Resonances in the cardiovascular system caused by rhythmical muscle tension

Abstract

Paced 0.1 Hz breathing causes high amplitude HR oscillation, triggering resonance in the cardiovascular system (CVS). This oscillation is considered to be a primary therapeutic factor in HRV biofeedback treatments. This study examined whether rhythmical skeletal muscle tension (RSMT) can also cause 0.1 Hz resonance in the CVS, and compared oscillatory reactivity in CVS functions caused by RSMT and paced breathing (PB). Sixteen young healthy participants completed five tasks: baseline, three RSMT tasks at frequencies of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 Hz, and a 0.1 Hz PB task. ECG, respiration, finger pulse, and skin conductance data were collected. Results showed that 0.1 Hz RSMT as well as 0.1 Hz PB triggered resonance in the CVS and caused equivalent oscillations in all measured CVS functions, although in women, RSMT compared to PB caused lower HR oscillation. Clinical application of 0.1 Hz RSMT is discussed. Resonance in the Cardiovascular System Caused by Rhythmical Muscle TensionResonance is a phenomenon characterized by the appearance of oscillation in a system at a specific frequency (resonance frequency) in response to perturbation. Such a system is called a resonance system or a system with a resonance property. The cardiovascular system (CVS) reveals resonance properties at frequencies of about 0.1 and 0.03 Hz due to the arterial baroreflex (Vaschillo, et al., 2002;van de Vooren, et al., 2007;Hammer and Saul, 2005). The 0.1 Hz resonance property of the CVS has demonstrated clinical utility in the treatment of disorders that involve autonomic nervous system dysregulation because patients may be trained to voluntarily produce high-amplitude oscillations in cardiovascular functions. Paced breathing at a rate of 0.1 Hz has been used effectively in heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback (Lehrer, Vaschillo, and Vaschillo, 2000) to improve symptoms of physical and mental disorders including asthma (Lehrer et al., 2004), hypertension (McCraty et al., 2003;Yucha et al., 2005), coronary heart disease (Cowan, Pike, & Budzynski, 2001;Del Pozo et al., 2004;Nolan et al., 2005), major depression , and fibromyalgia . The therapeutic effects of HRV biofeedback are thought to be due to the induction of high-amplitude oscillations in HR, BP, and VT which exercise and activate homeostatic reflexes (e.g., the baroreflex), retrain them (Chernigovskaya et al., 1990;Lehrer et al., 2003Lehrer et al., , 2004, and initiate, through the baroreceptors, a cascade of neurobiological events that produces a generalized inhibitory effect on the brain (Dworkin et al., 1994; Elbert et al., 1992;Nyklicek et al., 2005;Rau et al., 1993; Yasumasu et al., 2006). France et al., 2006 further showed that rhythmical skeletal muscle tension at a rate of 0.1 Hz increases brain oxygenation and effectively prevents the vasovagal reaction in people with a history of neurocardiogenic syncope, yet did not link The Baroreflex Provides Resonances in the CVSThe arterial baroreflex is believed to be the mechanism that provides for resonance in the CVS. The ba...

Positive emotion reduces dyspnea during slow paced breathing

“…Resonance is an occurrence in which an oscillation at a specific frequency appears in a system in response to perturbation (Vaschillo, Vaschillo, Pandina, & Bates, ). This principle has been applied to the cardiovascular (CV) system through the use of paced respiration at 6 breaths per min (i.e., 0.1 Hz, a dominant resonant frequency in the CV system), which produces cardiovascular resonance (i.e., large fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure).…”

“…The 0.1 Hz resonant frequency of the CV system is thought to be due to the mechanisms of the arterial baroreflex (Vaschillo, Lehrer, Rishe, & Konstantinov, ; Vaschillo et al., ). Treatments that utilize paced breathing to amplify 0.1 Hz oscillations in heart rate and blood pressure have been shown to strengthen the baroreflex system (Lehrer et al., ).…”

Understanding mind–body disciplines: A pilot study of paced breathing and dynamic muscle contraction on autonomic nervous system reactivity

“…Less recognized and understood, concurrent evidence also suggests that voluntary rhythmic muscle contraction alone could be an alternative way of stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. In a study on rhythmic contraction alone, Lehrer et al demonstrated that when large muscle groups alternated rhythmically between contraction and relaxation, subjects experienced a similar parasympathetic entrainment effect observed in the earlier paced breathing studies (Lehrer, Vaschillo, Trost, & France, ; Vaschillo, Vaschillo, Pandina, & Bates, ). However, the autonomic effects of performing rhythmic synchronized breathing and muscle contraction tasks simultaneously have not been studied systematically.…”

RR interval–respiratory signal waveform modeling in human slow paced and spontaneous breathing

“…In this type of modeling, although relatively good matching between modeled and measured output heart rate values was achieved, it is difficult to relate transfer function parameters to actual physiological mechanisms underlying the phenomenon. Moreover, by calculating transfer functions between respiratory and heart rate signals, one can obtain useful information about resonance effects (Ahmed et al, 1986;Vaschillo et al, 2002Vaschillo et al, , 2011. In fact, transfer functions can be formally calculated for a wide variety of physiological or other type of signals, allowing the reconstruction of the output based on previous samples of input as well as of output.…”