Short-term cardiovascular effects of mental tasks:physiology, experiments and computer simulations

Performing a mental task has effects on the cardiovascular system. The magnitude of these cardiovascular changes are related to task difficulty. To quantify these changes, heart rate and blood pressure are measured during rest and task conditions. Mean values as well as the variability of heart rate and blood pressure (determined by means of spectral analysis) are calculated for the conditions of a number of experiments. To explain the results, an approach will be used that combines experimental and simulated data. The simulations are performed with a model of the short-term blood pressure regulation