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Math anxiety (MA) and math performance are generally negatively correlated (Barroso et al., 2021; Namkung et al., 2019). However, the mechanisms underlying this negative association remain unclear. According to the attentional control theory (ACT; Eysenck et al., 2007), anxious individuals experience impaired attentional control during problem solving, which compromises their performance on cognitive tasks. In a sample of 168 elementary and middle school students, the current study used an eye-tracking approach to investigate whether math-anxious students exhibit deficits in their attentional control during a math problem solving task and whether such attentional control deficits account for the negative association between MA and performance on this math task. Consistent with the ACT, we found that students with higher MA were more likely to engage attention to both task-relevant and task-irrelevant distractors during problem solving, and their enhanced attention to these distractors was associated with their impaired performance on the math task. These findings suggest that the MA-related math performance deficit is partly mediated by impaired attentional control, which is indicated by the maladaptive attentional bias toward distracting information during math problem solving.

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), a measure of the parasympathetic nervous systems control over the heart, is often negatively related to maladaptive emotional outcomes. Recent work suggests that quadratic relationships involving these factors may be present; however, research has not investigated gender differences in these nonlinear functions. To address this gap, the current study tested for quadratic relationships between resting vmHRV and depression and positive affect while investigating gender differences in these relationships. Significant quadratic effects were found between resting vmHRV and reports of both depression symptoms and positive affect in women but not men. Specifically, the lowest levels of depression and the highest levels of positive affect were found at moderate vmHRV in women. These results suggest that examinations of vmHRVs nonlinear associations require the consideration of gender. Our findings are interpreted based on proposed differential neuropsychological mechanisms of vmHRV in men versus women.

Dynamic intra-individual variability (IIV) in cardiac vagal control across multiple situations is believed to contribute to adaptive cognition under stress; however, a dearth of research has empirically tested this notion. To this end, we examined 25 U.S. Army Soldiers (all male, mean age = 30.73, standard deviation (SD) = 7.71) whose high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was measured during a resting baseline and during three conditions of a shooting task (training, low stress, high stress). Response inhibition was measured as the correct rejection (CR) of friendly targets during the low and high stress conditions. We tested the association between the SD of HF-HRV across all four task conditions (IIV in vagal control) and changes in response inhibition between low and high stress. Greater differences in vagal control between conditions (larger IIV) were associated with higher tonic vagal control during rest, and stronger stress-related decreases in response inhibition. These results suggest that flexibility in vagal control is supported by tonic vagal control, but this flexibility also uniquely relates to adaptive cognition under stress. Findings are consistent with neurobehavioral and dynamical systems theories of vagal function.

The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH) posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress) vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination-one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration-is a construct containing (at least) two maladaptive (depressive and brooding) and one adaptive (reflective) types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87). Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Both trait rumination (including the three facets) and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as anxiety. Our data also lend a novel outlook on the PCH; resting vmHRV is not related to reflective rumination and thus, this facet of perseveration may be a neutral, but not beneficial, factor in the link between stress vulnerability and psychological well-being.

The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH) posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress) vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination-one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration-is a construct containing (at least) two maladaptive (depressive and brooding) and one adaptive (reflective) types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets' mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87). Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Both trait rumination (including the three facets) and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as anxiety. Our data also lend a novel outlook on the PCH; resting vmHRV is not related to reflective rumination and thus, this facet of perseveration may be a neutral, but not beneficial, factor in the link between stress vulnerability and psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A positive association has previously been observed in healthy volunteers between emotional awareness (EA), the ability to identify and describe emotional experiences in oneself and others, and resting heart rate variability (HRV), which is dominated by vagus nerve activity. The current study aimed to investigate the EA-HRV association across multiple assessments in a "real-world" ambulatory context in patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS) who are at genetic risk for sudden cardiac death., Method: Participants (157 LQTS patients; MeanAge = 35.1, SDAge = 10.4; 115 women) completed the levels of emotional awareness scale (LEAS) on one occasion, which served as our measure of EA. In an ecological momentary assessment study involving 10 assessments per day over three days, multiple 5-minute ECG assessments (Mean = 24.6, SD = 5.1) were obtained in each patient using a Holter monitor, from which high-frequency HRV (HF-HRV) was computed on each occasion., Results: There was a significant positive association between LEAS scores and HF-HRV controlling for biobehavioral covariates. We also detected a similar inverse relation between EA and mean heart rate., Conclusion: These findings suggest that, in patients with a well-defined genetic risk for ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death, the ability to experience emotions in a complex and differentiated way covaries with greater parasympathetic influences on the heart. These findings are consistent with the overlapping neural substrates of EA and HRV and their common contribution to adaptive emotional responding, consistent with the Neurovisceral Integration Model., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: This research was funded by RO1 HL68764 and RO1 HL103692 from the National Institutes of Health. Richard Lane is the Founder and Principal Partner of Equanimity Health Technologies, LLC, which owns the electronic Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale, and is developing an application for real-time heart rate variability measurement. There are no conflicts of interest among the other authors., (Copyright © 2024 by the American Psychosomatic Society.)