The Vrije Universiteit Ambulatory Monitoring System (VU-AMS) is used for the ambulatory 24-hour recording of peripheral physiology in human subjects. Although originally developed to serve local research goals, the VU-AMS is now used world-wide by over 40 research groups (and increasing) to study stress and emotion in naturalistic settings. Main variables measured are Heart Period, Heart Period Variability, Pre-Ejection Period, Respiration Rate, Respiration Depth, Stroke Volume and Cardiac Output. This SIG meeting intends to review the accumulated evidence on the reliability and validity of ambulatory recording with the VU-AMS, but to also draw clear boundaries of what can be validly measured at the current state of the technology. Houtveen will present extensive cross-instrument comparisons of respiration rate and depth measurements, Goedhart on the temporal stability of impedance derived ambulatory PEP and Stroke Volume, and Willemsen on the genetic contribution to individual differences in ambulatory heart rate variability and pre-ejection-period. Jarik den Hartog will demonstrate novel VU-AMS tools that allow stimulus presentation by E-prime to be cued by cardiac signals (e.g. R-waves) and the use of VU-AMS software to score the impedance and respiration signals obtained with the BioPac system. Finally, novel technological developments in the VU-AMS will be reviewed and a potential future agenda for ambulatory recording of human autonomic nervous system functioning will be outlined by De Geus.

Speakers

Audience

Anyone interested in human psychophysiology, but specifically those who are planning to use or have recently started to use the VU-AMS device.