Individual differences in resting heart rate variability and cognitive control in posttraumatic stress disorder

Gillie, Brandon L.; Thayer, Julian F.

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00758

Cited by 82 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…Low HRV at rest is discussed as a risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders (Gillie & Thayer, ) since patients with anxiety disorders show similar deficits in safety learning and fear inhibition (Jovanovic, Kazama, Bachevalier, & Davis, ; Lissek et al, ) as well as reduced HRV at rest (Chalmers, Quintana, Abbott, & Kemp, ). Importantly, we have shown that low HRV may precede the development of self‐reported symptoms of anxiety (Gillie, Thayer, Vasey, & Heath, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resting heart rate variability is associated with inhibition of conditioned fear

et al. 2015

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Startle blink as well as skin conductance responses (SCR) are widely used indices of learning processes associated with fear conditioning and extinction. During safety learning, the amygdala is under top-down inhibitory control by the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The capacity of the PFC to exert inhibitory control over subcortical brain structures may be indexed by resting state vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV). The present study investigated the association of resting HRV with startle blink and SCR during conditioned fear inhibition and extinction. Participants first learned to discriminate a threat cue (A) signaling an aversive unconditioned stimulus from a safety signal (B), which were each presented together with a third stimulus X (AX+/BX-). Then, both the threat and safety signal were presented together (AB) to test whether the presence of the learned safety signal inhibits the fear response to the danger signal. Finally, AX was presented without reinforcement (AX-) to investigate fear extinction. Higher HRV was associated with pronounced fear inhibition and fear extinction. Resting HRV levels were associated with fear extinction as indexed by startle blink potentiation but not SCR, which presumably reflect more cognitive aspects of learning. Resting HRV may reflect the capacity of the prefrontal cortex to inhibit subcortical fear responses in the presence of safety or when former threat cues are presented in the absence of threat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resting heart rate variability is associated with inhibition of conditioned fear

et al. 2015

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“…A potential mechanism underlying the association between low HRV, anxiety, and exaggerated stress response may be related to impaired top-down prefrontal cortical modulation of autonomic activity (Gillie and Thayer, 2014; Thayer et al, 2009). It has been proposed that resting HRV may serve as a peripheral physiological index of self-regulatory capacity and integrity of CNS networks that support goal-directed behavior, in particular, the extent to which ‘top–down’ appraisals, mediated by cortical-subcortical pathways, can control brainstem activity and autonomic responses in the body (Park and Thayer, 2014; Thayer et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic influences on heart rate variability

Golosheykin

Grant

Novak

et al. 2017

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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Heart rate variability (HRV) is the variation of cardiac inter-beat intervals over time resulting largely from the interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. Individual differences in HRV are associated with emotion regulation, personality, psychopathology, cardiovascular health, and mortality. Previous studies have shown significant heritability of HRV measures. Here we extend genetic research on HRV by investigating sex differences in genetic underpinnings of HRV, the degree of genetic overlap among different measurement domains of HRV, and phenotypic and genetic relationships between HRV and the resting heart rate (HR). We performed electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings in a large population-representative sample of young adult twins (n = 1060 individuals) and computed HRV measures from three domains: time, frequency, and nonlinear dynamics. Genetic and environmental influences on HRV measures were estimated using linear structural equation modeling of twin data. The results showed that variability of HRV and HR measures can be accounted for by additive genetic and non-shared environmental influences (AE model), with no evidence for significant shared environmental effects. Heritability estimates ranged from 47 to 64%, with little difference across HRV measurement domains. Genetic influences did not differ between genders for most variables except the square root of the mean squared differences between successive R-R intervals (RMSSD, higher heritability in males) and the ratio of low to high frequency power (LF/HF, distinct genetic factors operating in males and females). The results indicate high phenotypic and especially genetic correlations between HRV measures from different domains, suggesting that >90% of genetic influences are shared across measures. Finally, about 40% of genetic variance in HRV was shared with HR. In conclusion, both HR and HRV measures are highly heritable traits in the general population of young adults, with high degree of genetic overlap across different measurement domains.

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“…In addition, associations between RSA and both memory retrieval and cognitive control are observed during executive function tasks (Gillie, Vasey, & Thayer, 2014a, 2014b. RSA is also associated with PFC function as assessed via lesion studies (medial PFC; Buchanan et al, 2010), pharmacological blockade (both hemispheres; Ahern et al, 2001), functional magnetic resonance imaging (ventromedial PFC; see Thayer, Ahs, Fredrikson, Sollers, & Wager, 2012), retinal vessel analysis (Schuster, Jarczok, Fischer, Thayer, & Vossmerbaeumer, 2014), and cerebral blood flow assessed via arterial spin labeling (several regions; Allen, Jennings, Gianaros, Thayer, & Manuck, 2015).…”

Section: Emotion Dysregulation and Youth Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%