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Paperdoi:10.22489/CinC.2023.055

Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress

Venue listed2023Added Oct 30, 2026

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Authors: Andrius Rapalis, Daivaras Sokas, Vilma Pluščiauskaitė, Sofija Jurgionytė, Živilė Stankevičiūtė, Jesus Lazaro, Asta Savanevičienė, Raquel Bailón, Eugenijus Kaniusas, Vaidotas Marozas (Kaunas University of Technology; University of Zaragoza; TU Wien)

Computing in Cardiology 2023, vol 50

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TL;DR

Finger infrared PPG morphology was compared across three stress types in three separate databases: a Trier Social Stress Test cohort (33 people), a cold pressor test cohort (49 people, 7 °C water for 2 minutes) and a YMCA step test cohort (46 people). Under mental and pain stress, pulse amplitude fell by 67–72% and the diastolic amplitude by 60–77%, while physical activity raised amplitude by 17–44%. Amplitude-based PPG features therefore separate vasoconstrictive stress from exercise better than heart rate, which rose under both mental and physical stress.

  • Form factor: finger

Abstract

Stress is a fundamental aspect of modern society that has a significant impact on both personal and work life. The ability to indicate mechanisms through which stressors affect the body is crucial to determine between various stressors. This would allow the application of unsupervised stress monitoring during daily living. The aim of this study is to disclose morphological changes in photoplethysmogram (PPG) during mental stress, pain stress, and physical activity-induced stress to facilitate stress monitoring and diagnosis. Three databases with PPG and electrocardiogram biosignals were used in this study, covering all three types of stress. Heart rate and six morphological PPG parameters were evaluated. The results revealed that mental and pain stress reduced the amplitude of PPG by 60-77%, while physical activity-induced stress, on the contrary, increased it by 17-44%. In terms of time-related PPG parameters, mental stress is more similar to physical activity-induced stress than pain stress. This is most visible in the time interval from systolic to diastolic peak. PPG morphology changes caused by mental and pain stress are related but distinctly different from those caused by physical activity stress. It can be concluded that different types of stress cause specific changes in the PPG morphology and have distinct effects on the cardiovascular system.

Verbatim from Semantic Scholar (opens in a new tab) · Abstract via Semantic Scholar; © the authors/publisher

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Tasks & signals

Tasks

Stress

Signals

PPGECG

Keywords

Sympathetic ArousalPPG MorphologyPPG AmplitudeCold PressorTsstPhysical StressFinger

How it works

How Method works: Setup → Method → TargetSetup: Signals (PPG, ECG); Wavelengths (infrared); Form factor (finger). Method: Method. Target: Stress.SetupSignals: PPG, ECGSignalsPPG, ECGWavelengths: infraredWavelengthsinfraredForm factor: fingerForm factorfingerMethodMethodTargetStressStress
Wavelengths
infrared

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Rapalis, A., Sokas, D., Pluščiauskaitė, V., Jurgionytė, S., Stankevičiūtė, Ž., Lazaro, J., Savanevičienė, A., Bailón, R., Kaniusas, E., & Marozas, V. (2023). Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress. Computing in Cardiology 2023, 50. https://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2023.055
Rapalis, Andrius, Daivaras Sokas, Vilma Pluščiauskaitė, Sofija Jurgionytė, Živilė Stankevičiūtė, Jesus Lazaro, Asta Savanevičienė, Raquel Bailón, Eugenijus Kaniusas, and Vaidotas Marozas. 2023. "Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress." Computing in Cardiology 2023 50. https://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2023.055.
Rapalis, A., Sokas, D., Pluščiauskaitė, V., Jurgionytė, S., Stankevičiūtė, Ž., Lazaro, J., Savanevičienė, A., Bailón, R., Kaniusas, E. and Marozas, V. (2023) 'Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress', Computing in Cardiology 2023, 50. doi: 10.22489/CinC.2023.055.
Rapalis, Andrius, et al. "Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress." Computing in Cardiology 2023, vol. 50, 2023. https://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2023.055.
A. Rapalis et al., "Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress," Computing in Cardiology 2023, vol. 50, 2023, doi: 10.22489/CinC.2023.055.
@article{rapalis2023photoplethysmogram,
  title         = {{Photoplethysmogram Morphology in Stress: From Mental to Pain to Physical Activity-induced Stress}},
  author        = {Rapalis, Andrius and Sokas, Daivaras and Pluščiauskaitė, Vilma and Jurgionytė, Sofija and Stankevičiūtė, Živilė and Lazaro, Jesus and Savanevičienė, Asta and Bailón, Raquel and Kaniusas, Eugenijus and Marozas, Vaidotas},
  year          = {2023},
  journal       = {Computing in Cardiology 2023},
  volume        = {50},
  doi           = {10.22489/CinC.2023.055}
}

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