions according to the content of the photos, and the questions involve pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, traffic lights and traffic signs in the photos;

[0023] The test scores are output in the form of standard scores, percentiles and T-scores.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a data processing module for statistically analyzing the questionnaire data of the state anxiety scale, the physiological index change data of heart rate variability, and the behavioral data generated by the Stroop task, N-back task, and ATVAT task during the experiment of the subjects, and statistically analyzing the data results of the stress group and the non-stress group respectively to obtain the corresponding statistical analysis results.

[0025] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the N-back task, electrical stimulation is applied when the N-back capacity of the subject does not increase or is incorrect; in the Stroop and ATVAT tasks, incorrect selections directly trigger electrical stimulation; through the superposition of multi-dimensional cognitive loads of the Stroop task, N-back, and ATVAT, a complex stress scenario is simulated.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present invention, the data processing module uses SPSS software to perform repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance to examine the emotional changes of the subjects during the experiment, the subjective situation of situation awareness, and the indicators of working memory, inhibitory control, and situation awareness.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical stimulation module uses a single-channel tenS stimulator to apply short-time pulses to specific muscle groups, ensuring that the stimulation intensity is within the tolerable range, generating a slight numbness or pain sensation.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the subjects are the adult population, and the ATVAT task is tested using localized traffic images to adapt to the cultural scenario.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, the data processing module is further used for:

[0030] Measuring the situation awareness of the subjects using the Situation Awareness Rating Scale, the Situation Awareness Rating Scale includes 10 questions, which are divided into three dimensions: attention demand, attention supply, and information acquisition, each dimension contains different questions, and a 7-point scoring method is used;

[0031] The subjects were measured for their anxiety status using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory contains two subscales with a total of 40 items. Among them, items 1 to 20 are for the State Anxiety Scale, and items 21 to 40 are for the Trait Anxiety Scale. All items use a 4-point rating scale.

[0032] The acute stress induction system of the electrostimulation threat paradigm in the embodiments of the present invention combines a neuromuscular electrical stimulator with a psychological cognitive experiment task. By controlling the timing and duration of the electrical stimulation in the cognitive test task, it can effectively induce the stress response of the tester.

[0033] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0034] 1) Dual-pathway stress synchronous activation, breaking through the limitations of a single pathway. Through the physiological threat of electrical stimulation (activating the rapid response of the SNS sympathetic nerve) and the psychological unpredictability of the cognitive task (activating the slow response of the HPA axis), the coordinated activation of the fast / slow dual-channel stress pathways is achieved. In the experiment, LF / HF (sympathetic-parasympathetic balance index) was significantly negatively correlated with working memory capacity (r = -0.35), indicating that physiological stress directly inhibits higher-order cognitive functions, verifying the interaction of the dual pathways.

[0035] 2) High standardization and dynamic control, improving the repeatability of the experiment. Fixed electrical stimulation parameters (60V / 10Hz) and adaptive task difficulty adjustment (such as the N-back task dynamically adjusted based on 90% correct rate) are adopted to reduce the interference of individual cognitive differences. Electrical stimulation is applied immediately when a cognitive error occurs (such as a 500ms stimulation triggered by an error in the Stroop task), realizing real-time closed-loop feedback between stress stimulation and task performance, and avoiding the subjective deviation of manual intervention in traditional social evaluation tasks.

[0036] 3) Optimization of ecological validity, simulating real threat scenarios. Multi-dimensional threat simulation, the pain of electrical stimulation simulates the physical reaction of real danger to simulate physiological threat, and the adaptive task difficulty and random stimulation timing enhance the sense of urgency to simulate psychological unpredictability: the Stroop task requires inhibiting automatic responses, and the N-back task requires dynamic memory update, simulating real-world complex decision-making scenarios to simulate cognitive-motor integration. The reaction time of the stress group in the Stroop task was significantly prolonged (r = 0.38, correlated with VLF), reflecting the inhibition of executive function by stress, which is consistent with the characteristics of cognitive rigidity under real stress.

[0037] 4) Multi-modal assessment and verification, with both subjective and objective validity. At the subjective level, experiments found a significant negative correlation between the State Anxiety Scale and the Stress Cardiogram Scale (r = -0.48), demonstrating that psychological regulation ability affects the intensity of stress response; at the physiological level, experiments found that HRV parameters (such as the positive correlation between LF and the correct rate of situation awareness, r = 0.34) objectively quantify the state of autonomic nerve regulation; at the behavioral level, it was found that the decline in working memory capacity (negatively correlated with LF / HF) reflects that cognitive resources are occupied by stress. Compared with the traditional method that only relies on cortisol detection, this paradigm improves the comprehensiveness and reliability of stress assessment through cross-validation of multi-dimensional data.

[0038] 5) Potential for expanding application scenarios. This stress induction paradigm can provide a standardized model for experiments on the stress sensitivity mechanism of mental diseases (such as PTSD, anxiety disorder); in intervention assessment, it can dynamically monitor changes in HRV and cognitive performance to evaluate the anti-stress effects of drugs or cognitive training; by adjusting the intensity of electrical stimulation and task complexity, it can simulate high-pressure environments such as battlefields or disaster rescues to train stress adaptation ability, effectively solving the problem of difficult simulation of battlefield stress scenarios.

[0039] 6) This invention solves the three core problems of physiological-psychological separation, insufficient standardization, and low ecological validity in traditional stress induction methods through the precise coupling of electrical stimulation and cognitive tasks. At the same time, it realizes the high efficiency (dual-pathway activation), repeatability (parameter standardization), and multi-dimensional assessment (combined analysis of subjective-physiological-behavioral) of stress induction, providing an experimental paradigm with both innovation and practicality for stress-related experiments and applications.

[0040] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be understood through the practice of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0041] The above-mentioned and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and be easily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, where:

[0042] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of an acute stress induction system of an electrical stimulation threat paradigm according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2 is a flowchart of an adaptive N-back task according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a Stroop task according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a situation awareness task according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0046] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0047] In order to enable those skilled in the art of this technology to better understand the solution of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] The acute stress induction system of the electrical stimulation threat paradigm proposed according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of the acute stress induction system of the electrical stimulation threat paradigm according to the embodiments of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, the system 10 includes:

[0050] An electrical stimulation module 100 for performing neuromuscular electrical stimulation on the subject; wherein, the parameters of the electrical stimulation are a voltage of 60V, a frequency of 10Hz, and a single duration of 500ms;

[0051] A cognitive task module 200 includes at least the following three tasks: an adaptive N-back task, a Stroop task, and a situation awareness task ATVAT. The cognitive task module, through the dynamic coupling of the neuromuscular electrical stimulator and the cognitive task, triggers electrical stimulation in real time according to the subject's performance during the task execution to monitor the subject's behavioral data in real time; the adaptive N-back task adopts a way of dynamically adjusting the difficulty and adjusts the task difficulty according to the subject's correct rate;

[0052] A dynamic coupling unit 300 for realizing the real-time behavioral association between the electrical stimulation module and the cognitive task module. In the N-back task, electrical stimulation is applied when the subject's N-back capacity is not improved or the task is executed incorrectly; in the Stroop task and the ATVAT task, electrical stimulation is directly triggered when the subject makes a wrong choice;

[0053] A timing control unit 400 ensures that the timing of electrical stimulation application is strictly synchronized with the cognitive task stage, and electrical stimulation is applied 500ms before the task starts or immediately 500ms after the task is executed incorrectly.

[0054] Specifically, the present invention combines a neuromuscular electrical stimulator with a psychological cognitive experimental task, and by controlling the timing and duration of electrical stimulation in cognitive test tasks, it is possible to effectively induce a stress response in the tester. The electrical stimulation part uses a single-channel tenS stimulator. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an application of 20-50Hz low-frequency current through electrodes to stimulate specific muscle groups to twitch or contract them. The psychological cognitive experimental task uses an adaptive N-back task, a Stroop task, and an ATVAT task. In order to ensure the simultaneity of stress and tasks, before all tasks begin, the subject is given an electrical stimulation of 500ms, with parameters of 60V and 10Hz. In the adaptive N-back task, if the subject's N-back capacity is reduced or remains unchanged, the subject is given an electrical stimulation of 500ms, and the N-back capacity is increased without stimulation; in the Stroop task and ATVAT, if the subject chooses an error, the subject is given an electrical stimulation of 500ms, and if it is correct, it is not stimulated.

[0055] The following is a detailed description of the specific implementation of the present invention through experiments:

[0056] In one embodiment of the present invention, the purpose and design of the experiment is to explore the impact of acute stress on the situation and the impact of different stress orientations of individuals under acute stress on situational awareness. The experiment adopts a two-factor mixed experimental design (whether stress × individual trait stress orientation), in which whether stress is the within-group variable and the individual's trait stress orientation is the between-group variable.

[0057] In one embodiment of the present invention, the experimental subjects are calculated based on past experiments and statistics, α=0.05, β=0.2, es=0.5. In order to reduce interference factors, the number of subjects is calculated to be 34. Considering other conditions such as the attrition rate, a total of 40 subjects need to be recruited. In order to balance the sequential effect caused by different task orders, the ABBA method is adopted to allow the subjects to conduct the experiment. At the same time, the experiment presets a one-week washout period to offset the practice effect. The subjects are required to be healthy adult males aged 18 to 35 years old, with a trait anxiety scale score of 35 to 50 points, and have not taken medication or caffeinated foods recently. Color blindness, color weakness, non-right-handedness, a history of neurological disease, a history of mental illness and a history of cognitive impairment; subjects with a history of basic diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and those who have undergone other related clinical trials are excluded.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present invention, the subjective report questionnaire related to experimental tools and materials is the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART), which has 10 questions and is divided into three dimensions: attention demand, attention supply, and information acquisition. Each dimension contains different questions and measures different aspects. For example, the attention demand dimension measures the stability, variability, and complexity of the situation, etc. A 7-point scoring method is used, and the higher the score, the higher the SA. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is a self-evaluation questionnaire with two subscales and 40 questions. Questions 1-20 are the state anxiety scale, which measures the current or recent emotions and feelings, with 10 positive and 10 negative questions each. Questions 21-40 are the trait anxiety scale, which measures the usual emotional experience, with 9 positive questions and 11 negative questions. All questions use a 4-level scoring method, and different levels represent different degrees.

[0059] The Stress Mindset Measure (SMM) was developed by Crum et al., and He Xiangcai et al. conducted a reliability and validity test of the Chinese version. Each scale has 8 items, which respectively examine the subjects' usual or current views on stress. The scale uses a Likert 5-point scoring method, and the items in the dimension of harmful stress mindset are all reverse-scored items. The higher the score, the more the individual tends to have a beneficial stress mindset.

[0060] Stress induction: According to past experiments, the subjects were induced to stress using an electrostimulation induction paradigm. To ensure the simultaneity of stress and tasks, 500 ms of electrostimulation was given to the subjects before the start of all tasks, with parameters of 60 V and 10 Hz. In the adaptive N-back task, if the subject's N-back capacity decreased or remained unchanged, 500 ms of electrostimulation was given to the subject; if the N-back capacity increased, there was no stimulation. In the Stroop task and ATVAT, if the subject made a wrong choice, 500 ms of electrostimulation was given to the subject; if it was correct, there was no stimulation.

[0061] Specifically, the experimental tasks include:

[0062] Adaptive N-back task: In a nine-square grid, some squares will intermittently appear (for 500 ms). The subject needs to judge whether the currently presented stimulus is the same as the stimulus at the nth position from the previous one among the presented stimuli. For example, in the 1-back task, the subject checks if the current stimulus is in the same position as the previous one, and in the 2-back task, the subject checks if the current stimulus is in the same position as the stimulus two positions before. And so on. The N-back task used in this experiment is different from the traditional method. This task uses an adaptive approach, that is, at the beginning, it is uniformly a 1-back task. If the subject's task completion accuracy rate is greater than 90%, then it enters the 2-back task, and so on; if the accuracy rate is equal to or lower than the current average value, it retreats to the previous difficulty level, that is, if it is in the 2-back task, it retreats to the 1-back task; if the situation is between the two, the difficulty remains unchanged. The specific situation is as Figure 2 shown.

[0063] Stroop task: At the beginning, a fixation point will be presented on the computer screen for 500 ms, and then a color word (such as "green") with a color (such as "red") will be presented. The experimenter asks the subject to ignore the meaning of the word and report the color of the word. There are two situations for the content presented on the screen: under the consistent condition, the color is the same as the meaning of the word; under the inconsistent condition, the color is different from the meaning of the word. The specific situation is as Figure 3 shown.

[0064] ATVAT: It uses a series of short photos showing road conditions. This test mainly focuses on the degree of visual perception and the perception of speed, verifies the ability of visual observation and maintaining situational awareness, and monitors visual direction and perceived speed. ATAVT is conducted on a computer and consists of 14 photos of traffic conditions. This test lasts for 5 minutes, and each photo is shown to the subject for 1000 ms. After each photo, the screen will ask the subject what they saw in the photo, and the subject can choose from five options, including pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, traffic lights, and traffic signs. ATAVT is an extension of the TAVTMBT test and helps measure the cognitive processes during the task. The items of the test are verified using the 1PL Rasch model, and the test output scores are standard scores, percentiles, and T scores. The specific situation is as Figure 4 shown.

[0065] Furthermore, data processing is carried out according to the experimental tasks. Data processing statistically analyzes the questionnaire data of the state anxiety scale, the physiological index change data of heart rate variability, and the behavioral data generated by the Stroop task, N-back task, and ATVAT task compiled by Eprime, and statistically analyzes the data results of the stress group and the non-stress group respectively. The data processing and analysis are as follows:

[0066] Among them, the results of the questionnaire data are as follows:

[0067] State Anxiety Scale: Repeated measures ANOVA showed that the main effect of time point was significant (p < 0.001), indicating that emotions changed over time. The interaction effect was significant (p = 0.008), indicating that the anxiety level of the stress group at the end of the experiment was significantly higher than that of the non-stress group.

[0068] Situation Awareness Rating Scale: The correlation analysis with ATVAT did not find a significant correlation (p = 0.472), indicating a lack of consistency between subjective situation awareness and objective performance.

[0069] Heart Rate Variability (HRV) data results: LF / HF index: The interaction effect was significant (p = 0.036), indicating that the LF / HF value of the stress group during the middle of the task (time point b) was significantly higher than that at other time points, reflecting the physiological changes under stress. Other HRV indices: The analysis of VLF, LF, and HF did not find significant group or time point effects, indicating that these indices did not show obvious changes in the stress situation.

[0070] Among them, the results of the behavioral data are as follows:

[0071] Working memory: There were no significant differences in working memory capacity, accuracy rate, and reaction time between the stress and non-stress conditions (p > 0.05), indicating that stress had no significant effect on working memory.

[0072] Inhibitory control: The accuracy rate of inhibitory control in the stress group was significantly lower than that in the non-stress group (p = 0.034), but there was no significant difference in reaction time (p = 0.387), indicating that stress mainly affected the accuracy of inhibitory control.

[0073] Situation awareness: There was no significant difference in the accuracy rate of situation awareness between the stress and non-stress conditions (p = 0.503), indicating that stress had no significant effect on situation awareness.

[0074] The present invention induced acute stress in Chinese adults by electrical stimulation and successfully induced an acute stress state. The experimental results showed that the stress state had a significant effect on the physiological indices (such as LF / HF) and some cognitive functions (such as inhibitory control) of individuals, but had no significant effect on working memory and situation awareness. In addition, there was no linear relationship between stress mindset and cognitive function performance. In the future, the long-term effects of stress on different cognitive functions can be further explored, and the induction paradigm can be optimized to improve its applicability in different populations.

[0075] In summary, before the experiment began, the subjects were connected to a neuromuscular electrical stimulator, and the electrical stimulation parameters were set to a voltage of 60V, a frequency of 10Hz, and a single duration of 500ms. The subjects performed multiple types of cognitive tasks, including the adaptive N-back task, the Stroop task, and the ATVAT task. In the N-back task, when the subject's N-back capacity did not improve or the task was executed incorrectly, the electrical stimulator immediately applied electrical stimulation. In the Stroop task and the ATVAT task, incorrect choices directly triggered electrical stimulation. 500ms before the start of the cognitive task, a pre-stimulus was applied to prepare the subject to enter a stress state. After an incorrect task execution, electrical stimulation was immediately applied for 500ms to achieve real-time closed-loop feedback between stress stimulation and task performance. The electrical stimulation used a single-channel tenS stimulator to apply short pulses to specific muscle groups to simulate the physiological response to real threats. The adaptive N-back task dynamically adjusted the difficulty according to the subject's correct rate, with an initial difficulty of 1-back. During the experiment, the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of the subjects were recorded as an objective indicator of the autonomic regulation state. After the experiment, the subjects were asked to fill out a state anxiety scale to evaluate the impact of their psychological regulation ability on the intensity of the stress response. Combining cognitive behavioral indicators (such as working memory capacity, reaction time, etc.), a comprehensive assessment of the subjects' stress response was conducted. This invention is particularly applicable to Chinese adults, and localized traffic images were used in the ATVAT task to adapt to the Chinese cultural background.

[0076] The acute stress induction system of the electrical stimulation threat paradigm according to an embodiment of the present invention realizes the coordinated activation of a dual-path stress pathway through the dynamic integration of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and multiple types of cognitive tasks (such as N-back, Stroop, ATVAT). In a specific implementation, electrical stimulation is triggered according to the performance of the cognitive task, standardized electrical stimulation parameters are used, an adaptive task rule is designed, and multimodal evaluation is carried out in combination with heart rate variability (HRV), a state anxiety scale, and cognitive behavioral indicators. The timing control ensures the synchronization of the electrical stimulation and the task phase. This invention breaks through the limitation of a single pathway, improves the experimental repeatability and ecological validity, and provides a standardized and efficient acute stress induction paradigm for experiments in psychology and related fields.

[0077] In the description of this specification, the descriptions referring to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" etc. mean that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0078] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used only for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically and clearly defined.

Claims

1. An acute stress induction system for an electrical stimulation threat paradigm, characterized in that, Including: An electrical stimulation module for performing neuromuscular electrical stimulation on the subject; wherein, the parameters of the electrical stimulation are a voltage of 60V, a frequency of 10Hz, and a single duration of 500ms; A cognitive task module including at least the following three tasks: an adaptive N-back task, a Stroop task, and a situation awareness task ATVAT. The cognitive task module, through the dynamic coupling of the neuromuscular electrical stimulator and the cognitive task, triggers electrical stimulation in real time according to the subject's performance during the task execution to monitor the subject's behavioral data in real time; the adaptive N-back task adopts a way of dynamically adjusting the difficulty and adjusts the task difficulty according to the subject's correct rate; A dynamic coupling unit for realizing the real-time behavioral association between the electrical stimulation module and the cognitive task module. In the N-back task, electrical stimulation is applied when the subject's N-back capacity does not increase or the task is executed incorrectly; in the Stroop task and the ATVAT task, electrical stimulation is directly triggered when the subject makes a wrong choice; A timing control unit to ensure that the timing of electrical stimulation application is strictly synchronized with the cognitive task stage, and electrical stimulation is applied 500ms before the task starts or immediately 500ms after the task is executed incorrectly.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein The adaptive N-back task includes: Initially set as a 1-back task; Dynamically adjust the task difficulty according to the correct rate of the subject completing the task. If the correct rate of the subject completing the task is greater than 90%, the task difficulty is increased; if the correct rate of the subject completing the task is equal to or lower than the current average correct rate, the task difficulty is decreased; if the correct rate is between the two, the task difficulty remains unchanged.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein The Stroop task includes: Present a fixation point on the computer screen for 500ms, and present color words with colors; Require the subject to ignore the meaning of the word and report the color of the color word with color presented; There are two situations for the content presented on the screen: under the consistent condition, the color is the same as the meaning of the word; Under the inconsistent condition, the color is different from the meaning of the word.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein The ATVAT task includes: Present a short photo showing the road conditions; The subject answers questions according to the content of the photo. The questions involve pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, traffic lights, and traffic signs in the photo; The test scores are output in the form of standard scores, percentiles, and T scores.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a data processing module for statistically analyzing the questionnaire data of the state anxiety scale, the physiological index change data of heart rate variability, and the behavioral data generated by the Stroop task, N-back task, and ATVAT task of the subject during the experiment, and performing statistical analysis on the data results of the stress group and the non-stress group respectively to obtain the corresponding statistical analysis results.

6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that In the N-back task, electrical stimulation is applied when the subject's N-back capacity does not increase or is incorrect; in the Stroop and ATVAT tasks, wrong choices directly trigger electrical stimulation; through the multi-dimensional cognitive load superposition of the Stroop task, N-back, and ATVAT, a complex stress scenario is simulated.

7. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The data processing module uses SPSS software to perform repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance, and examines the emotional changes of the subjects in the experiment, the subjective situation of situational awareness, and the indicators of working memory, inhibitory control, and situational awareness.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein The electrical stimulation module uses a single-channel tenS stimulator to apply short-term pulses to specific muscle groups, ensuring that the stimulation intensity is within the tolerable range, resulting in a slight tingling or painful sensation.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein The subjects are an adult population, and the ATVAT task is tested using localized traffic images to adapt to the cultural scenario.

10. The system according to claim 5, wherein The data processing module is also used for: Measuring the situational awareness of the subjects using the Situational Awareness Rating Scale, which contains 10 questions and is divided into three dimensions: attentional demand, attentional supply, and information acquisition. Each dimension contains different questions and uses a 7-point scoring method; Measuring the anxiety state of the subjects using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which contains two subscales and a total of 40 questions. Among them, questions 1 to 20 are the State Anxiety Scale, and questions 21 to 40 are the Trait Anxiety Scale. All questions use a 4-point scoring method.

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