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The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), developed by the National Institute of Mental Health as a neuroscience-informed alternative to traditional psychiatric nosology, is an explicitly dimensional system in which classification of psychopathology is derived inductively (i.e., from basic science), across multiple levels of analysis (e.g., genetic, neural, psychophysiological, and behavioral). Although RDoC is often presented as paradigmatically revolutionary, a review of the history of psychophysiology suggests that roots of RDoC thinking extend at least as far back as the mid-20th Century. In this paper, we briefly and selectively review the historical emergence of neurobiologically-informed dimensional trait models of psychopathology, and we summarize our thinking regarding high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) as a transdiagnostic biomarker of self-regulation and cognitive control. When functional interactions between HF-HRV and systems of behavioral approach and avoidance are considered, diverse patterns of behavioral maladjustment can be subsumed into a single model. This model accommodates the general bifactor structure of psychopathology, and suggests that HF-HRV can be viewed as an autonomic, transdiagnostic biomarker of mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously shown that persons with low HRV showed potentiated startle responses to neutral stimuli. In the present study we replicated our prior findings and extended them to examine the effects of HRV on the startle magnitude to pictures that were presented outside of conscious awareness. A total of 85 male and female students were stratified via median split on their resting HRV. They were presented pictures for 6 s or for 30 ms. Results indicated that the high HRV group showed the context appropriate startle magnitude increase to unpleasant foreground. The low HRV group showed startle magnitude increase from pleasant to neutral pictures but no difference between the neutral and unpleasant pictures. This pattern of results was similar for the 30 ms and the 6 s conditions. These results suggest that having high HRV may allow persons to more efficiently process emotional stimuli and to better recognize threat and safety signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Neurovisceral Integration Model is based on the premise of significant central nervous system–peripheral nervous system interactions. In support of this model we have previously shown that the prefrontal cortex tonically inhibits cardioacceleratory circuits as evidenced by increased heart rate (HR) when the prefrontal cortex is inactivated by injections of sodium amobarbitol (ISA) into the internal carotid artery. In this report we re-examine these data to investigate possible age-related differences in the prefrontal control of HR in humans. Seventy-three patients were divided into three groups based on a tertile split with mean ages of 20, 34, and 47, respectively. There were significant age-related differences in cortical control of HR as evidenced by a significant three way interaction of age (young, middle, old) by side (left versus right) by time (baseline and epochs 1–10 of inactivation) [Roy''s Root (10,59)=0.378, p =0.028]. Results showed significant HR increases that did not differ between hemispheres in the youngest age group, significant increases in the middle age group that were larger in the right hemisphere than in the left, and significant HR increases in the oldest group in the right hemisphere only. The findings suggest important age-related differences in cortical inhibitory control of HR that appear less lateralized in the youngest group and significantly attenuated in the oldest age group. These results have important implications for the understanding of age-related differences in cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological functioning. In addition they support the importance of investigating central nervous system–peripheral nervous system relationships. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Alcoholism and heavy drinking are associated with a number of physiological, behavioral, affective, and cognitive problems. One such problem involves dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, with alcoholics showing higher basal cortisol levels and reduced inhibitory feedback control. In addition, alcohol consumption is associated with decreased heart rate variability (HRV). In the present study we examined the relationships among alcohol consumption, cortisol excretion, and HRV in 542 apparently healthy men. Men in the top tertile of self-reported alcohol consumption had higher cortisol levels and lower HRV compared to men in the lower two tertiles of alcohol consumption. In addition, the inverse relationship between cortisol and HRV was greatly attenuated in the heavy drinking group even after accounting for a number of potential confounding factors. These results support prior research on the HPA axis dysregulation in alcoholics and suggest impaired inhibitory control of the HPA axis in heavy drinkers. The findings are consistent with the neurovisceral integration model, which links central and peripheral processes, and may provide a comprehensive framework for the future investigation of the complex mix of physiological, behavioral, affective, and cognitive factors which comprise the heavy drinking phenotype. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary. Recent ambulatory findings showing comparable cardiovascular effects of positive and negative emotions are not consistent with the assumed etiological role of negative affect in stress-related diseases. We tested the hypothesis that regardless of initial reactivity, responses associated with negative emotions would be prolonged compared to responses associated with positive emotions. During 8 h, 33 healthy subjects from a general population reported their emotional arousal, emotional valence and physical activity and recorded their heart rates (HR) after a beep at each 60th min (‘initial HR’; T0), followed by two ‘prolonged activation’ recordings, respectively 5 min later (T1) and 10 min later (T2). While emotional arousal and activity predicted initial HR, prolonged activation at T1 was solely predicted by emotional valence (negative affect) at T0, independent of emotional recovery. The results lend support to the hypothesis that cardiovascular activation after negative emotions last longer than after positive emotions. This finding is consistent with the view that prolonged activation, and not so much reactivity, might be a mechanism underlying the etiological role of negative emotions (‘stress’) in somatic disease. Perseverative cognition (worry, rumination) might be responsible for this prolonged activation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis of unconscious attending to alcohol-related information in alcoholics experiencing a high level of craving for alcohol. Subjects included a group of alcoholics (n=34) divided by a median split on a craving measure into two groups labeled as ‘high craving’ (n=18) and ‘low craving’ (n=16) alcoholics, and a non-alcoholic control group (n=39). The cardiovascular reactions of these groups were compared after their exposure to masked and unmasked alcohol and control stimuli. As expected the ‘high craving’ alcoholics showed an immediate heart rate deceleration after exposure to masked and non-consciously accessible alcohol pictures. The ‘high craving’ alcoholics reported a small but significant increase in difficulty resisting a drink after exposure to masked alcohol pictures. When the alcohol pictures were presented unmasked a significant increase was found in both high and low craving alcoholics on consciously expressed urges, fidgeting and reduced coping with temptation to drink. The ‘high craving’ alcoholics had lower tonic heart rate variability compared to the control group and the level of craving was positively associated with salivation during the exposure to all picture types. The findings generally support the psychobiological theory of craving, which suggests that the uncontrollability of the craving experience is rooted in unconscious processing of drug-related information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Perceived social isolation, or loneliness, has been repeatedly linked to numerous adverse health outcomes. Much effort has been directed towards elucidating the mechanisms underlying its effects on the cardiovascular system, which may explain the deleterious effects on morbidity and mortality. It has been previously suggested that perceived social isolation can impair effective parasympathetic regulation and physiological adjustment to the demands of the social environment. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating the causal impact of an induction of loneliness on vagal activity during social stimuli processing. In the study, participants (N = 119) were led to anticipate either a future filled with satisfying relationships (Future Belong) or a lonely life (Future Alone). Then, they were asked to complete an implicit emotion regulation task while their cardiovascular activity was recorded. In the Future Belong group, a pattern of vagal suppression was observed between the resting period and task completion, which was followed by vagal recovery during the post-task resting period. However, in the Future Alone group, a change from the baseline HRV was observed only at the beginning of the task, but not during its consecutive stages. Moreover, in participants who believed in the given FA feedback, the initial vagal suppression was absent. These findings provide evidence that even a brief induction of loneliness can result in a blunted vagal suppression during social information processing. It can be hypothesized that the lack of the ability to regulate vagal activity while processing social cues may potentially underlie problems with social engagement and self-control. • Loneliness has been repeatedly linked to poor health outcomes. • Reduced vagal response to social stressors might underlie the effects of loneliness. • Induction of loneliness decreased vagal suppression during emotion regulation task. • The effect was stronger in participants who believed in the manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study employed an ex-Gaussian model of response times (RTs) to elucidate the cognitive processes related to experimentally induced state anxiety (SA) and vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), an indicator of adaptive responses in both cognitive and affective domains. Participants (n = 110) completed a dual task composed of (i) a flanker attention and (2) working memory load task, while SA was induced by threat of noise. Electrocardiography was measured during the dual task and during four baseline periods in order to calculate vmHRV. RTs on the flanker task were fit to an ex-Gaussian distribution, which estimated three RT parameters: mu (Gaussian mean), sigma (Gaussian SD), and tau (combination of exponential mean and SD). First, findings indicate that threat of noise was associated with reductions in mu and tau, suggesting that SA might improve attention and motor responding. Second, higher resting vmHRV was associated with lower tau (averaged across conditions) and stronger threat-related decreases in tau. Third, intra-individual decreases in vmHRV were accompanied by concomitant decreases in tau. These findings support roles for trait and state vagal control in guiding adaptive anxiety-related (and anxiety-unrelated) attentional responses. Findings are consistent with extant theories that emphasize functional interrelations among emotion, cognition, and vagal function. • High state anxiety elicited decreases in ex-Gaussian RT parameters, mu and tau. • vmHRV was related to the exponential component of the RT distribution (tau). • Individuals with higher resting vmHRV had fewer very long RTs (lower tau). • The effect of anxiety on tau was limited to individuals with higher resting vmHRV. • Within-person decreases in vmHRV were related to concomitant decreases in tau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Depressive symptoms (DS) in humans are associated with decreased resting state vagal activity, but sex seems to moderate this association. Recently, in human females DS have been associated with greater or similar cardiac vagal activity compared to men in both, clinical and non-clinical samples. A previously validated animal model of behavioral depression was used in the present study to investigate the association of DS and cardiac vagal activity in non-human primates. Methods The root mean square of successive differences between adjacent heart beats (RMSSD) was used as an indicator of vagally-mediated heart rate variability in 24 h heart rate recordings collected via telemetry in 42 adult female cynomolgus monkeys ( Macaca fascicularis ). Hierarchical regression models were used to estimate differences in RMSSD comparing monkeys with and without DS. To capture circadian variation patterns of RMSSD, additional quadratic, cubic and quartic terms of hour were added. Results Monkeys showing behavioral DS had higher overall 24-h RMSSD. The interaction term of daytime with DS and polynomials of hour contributed significantly to the variance across models. Conclusions This is the first study investigating the association of DS and 24 h cardiac vagal control in female non-human primates. Results replicate existing human studies showing higher cardiac vagal control in behavioral depressed vs. non-depressed female monkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruminative thinking about negative feelings has been prospectively associated with increases in depressive symptoms and heightened risk for new onsets of major depression. One putative pathophysiological mechanism underlying this link might be represented by autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the interplay between rumination, autonomic function (as revealed by heart rate variability (HRV) analysis), and depressive symptoms in healthy young subjects, over a three-year period. Rumination and depressive symptoms were evaluated in twenty-two women and twenty men at three assessment points (Time 0, 1 and 2) by the score on the Ruminative Response Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, respectively. Vagally-mediated HRV was assessed in a laboratory session (Time 0) and in two ambulatory sessions at Time 1 and Time 2 (~ 13 and 34 months after Time 0, respectively). Ruminative thinking was found to be (i) a stable trait characteristic, (ii) more prevalent in women than men, and (iii) positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, resting HRV was negatively correlated with both rumination and depressive symptoms. Finally, HRV at Time 1 mediated the relationship between rumination at Time 0 and depressive symptoms at Time 2. We conclude that autonomic dysfunction, specifically low vagal tone, may be prospectively implicated in the generation of depressive symptoms in a non-clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies indicate that the structure and function of medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) are associated with heart rate variability (HRV). Typically, this association is assumed to reflect the PFC's role in controlling HRV and emotion regulation, with better prefrontal structural integrity supporting greater HRV and better emotion regulation. However, as a control system, the PFC must monitor and respond to heart rate oscillatory activity. Thus, engaging in regulatory feedback during heart rate oscillatory activity may over time help shape PFC structure, as relevant circuits and connections are modified. In the current study with younger and older adults, we tested whether 5 weeks of daily sessions of biofeedback to increase heart rate oscillations (Osc+ condition) vs. to decrease heart rate oscillations (Osc− condition) affected cortical volume in left OFC and right OFC, two regions particularly associated with HRV in prior studies. The left OFC showed significant differences in volume change across conditions, with Osc+ increasing volume relative to Osc−. The volume changes in left OFC were significantly correlated with changes in mood disturbance. In addition, resting low frequency HRV increased more in the Osc+ than in the Osc− condition. These findings indicate that daily biofeedback sessions regulating heart rate oscillatory activity can shape both resting HRV and the brain circuits that help control HRV and regulate emotion. • Participants completed daily HRV biofeedback sessions. • They attempted to increase or decrease HR oscillations with biofeedback. • The two conditions showed opposing changes in left OFC volume. • Training condition affected structural volume in left OFC directly. • The relationship between condition and HRV was mediated by HR oscillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neurovisceral Integration Model posits a link between resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and cognitive control. Empirical support for this link is mixed, potentially due to coarse performance metrics such as mean response time (RT). To clarify this issue, we tested the relationships between resting vmHRV and refined estimates of cognitive control- as revealed by the ex-Gaussian model of RT and, to a greater extent, the drift diffusion model (DDM, a computational model of two-choice performance). Participants (N = 174) completed a five-minute resting baseline while ECG was collected followed by a Simon spatial conflict task. The root mean square of successive differences in interbeat intervals was calculated to index resting vmHRV. Resting vmHRV was unrelated to Simon mean RT and accuracy rates, but was inversely related to the ex-Gaussian parameter reflecting slow RTs (tau); however, this finding was attenuated after adjustment for covariates. High resting vmHRV was related to faster drift rates and slower non-decision times, DDM parameters reflecting goal-directed cognition and sensorimotor processes, respectively. The DDM effects survived covariate adjustment and were specific to incongruent trials (i.e., when cognitive control demands were high). Findings suggest a link between vmHRV and cognitive control vis-a-vis drift rate, and potentially, a link between vmHRV and motoric inhibition vis-a-vis non-decision time. These cognitive correlates would have been missed with reliance on traditional performance. Findings are discussed with respect to the inhibitory processes that promote effective performance in high vmHRV individuals. • The links between vmHRV and cognitive control can be clarified with the drift diffusion model (DDM). • Resting vmHRV was positively related to drift rate and non-decision time under high cognitive control demands. • The association between vmHRV and drift rate suggests a link between cardiac vagal function and cognitive inhibition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study tested whether cardiac vagal activity—which is known to play a vital role in social cognition and engagement—predicted the impact of faces of other ethnicity on selective attention under load. Based on the neurovisceral integration theory, we hypothesized that participants with higher resting heart rate variability (HRV) would exhibit better task performance of a target detection task in trials with face distractors of other ethnicity than participants with lower resting HRV, when cognitive resources were scarce under high load. Caucasian participants were instructed to detect a target letter among letter strings superimposed on Black or White male distractor faces under high and low perceptual load. Consistent with the prediction, under high load, HRV was positively correlated with accuracy in trials with Black distractor faces, but not in trials with White distractor faces. The current research demonstrated that individual differences in cardiac vagal tone predicted successful inhibition of an ethnicity-related distractor with limited cognitive resources, which allowed for completing goal-directed behavior more successfully. • HRV modulates the effect of ethnicity-related information on selective attention • Higher HRV was associated with better accuracy in trials with face distractors of another ethnicity face • HRV modulation was apparent under high load when cognitive capacities were limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Excessive cardiac responses to stressful events are a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Adverse cardiac responses are usually attributed to conscious negative stress and emotions. Yet, cardiac responses might also be affected by emotions that are not consciously reported. Here we tested this hypothesis. Sixty participants were randomly allocated to an evaluated speaking stressor or control condition. Trait, state and implicit anxiety were assessed with the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, visual analog scales and the Implicit Association Test for assessing anxiety, with the latter two assessed before and after the stressor. Results showed that the stressor did not significantly affect implicit anxiety. Yet, participants with high implicit anxiety after the stressor had an overall enhanced heart rate and larger stressor-induced decreases in heart rate variability. These associations were independent of conscious anxiety. The implications of the results for a better understanding of excessive cardiac activity are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been repeatedly identified in a subgroup of offenders that displays severe antisocial behavior; establishing physiological markers may help improve early identification and treatment efforts. This study examines to what extent baseline-resting heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as markers of CU in incarcerated juvenile and adult offenders. CU traits were assessed using the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits. Results of the multiple hierarchical regression tests indicated that there was a small yet significant positive association between baseline HR and CU and negative association between HRV and CU in juvenile offenders with medium model effect sizes (R2 = 0.115 for HR-CU; R2 = 0.126 for HRV-CU). The cardiac markers were unrelated to CU in adult offenders. These findings are important because they demonstrate that impaired cardiac autonomic activity is related to CU traits in juveniles, suggesting that socioemotional processing difficulties should be considered in understanding these deficits. Future research should be conducted in large samples, under reactive and static conditions, while including cardiac covariates, to get more clarity on the interplay between biological systems and behavioral expression. • Initial evidence for cardiac markers of callous-unemotional traits in juveniles • Impaired socioemotional functioning of incarcerated juveniles is linked to reduced HRV. • Heart rate variability was negatively associated with callous-unemotional traits. • Heart rate was positively associated with callous-unemotional traits. • These associations were not found in incarcerated adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Electrophysiology, behavioral, and neuroimaging studies have revealed sex-related differences in autonomic cardiac control, as reflected in measurements of heart rate variability (HRV). Imaging studies indicate that the neurobiological correlates of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function can be investigated by measuring indices of HRV during the performance of mildly strenuous motor tasks or mildly stressful cognitive tasks. In this preliminary study, fifteen male and seven female healthy subjects underwent H2 15O-positron emission tomography (PET) and electrocardiograph (ECG) recording while performing a handgrip motor task and an n-back task. Indices of HRV were calculated and correlated with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). We hypothesized that sex differences would be evident in brain regions known to participate in autonomic regulation: the anterior insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, and the amygdala. Our study found that associations between rCBF and parasympathetic indices differed significantly between female and male subjects in the amygdala. Females showed a positive correlation between rCBF and parasympathetic indices while males exhibited negative correlations. This differential correlation of amygdala rCBF and parasympathetic activity between males and females may reflect differences in parasympathetic/sympathetic balance between sexes, consistent with known sexual dimorphism in the amygdala and closely related structures such as the hypothalamus. These preliminary imaging results are consistent with earlier reports of significant correlation between brain activity and HRV, and extend these findings by demonstrating prominent sex differences in the neural control of the ANS. While the generalizability of our results was limited by the small size of the study samples, the relatively robust effect size of the differences found between groups encourages further work in larger samples to characterize sex differences in the neural correlates of autonomic arousal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Many researchers have proposed an emotion regulation circuit that includes the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. LeDoux (1996) has proposed that there are two pathways by which emotion information is processed. A fast route that bypasses the prefrontal cortex to allow rapid response to potential threat, and a slower route that includes the prefrontal cortex and allows modulation of bottom-up inputs. We investigated these pathways and their peripheral manifestations using emotional pictures presented for either 30milliseconds or 6seconds. 36 female participants were randomly assigned to view pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictures that varied in viewing time while the eyeblink startle magnitude and phasic heart rate (HR) responses were recorded. Significant Group by Valence interactions were found for both startle and heart rate responses. For the 6second condition the expected emotion modulated startle effect was found with a larger startle for unpleasant and smaller startles for pleasant foregrounds relative to neutral pictures. For HR, the D1 component was larger for pleasant and unpleasant foregrounds compared to the neutral and the A1 component was larger for the unpleasant compared to the pleasant and the neutral. For the 30 millisecond condition, startle magnitudes were larger for the pleasant and unpleasant compared to the neutral. Whereas the HR response showed the expected tri-phasic profile there were no significant between valence differences. These results suggest that briefly presented emotion stimuli access the fast route of emotion recognition perhaps via the amygdala. The 6second presentations allow the prefrontal cortex to modulate the bottom up inputs and thus produce a context appropriate response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Stress and anxiety are risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Worry might be a mediator of their risks by prolonging their cognitive representation and concomitant CV activity. We hypothesized that daily stressors and worry, and trait anxiety and trait worry would be associated with high heart rate (HR) and low heart rate variability (HRV) during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, and that worry would mediate the effects of daily stressors. Low HRV and high HR are physiological risk factors for CV disease. Using an hourly diary, stressors, worry frequency and duration, and biobehavioral variables were measured during one day in 52 healthy subjects. During this time and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, ambulatory ECG was measured. Stressors, worry and traits were related to higher HR and lower HRV during waking, and the effects of stressors and worry were extended into the sleeping period. Worry duration mediated the effects of stressors. The results were largely independent of biobehavioral variables including sleep quality. The results support the notion that worry, by prolonging CV activity, is a mediator of the CV risks of stress. They also imply a role for unconscious cognitive representation of stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Alexithymia has been prospectively associated with all-cause mortality and with cardiovascular morbidity. Here, stress-induced autonomic reactivity and recovery were examined as potential pathways linking alexithymia to cardiovascular disease. The relation of alexithymia to blood pressure, heart rate, and other cardiovascular parameters derived from impedance cardiography (N=80) and heart rate variability (N=40) was evaluated during rest, an anger recall task and recovery in women (ages 18–30). During anger recall, alexithymia was associated with significantly attenuated heart rate and stroke index reactivity, greater low frequency power, and with marginally dampened blood pressure and high frequency power reactivity. Overall, this response pattern suggests blunted sympathetic activation and diminished vagal withdrawal. Alexithymia was also related to slower diastolic blood pressure and quicker preejection period recovery implying abbreviated sympathetic arousal and possibly greater vagal modulation. These results impart some evidence for the hypoarousal model of alexithymia during reactivity, but the hyperarousal model during recovery. Autonomic dysregulation during and following acute emotional stress is suggested as a possible physiological pathway connecting alexithymia to cardiovascular disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of vagal tone on performance during executive and non-executive tasks, using a working memory and a sustained attention test. Reactivity to cognitive tasks was also investigated using heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). Fifty-three male sailors from the Royal Norwegian Navy participated in this study. Inter-beat-intervals were recorded continuously for 5 min of baseline, followed by randomized presentation of a working memory test (WMT) based on Baddeley and Hitch''s research (1974) and a continuous performance test (CPT). The session ended with a 5-min recovery period. High HRV and low HRV groups were formed based on a median split of the root mean squared successive differences during baseline. The results showed that the high HRV group showed more correct responses than the low HRV group on the WMT. Furthermore, the high HRV group showed faster mean reaction time (mRT), more correct responses and less error, than the low HRV group on the CPT. Follow-up analysis revealed that this was evident only for components of the CPT where executive functions were involved. The analyses of reactivity showed a suppression of HRV and an increase in HR during presentation of cognitive tasks compared to recovery. This was evident for both groups. The present results indicated that high HRV was associated with better performance on tasks involving executive function. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Asian Americans and European Americans differ in emotion regulation (ER), particularly regarding strategies utilized to adaptively engage in ER. Resting heart rate variability (HRV), a biomarker of ER ability, is suggested to differ between Asian Americans and European Americans, but evidence for such differences has been inconsistent. Yet, research has not considered how Asian Americans and European Americans might differ in the well-established link between resting HRV and ER difficulties , which might lend a better understanding of such inconsistencies. In 374 college-aged individuals (66 Asian Americans; 311 European Americans; 190 women; mean age = 19.3 years [Min. 18, Max 38]), we examined if ethnicity moderated the link between resting HRV and self-reported ER difficulties. Resting HRV was obtained during a 5-min resting-baseline period, and ER difficulties were assessed using the Difficulties in ER Scale, which contained six facets of ER difficulties. Adjusting for gender and body mass index, moderation analyses showed a stronger association between resting HRV and ER difficulties in Asian Americans compared to European Americans. When examining facets of ER, ethnicity moderated only the link between resting HRV and difficulties in accessing ER strategies when facing negative emotions. At lower levels of HRV, Asian Americans reported greater difficulties in ER relative to European Americans. This effect diminished and trended in the opposite direction among those with higher HRV. In sum, these results provide novel evidence that higher resting HRV might be particularly important for adaptive ER among Asian Americans – a marginalized ethnic group – in the U.S. • Ethnicity moderated the heart rate variability (HRV)-emotion regulation difficulties link. • We found a stronger link in Asian than European Americans on emotion regulation strategies. • Targeting resting HRV and emotion regulation strategies may be critical for Asian Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an arousal hub region in the brain, the locus coeruleus (LC) has bidirectional connections with the autonomic nervous system. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measures of LC structural integrity have been linked to cognition and arousal, but less is known about factors that influence LC structure and function across time. Here, we tested the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback, an intervention targeting the autonomic nervous system, on LC MRI contrast and sympathetic activity. Younger and older participants completed daily HRV biofeedback training for five weeks. Those assigned to an experimental condition performed biofeedback involving slow, paced breathing designed to increase heart rate oscillations, whereas those assigned to a control condition performed biofeedback to decrease heart rate oscillations. At the pre- and post-training timepoints, LC contrast was assessed using turbo spin echo MRI scans, and RNA sequencing was used to assess cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB)-regulated gene expression in circulating blood cells, an index of sympathetic nervous system signaling. We found that left LC contrast decreased in younger participants in the experimental group, and across younger participants, decreases in left LC contrast were related to the extent to which participants increased their heart rate oscillations during training. Furthermore, decreases in left LC contrast were associated with decreased expression of CREB-associated gene transcripts. On the contrary, there were no effects of biofeedback on LC contrast among older participants in the experimental group. These findings provide novel evidence that in younger adults, HRV biofeedback involving slow, paced breathing can decrease both LC contrast and sympathetic nervous system signaling. • Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback decreased locus coeruleus (LC) MRI contrast in younger adults. • Increases in HRV during biofeedback were related to decreases in left LC contrast. • Left LC contrast decreases were related to CREB transcription factor activity decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown higher resting-state vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) to be related to greater memory retrieval. Research has not yet linked resting vmHRV with memory encoding and retrieval, as both are thought to play an important role in correctly distinguishing between true and false memories. The current study investigated this possible link in n = 71 undergraduate students. VmHRV was assessed during a 5-minute resting baseline period. Participants then completed the Deese - Roediger - McDermott (DRM) task, where they first viewed 6 word lists (12 words per list), and were later asked to identify previously shown words (true memories) and reject non-presented words. Results showed that participants with lower resting vmHRV were less able to discriminate true from false items. These data extend previous work on resting vmHRV and memory suggesting that resting vmHRV represents a psychophysiological pathway involved in both the proper encoding and retrieval of memories. • On a memory encoding and retrieval task, participants with lower resting vmHRV provided more false memories. • Individuals with lower resting vmHRV displayed poorer discrimination between true and false memories. • Individual differences in resting vmHRV may predict efficiency and specificity of memory encoding and retrieval processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac vagal tone has been understood as the biological correlate of emotion regulation and can be divided into emotion regulation (tonic cardiac vagal tone (TCVT)) and the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions (phasic cardiac vagal tone (PCVT)). There is evidence that TCVT influences PCVT dynamics in adults and that stress exposure impacts on cardiac vagal tone in adults and older children. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of TCVT on PCVT dynamics in preschoolers and to identify the influence of stress exposures on cardiac vagal tone. Measures of heart rate variability including baseline (TCVT), during an age-adapted stress task (PCVT stress reactivity) and during recovery (PCVT recovery) were assessed in 222 children aged 2–6 years of the SPLASHY study. Further, parents were asked to complete questionnaires on early stress exposure (including pregnancy, birth and early life) and current stress exposure (including family stress and parenting). Preschool children with high TCVT showed less PCVT reactivity (p < 0.001) and more increase of vagal tone (PCVT) during early recovery (p = 0.016). Further only child's low birth weight was a relevant stress exposure impacting on early and late PCVT recovery (p = 0.03/ p = 0.005). None of the other early or late stress exposure conditions, nor the accumulation of stress exposures influenced TCVT or PCVT dynamics in these healthy preschoolers. TCVT impacts on PCVT dynamics in a lab-based stress task in healthy preschool children and only low birth weight is related to more change during early and to less late PCVT recovery. • Tonic cardiac vagal tone impacts on phasic cardiac vagal tone in preschoolers. • Low birth weight predicts vagal tone changes to an acute stress in preschoolers. • Accumulated stress exposure did not predict vagal tone in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision making is one of the most vital processes we use every day, ranging from mundane decisions about what to eat to life-threatening choices such as how to avoid a car collision. Thus, the context in which our decisions are made is critical, and our physiology enables adaptive responses that account for how environmental stress influences our performance. The relationship between stress and decision making can additionally be affected by one's expertise in making decisions in high-threat environments, where experts can develop an adaptive response that mitigates the negative impacts of stress. In the present study, 26 male military personnel made friend/foe discriminations in an environment where we manipulated the level of stress. In the high-stress condition, participants received a shock when they incorrectly shot a friend or missed shooting a foe; in the low-stress condition, participants received a vibration for an incorrect decision. We characterized performance using signal detection theory to investigate whether a participant changed their decision criterion to avoid making an error. Results showed that under high-stress, participants made more false alarms, mistaking friends as foes, and this co-occurred with increased high frequency heart rate variability. Finally, we examined the relationship between decision making and physiology, and found that participants exhibited adaptive behavioral and physiological profiles under different stress levels. We interpret this adaptive profile as a marker of an expert's ingrained training that does not require top down control, suggesting a way that expert training in high-stress environments helps to buffer negative impacts of stress on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the western world. Frequent or chronic reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) are a powerful predictor of cardiovascular disease. Psychological stress has been suggested to be an important factor in the development of reduced HRV. Recently, Verkuil et al. (2016) introduced a laboratory-based method to measure additional HRV reduction in everyday life, and reductions in HRV related to psychological stress. In the current paper, we discuss alternative methods to detect additional HRV reductions, in real life data sets without the necessity of laboratory-based calibration, and even in existing data sets. All of these methods use a subset of 24 h' worth of HRV and movement data to do so: either the first 10 min of every hour, the full 24 h, a combination of 10 min from three consecutive hours, or a classification of level of movement. We also present a method to visualize HRV and movement data to be able to detect episodes of reduced additional HRV optically. The method that used the full 24 h' worth of data detected the largest percentage of episodes of reduced additional HRV that actually match with self-reported stress levels, making this method the most promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationships between vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and the cognitive mechanisms underlying performance can be elucidated with ex-Gaussian modeling—an approach that quantifies two different forms of intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). To this end, the current study examined relations of resting vmHRV to whole-distribution and ex-Gaussian IIV. Subjects (N = 83) completed a 5-minute baseline while vmHRV (root mean square of successive differences; RMSSD) was measured. Ex-Gaussian (sigma, tau) and whole-distribution (standard deviation) estimates of IIV were derived from reaction times on a Stroop task. Resting vmHRV was found to be inversely related to tau (exponential IIV) but not to sigma (Gaussian IIV) or the whole-distribution standard deviation of RTs. Findings suggest that individuals with high vmHRV can better prevent attentional lapses but not difficulties with motor control. These findings inform the differential relationships of cardiac vagal control to the cognitive processes underlying human performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced in patients who suffer from panic disorder (PD). Reduced HRV is related to hypoactivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which negatively affects executive functioning. The present study assessed the relationships between vagally mediated HRV at baseline and measures of executive functioning in 36 patients with PD. Associations between these physiological and cognitive measures and panic-related variables were also investigated. HRV was measured using HF-power (ms2), and executive functions were assessed with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT) from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). Panic-related variables comprised panic frequency, panic-related distress, and duration of PD. Performance on the neuropsychological measures correlated significantly with HRV. Both panic-related distress and duration of PD were inversely related with measures of HRV and cognitive inhibition. The current findings support the purported relationship between HRV and executive functions involving the PFC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Slow cardiovascular (CV) recovery after stress is a predictor of adverse CV outcomes. Perseverative cognition (PC) about stress has been hypothesized to co-determine slow recovery. In the present study, it was investigated whether two types of trait PC, i.e. trait worry and trait rumination, predicted delayed cardiac recovery after a cognitive stressor. Furthermore, it was examined whether explicit state PC (i.e. negative intrusive thoughts) or implicit state PC (i.e. automatic vigilance) additionally predicted delayed cardiac recovery. Fifty-nine participants performed a stressful task, which consisted of an unsolvable synonym task. After a 6-minute recovery period, participants reported on their level of negative intrusive thoughts (i.e. explicit state PC), and performed a lexical decision task (LDT) to measure automatic vigilance for task-related information (i.e. implicit state PC). Cardiac activity was continuously measured using heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). Trait worry and rumination were measured by the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), respectively. The results showed that high trait worriers had a slower HR recovery from the cognitive stressor compared to low trait worriers. They also showed delayed HRV recovery, but only when the tendency to dwell upon one''s negative mood (the ‘brooding’ subscale of the RRS) was low. Slow HR recovery was associated with high levels of negative intrusive thoughts and with automatic vigilance, but in the unexpected direction for the latter. These results provide evidence that delayed cardiac recovery is associated with trait as well as state PC, and suggest that brooding attenuates the HRV suppressing effect of high trait worry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Few longitudinal studies have examined ethnic and sex differences, predictors and tracking stabilities of heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and in response to stress in youths and young adults. Methods: Two evaluations were performed approximately 1.5 years apart on 399 youths and young adults (189 European Americans [EAs] and 210 African Americans [AAs]; 190 males and 209 females). HRV was measured at rest and during a video game challenge. Results: AAs showed significantly higher resting root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) of normal R–R intervals and high-frequency (HF) power than EAs (ps<0.01). Females displayed larger decrease of RMSSD and HF during video game challenge than males (ps<0.05). These ethnic and sex differences were consistent across 1.5 years. No significant sex difference of resting HRV or ethnic difference of HRV response to stress was observed. In addition to age, ethnicity or sex, baseline resting HRV or HRV response to stress are predictors of the corresponding variables 1.5 years later (ps<0.01). Furthermore, weight gain indexed by either body mass index or waist circumference predicts declined resting HRV levels during follow up (ps<0.05). Tracking stabilities were high (>0.5) for resting HRV, but relatively low (<0.3) for HRV in response to stress. Conclusion: AAs show higher resting HRV than EAs, and females display greater HRV response to stress than males; and these ethnic and sex differences are consistent across 1.5 years. Resting HRV declines with weight gain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Anticipatory anxiety, which can be indexed by the startle potentiation to a threat of shock, has been implicated in the development of panic disorder. Large individual differences exist in startle potentiation to threat of shock but few differences have been found between panic patients in general and non-anxious controls. The present studies explored resting heart rate variability (HRV) as a source of individual differences in startle potentiation in students at risk for panic disorder and in unmedicated panic patients. Methods: Participants in Study 1 were 22 students high and 21 students low in anxiety sensitivity (AS). Nine unmedicated panic patients and 15 matched non-anxious controls were included in Study 2. Startle potentiation to the threat of shock was examined as a function of AS (Study 1) and diagnostic category (Study 2) as well as resting HRV. Results: Whereas no differences in startle potentiation were found as a function of AS or panic disorder diagnosis in general, both studies revealed that low resting HRV was associated with exaggerated startle responses to the threat of shock. Conclusions: The present results replicate and extend the sparse literature on fear-potentiated startle in panic disorder. Low HRV was associated with more pronounced startle potentiation to both explicit and contextual cues. Thus, low HRV may be a useful endophenotype for at least some anxiety disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Appropriate regulation of emotions is an important component of health. The physiological effects of coping with anger are a topic of particular interest. In a pioneering series of studies Hokanson found that the mode of anger expression following anger instigation had differential effects on vascular recovery. These differential effects were thought to be a result of social learning of avoidance responses. The present study examined this hypothesis in the context of ethnic differences in cardiovascular recovery responses to anger instigation. Twenty-four African American (AA) and 26 European American (EA) males engaged in two debates, one racially themed and one non-racially themed, with an EA confederate. Cardiovascular measures were recorded at baseline, during the debates and during 10-minute recovery periods following each debate. Anger expression preceding the recovery period was manipulated such that half the participants could express their anger toward the confederate and half had to inhibit their anger toward the confederate. Results showed that both AA and EA participants that inhibited their anger had delayed total peripheral resistance recovery. Importantly, for the other dependent variables differential recovery responses were observed such that EA participants that expressed their anger recovered more quickly whereas AA participants that expressed their anger recovered more slowly. These results are consistent with Hokanson''s social learning theory of recovery from anger instigation and have important implications for research on emotion regulation and health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]