Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity across empirically based structural dimensions of psychopathology: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

Low resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is observed in many mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, and nonsuicidal self‐injury, among others. Findings for RSA reactivity are more mixed. We evaluate associations between RSA reactivity and empirically derived structural categories of psychopathology—including internalizing, externalizing, and thought problems—among physically healthy adults. We searched multiple electronic databases for studies of RSA among participants who were assessed either dimensionally using well‐validated measures or diagnostically using structured interviews. Strict inclusion criteria were used to screen 3,605 published reports, which yielded 37 studies including 2,347 participants and 76 effect sizes. We performed a meta‐analysis, with meta‐analytic regressions of potential moderators, including psychopathology subtypes. The sample‐wide meta‐analytic association between RSA reactivity and psychopathology was quite small, but heterogeneity was considerable. Moderation analyses revealed significant RSA reactivity (withdrawal) specifically in externalizing samples. Additional moderators included (a) stimulus conditions used to elicit RSA reactivity (only negative emotion inductions were effective), (b) sex (women showed greater RSA reactivity than men), and (c) adherence to established methodological guidelines (e.g., higher electrocardiographic sampling rates yielded greater RSA reactivity). These findings indicate that associations between RSA reactivity and psychopathology are complex and suggest that future studies should include more standardized RSA assessments to increase external validity and decrease measurement error.

Toward a social psychophysiology of vagally mediated heart rate variability: Concepts and methods in self‐regulation, emotion, and interpersonal processes

“…Larger reductions in response to a worry induction predict development of emotional distress and sleep disturbance during periods of academic stress (Gouin, Deschenes, & Dugas, ; MacNeil et al, ). These findings support the view that larger reductions in vmHRV in response to emotionally evocative challenges are associated with a broad vulnerability factor (Beauchaine & Thayer, ), but this may vary across types of adjustment difficulties (Beauchaine et al, ).…”

“…A wide‐ranging and rapidly growing body of research on self‐regulation, emotion, and interpersonal processes examines parasympathetic nervous system activity, measured as heart rate variability (HRV). As described in recent reviews (Balzarotti, Biassoni, Colombo, & Ciceri, ; Beauchaine et al, ; Laborde, Mosley, & Thayer, ), HRV is broadly related to adaptive functioning, suggesting robust parasympathetic correlates of several adjustment processes. Further, because HRV also predicts physical health, this parasympathetic mechanism could contribute to the association of emotional adjustment, social functioning, and self‐regulation with subsequent health (Hillebrand et al, ; Thayer & Lane, ; Thayer, Yamamoto, & Brosschot, ; Williams, Koenig et al, 2019).…”

“…For example, vagal flexibility that comprises decreases in response to some challenges (e.g., evaluative threat) and increases in response to others (e.g., self‐regulatory effort) might have different implications than a pattern characterized by consistent decreases. Consistent with this view, vmHRV decreases during emotionally evocative tasks are associated with emotional distress and psychopathology, but reactivity to cognitive challenges is not (Beauchaine, ; Beauchaine et al, ). Individual differences in vmHRV recovery are relatively unexplored, and as noted previously its implications may differ as a function of the context or other aspects of initial reactivity.…”

“…This general view of the adaptive nature of decreases in vmHRV in response to various challenges is consistent with developmental theory and research (Graziano & Derefinko, ). However, other perspectives suggest that pronounced vagal withdrawal, especially in response to emotionally evocative challenges, is associated with greater emotional dysfunction (Beauchaine, ; Beauchaine et al, ).…”

Sympathetic‐Parasympathetic Interaction and Externalizing Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Fifteen (29%) of the children were reported to take medication, most commonly for attention problems/hyperactivity, asthma, allergies, or seizures. Anticholinergic medications and SSRIs may be related to psychophysiological measurement [Beauchaine et al, ; Green, Nuechterlein, & Satz, ]; only one child was reported to take the former, and no children were taking SSRIs at the time of the present study.…”