Performance anxiety : cardiorespiratory activity in high- and low-anxious professional music students in a performance situation

Questionnaire studies indicate that high-anxious musicians may suffer from hyperventilation symptoms before and/or during performance. Reported symptoms include amongst others shortness of breath, fast or deep breathing, dizziness and thumping heart. A self-report study by Widmer, Conway, Cohen and Davies (1997) shows that up to seventy percent of the tested highly anxious musicians are hyperventilators during performance. However, no study has yet tested if these self-reported symptoms reflect actual cardiorespiratory changes just before and during performance. Disturbances in breathing patterns and hyperventilation may negatively affect the performance quality in stressful performance situations. The main goal of this study is to determine if music performance anxiety is manifest physiologically in specific correlates of cardiorespiratory activity. We studied 74 professional music students of Swiss Music Universities divided into two groups (high- and lowanxious) based on their self-reported performance anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by Spielberger). The students were tested in three distinct situations: baseline, performance without audience, performance with audience. We measured a) breathing patterns, end-tidal carbon dioxide, which is a good non-invasive estimator for hyperventilation, and cardiac activation and b) self-perceived emotions and self-perceived physiological activation. Analyses of heart rate, respiratory rate, self-perceived palpitations, self-perceived shortness of breath and self-perceived anxiety for the 15 most and the 15 least anxious musicians show that high-anxious and low-anxious music students have a comparable physiological activation during the different measurement periods. However, highanxious music students feel significantly more anxious and perceive significantly stronger palpitations and significantly stronger shortness of breath just before and during a public performance. The results indicate that low- and high-anxious music students a) do not differ in the considered physiological responses and b) differ in the considered self-perceived physiological symptoms and the selfreported anxiety before and/or during a public performance.

Aufftrittsangst : kardiorespiratorische Aktivität bei ängstlichen und nichtängstlichen Musikstudenten in einer Auftrittssituation = Performance anxiety : cardiorespiratory activity in high- and low-anxious professional music students in a performance situation

Fragebogenstudien haben gezeigt, dass ängstliche Musiker vor und/oder während eines Auftritts möglicherweise unter Hyperventilationssymptomen leiden. Berichtete Symptome beinhalten Kurzatmigkeit, schnelles oder tiefes Einatmen, Schwindelgefühl und Herzklopfen. Bisher hat jedoch noch keine Studie getestet, ob diese selbstberichteten Symptome tatsächlich kardiorespiratorische Veränderungen widerspiegeln. Das Hauptziel dieser Studie ist es, zu bestimmen, ob sich Auftrittsangst bei Musikern physiologisch über kardiorespiratorische Muster äußert. Wir haben insgesamt 74 Musikstudenten von Schweizer Musikhochschulen getestet. Diese Studenten wurden aufgrund ihrer selbstberichteten Auftrittsangst (STAI-S) in zwei Gruppen unterteilt: ängstliche Musiker und nichtängstliche Musiker. Die Studenten wurden in drei unterschiedlichen Situationen getestet: Ausgangszustand, Auftritt ohne Publikum, Auftritt mit Publikum. Wir haben folgende Parameter gemessen: a) kardiorespiratorische Muster und endexpiratorisches CO2, welches eine gute nichtinvasive Schätzung des Hyperventilationsgrades liefert und b) subjektiv wahrgenommene Emotionen und subjektiv wahrgenommene physiologische Aktivität. Das Poster zeigt die ersten Resultate der 15 ängstlichsten und der 15 am wenigsten ängstlichen Musiker. Das Hauptinteresse gilt den folgenden Punkten: Herz- und Atemfrequenz, subjektiv wahrgenommenes Herzklopfen, subjektiv wahrgenommene Kurzatmigkeit und subjektiv wahrgenommenes Angstgefühl. Die Resultate dieser Studie zeigen erstens, dass ängstliche und nichtängstliche Musikstudenten zu den verschiedenen Messzeitpunkten eine vergleichbare physiologische Aktivität aufweisen und zweitens, dass ängstliche Musikstudenten ein signifikant höheres Angstgefühl haben und signifikant mehr Herzklopfen und Kurzatmigkeit wahrnehmen vor und/oder während eines Auftritts mit Publikum. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass sich ängstliche und nichtängstliche Musikstudenten a) bezüglich der subjektiv wahrgenommenen physiologischen Symptome und des selbst berichteten Angstgefühls vor und/oder während eines öffentlichen Auftritts unterscheiden und sich b) bezüglich der untersuchten physiologischen Reaktionen nicht unterscheiden.

Affective and physiological responses to environmental noises and music

Research suggests that respiratory patterns may reflect general dimensions of emotional response. In this study, we investigated the relationships between judgments of affective valence (pleasantness) and arousal and respiratory responses to acoustic stimuli. Sixteen environmental noises and 16 musical fragments of 30 s duration were presented to 31 participants, while respiration, skin conductance level and heart rate were recorded. Judgments of valence and arousal were registered using the 9-point Self-Assessment Manikin. For noises, breathing accelerated and minute ventilation augmented with decreases in pleasantness for low-arousal stimuli and with increases in arousal for positive stimuli. For music, breathing accelerated and minute ventilation augmented with increases both in rated valence and arousal. Skin conductance level increased with arousal ratings for music but not for noises, whereas mean heart rate increased with rated arousal for noises but not for music. Although both noises and music are sound-vibrations, differences in the relationships between affective judgments and physiological responses were found suggesting differences in the processing of the two types of acoustic stimuli. [Authors]

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) : cardiorespiratory activity in high- and low-anxious professional music students before a performance situation

Descriptors: music performance anxiety, respiration, hyperventilation Surveys indicate that high-anxious musicians may suffer from hyperventilation (HV) before or during performance. Reported symptoms include shortness of breath, fast/ deep breathing and thumping heart. However, no study has yet tested if these selfreported symptoms reflect actual cardiorespiratory activity. Themain goal of this study was to determine if MPA is manifested physiologically in specific correlates of cardiorespiratory activity associated with HV.We studied 74 professional music students from Swiss Music Academies. In this study, we compared the most anxious students (highanxious; n 5 20) with the least anxious students (low-anxious; n 5 23) based on their self-reported performance anxiety. We measured cardiorespiratory patterns with the Lifeshirt system, end-tidal CO2 with a capnograph (EtCO2, a good non-invasive estimator of HV), self-perceived physiological activation and affective experience in three situations on different days: baseline, performance without audience, and performance with audience. Comparing measures for the private vs. the public concert, high- compared to low-anxious students showed a significant drop in EtCO2 before the public concert and reported larger increases in anxiety, tension, palpitations and breathing difficulties. In contrast, heart rate, respiratory rate and volume did not differ significantly between groups. The results of this study support the hypothesis thatMPA may be associated with a tendency to hyperventilate and, thus, point to a potential hyperventilation problem in high-anxious music students.

Perinuclear Mlp proteins down-regulate gene expression in response to a defect in mRNA export

Résumé Une caractéristique des cellules eucaryotes est le confinement du matériel génétique (ADN/DNA) dans le noyau. Pour décoder cette information, un ARN messager (mRNA) est d'abord transcrit sous forme d'un ARN prémessager (pré-mRNA). Ce-dernier doit subir plusieurs étapes de maturation pour aboutir à une particule ribonucléoprotéique (mRNP) qui sera exportée vers le cytoplasme et traduite en protéine. La protéine de levure Mex67p et son homologue humain TAP sont des récepteurs d'export médiant la translocation du mRNP au travers des complexes du pore nucléaire (NPC). Mex67p/TAP ne se lient pas directement au mRNA, mais nécessitent la présence de protéines adaptatrices, telles que Yra1p et son homologue humain REF1. Afin d'identifier de nouveaux facteurs impliqués dans l'export des mRNPs ou de nouvelles fonctions pour Yra1p, nous avons effectué un crible génétique avec un mutant thermosensible de Yra1p, GFP-yra 1 -8. Ce mutant présente un défaut d'export des mRNAs et une diminution des niveaux de transcrits du gène rapporteur LacZ ainsi que de certains transcrits endogènes. Nous avons trouvé que la perte de Mlp2p, ou d'une protéine hautement similaire, Mlp1p, restaure la croissance du mutant GFP-yra1-8 à température restrictive. Mlp1p et Mlp2p sont des protéines nucléaires, dont l'homologue humain est TPR. Les Mlp (myosin¬like proteins) ainsi que TPR forment des structures filamenteuses ancrées aux NPC. Bien que la fonction des Mlp ne soit pas clairement définie, un rôle dans la biogenèse et la surveillance des mRNPs a été récemment proposé. Notre étude montre que la perte des Mlp, non seulement restaure la croissance de GFP-yra1-8, mais augmente aussi les niveaux des transcrits LacZ et facilite leur apparition dans le cytoplasme. Des expériences d'immunoprécipitations de la chromatine révèlent que Mlp2p diminue le taux de synthèse du transcrit LacZ dans GFP-yra1-8. Des analyses du transcriptome montrent que Mlp2p réduit aussi les niveaux d'une population de transcrits endogènes dans le mutant. Finalement, des localisations in situ suggèrent que la transcription du rapporteur LacZ a lieu à la périphérie du noyau, à proximité des Mlp. Ainsi, les protéines Mlp pourraient préférentiellement diminuer la transcription de gènes exprimés à la périphérie nucléaire. Nous montrons aussi que Yra1p interagit génétiquement avec Nab2p une protéine liée au mRNA et impliquée dans son export, mais non avec d'autres protéines également impliquées dans l'export des mRNAs. Les résultats obtenus soutiennent un modèle où les protéines Yra1p et Nab2p sont nécessaires à l'arrimage des mRNPs sur la plate-forme des Mlp. Si ces signaux manquent ou sont défectueux, les mRNPs ne peuvent pas poursuivre leur trajet vers le canal central du NPC. Ce bloc induirait par la suite une diminution de la transcription d'une population de gènes potentiellement localisée à la périphérie nucléaire. Dans son ensemble, cette étude suggère que les protéines Mlp établissent un lien entre la transcription de certains mRNAs et leur export au travers du pore nucléaire. Summary A hallmark of the eukaryotic cell is the packaging of DNA in the nucleus. To decode the genetic information, a messenger RNA (mRNA) is first synthesized as a pre-mRNA molecule, which undergoes different maturation steps resulting in an mRNP (messenger RNA ribonucleoprotein), which can be actively transported to the cytoplasm and translated into a protein. Yeast Mex67p and its human homologue TAP are export receptors mediating mRNP translocation through the nuclear pore complex (NPC). The recruitment of Mex67p/TAP to mRNA is mediated by mRNA export adaptors of the evolutionarily conserved REF (RNA and Export Factor binding) family: yeast Yra1p and human REF1. To uncover new functions of Yra1p or new factors implicated in mRNA export, we performed a genetic screen with a themiosensitive (ts) yra1 mutant, GFP-yra1-8. This mutant exhibits mRNA export defects and a decrease in the levels of LacZ reporter and certain endogenous transcripts. We found that the loss of Mlp2p, or the related Mlp1p protein, substantially rescues the growth defect of the GFP-yra1 -8 mutant. Mlp1p and M1p2p are large non-essential proteins, homologous to human TPR, proposed to form intra-nuclear filamentous structures anchored at the NPC. Their role is not clearly defined, but they have been implicated in mRNP biogenesis and surveillance. Our study shows that loss of Mlp proteins not only restores growth of GFP-yra1-8, but also rescues LacZ mRNA levels and increases their appearance in the cytoplasm. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and pulse chase experiments indicate that Mlp2p down-regulates LacZ mRNA synthesis in GFP-yra1-8. DNA micro- array analyses reveal that Mlp2p also reduces the levels of a subset of cellular transcripts in the yra1 mutant strain. In situ localizations suggest that LacZ transcription occurs at the nuclear periphery, in close proximity to Mlp proteins. Thus, Mlp proteins may preferentially down-regulate genes expressed at the nuclear periphery. Finally, we show that Yra1p genetically interacts with the shuttling mRNA-binding protein Nab2p and that loss of Mlp proteins rescues the growth defect of yra1 and nab2, but not other mRNA export mutants. The data support a model in which Nab2p and Yra1p are required for rnRNP docking to the Mlp platform. Lack of these signals prevents mRNPs from crossing the Mlp gate. This block may then negatively feed-back on the transcription of a subset of genes, potentially located at the nuclear envelope. Overall, this study suggests that perinuclear Mlp proteins establish a link between mRNA transcription and export.

Functional expression of PHO1 to the Golgi and trans-Golgi network and its role in export of inorganic phosphate.

Arabidopsis thaliana PHO1 is primarily expressed in the root vascular cylinder and is involved in the transfer of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from roots to shoots. To analyze the role of PHO1 in transport of Pi, we have generated transgenic plants expressing PHO1 in ectopic A. thaliana tissues using an estradiol-inducible promoter. Leaves treated with estradiol showed strong PHO1 expression, leading to detectable accumulation of PHO1 protein. Estradiol-mediated induction of PHO1 in leaves from soil-grown plants, in leaves and roots of plants grown in liquid culture, or in leaf mesophyll protoplasts, was all accompanied by the specific release of Pi to the extracellular medium as early as 2-3 h after addition of estradiol. Net Pi export triggered by PHO1 induction was enhanced by high extracellular Pi and weakly inhibited by the proton-ionophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. Expression of a PHO1-GFP construct complementing the pho1 mutant revealed GFP expression in punctate structures in the pericycle cells but no fluorescence at the plasma membrane. When expressed in onion epidermal cells or in tobacco mesophyll cells, PHO1-GFP was associated with similar punctate structures that co-localized with the Golgi/trans-Golgi network and uncharacterized vesicles. However, PHO1-GFP could be partially relocated to the plasma membrane in leaves infiltrated with a high-phosphate solution. Together, these results show that PHO1 can trigger Pi export in ectopic plant cells, strongly indicating that PHO1 is itself a Pi exporter. Interestingly, PHO1-mediated Pi export was associated with its localization to the Golgi and trans-Golgi networks, revealing a role for these organelles in Pi transport.

Expression of the mammalian Xenotropic Polytropic Virus Receptor 1 (XPR1) in tobacco leaves leads to phosphate export.

Phosphate homeostasis in multicellular eukaryotes depends on both phosphate influx and efflux. The mammalian Xenotropic Polytropic Virus Receptor 1 (XPR1) shares homology to the Arabidopsis PHO1, a phosphate exporter expressed in roots. However, phosphate export activity of XPR1 has not yet been demonstrated in a heterologous system. Here, wedemonstrate that transient expression in tobacco leaves of XPR1-GFP leads to specific phosphate export. Like PHO1-GFP, XPR1-GFP is localized predominantly to the endomembrane system in tobacco cells. These results show that tobacco leaves are a good heterologous system to study the transport activity of members of the PHO1/XPR1 family.