mental stress

mental stress

A general term encompassing mental arousal and/or emotional stress. Mental stress can be evoked by a number of mental tasks—e.g., mental arithmetic, public speaking, mirror trace (i.e., trace as quickly as possible an object from its reflection in a mirror) or type A structured interviews (videotaped interviews for evaluating type A behaviour). Mental stress evokes pathophysiologic responses (e.g., myocardial ischaemia) measurable by radionuclide ventriculography—in one study, 22% of a cohort with known coronary heart disease had a cardiac event during mental stress testing.

mental stress

Psychology A general term encompassing mental arousal and/or emotional stress; MS can be evoked by a number of mental tasks–eg, mental arithmetic, public speaking, mirror trace, type A structured interviews; MS evokes pathophysiologic responses–eg, myocardial ischemia measurable by radionuclide ventriculography. Cf Physiological stress.