The moderating influence of heart rate variability on stressor-elicited change in pupillary and attentional indices of emotional processing: An eye-Tracking study

Abstract

Low resting heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with a broad array of negative psychosocial outcomes. Recent theoretical explications of HRV suggest it is an autonomic marker of emotion regulation capacity, but limited research has examined its relationship with emotional information processing indices. The present study utilized eye-tracking methodology to test HRV’s theorized role as a marker of emotion regulation capacity in a non-clinical sample. Attentional biases towards threatening, dysphoric, and positive emotional information as well as affective modulation of pupil size were assessed before and after a stress induction. Low resting HRV marginally predicted larger increases in attentional bias towards positive emotional stimuli from pre to post-stress induction and significantly predicted decreased pupil dilation to positive stimuli after the stress induction only; exploratory analyses suggested that this pattern might reflect an unsuccessful attempt at anxious mood repair. HRV was unrelated to negative emotional information processing. Findings are consistent with existing theories of HRV’s psychological significance and suggest a specific association with altered positive emotional processing under acute stress.

A Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Meditation, and Yoga Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Single-Arm Experimental Clinical Trial

“…Few studies have explored the direct associations between HRV and the associated pupil response during rest, stress-induced, and meditation phases in clinical samples. Our findings are supported by a recent study by Macatee et al [ 127 ] that examined emotional processing indications of pupillary response and vagally mediated HRV in a nonclinical sample exposed to positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. HRV was unrelated to negative emotional processing and was not significantly associated with the pupillary indices of negative stimuli [ 127 ].…”

“…Our findings are supported by a recent study by Macatee et al [ 127 ] that examined emotional processing indications of pupillary response and vagally mediated HRV in a nonclinical sample exposed to positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. HRV was unrelated to negative emotional processing and was not significantly associated with the pupillary indices of negative stimuli [ 127 ]. In contrast, low HRV predicted decreased pupil dilation to positive stimuli after a stress phase, reflecting altered positive emotional processing following stress induction [ 127 ].…”

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation via tragus or cymba conchae: Are its psychophysiological effects dependent on the stimulation area?

“…That means, one autonomic process does not necessarily exclude the other, rather both represent different aspects of autonomic activity. In the opposite direction, it has already been shown that CVA can predict decreased pupil size while viewing positive emotional stimuli (Macatee et al, 2017). Therefore, both pupillary responses and CVA seem to present contextdependent adjustments.…”

Hypoactivation of autonomtic nervous system-related orbitofrontal and motor cortex during acute stress in women with premenstrual syndrome

“…As mentioned above, the OFC is an important area responsible for emotional regulation. The lower parasympathetic response predicts poorer mood regulation under an acute stressor ( Macatee et al, 2017 ), so that it may be one of the reasons why the right middle orbitofrontal gyrus in PMS shows a low activation. In addition, previous findings suggest that hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle modulate the brain structure (i.e., OFC), thus influencing negative affect and cognition ( Dubol et al, 2020b ; Dreher et al, 2007 ).…”