Hostile behavior links negative childhood family relationships to heart rate reactivity and recovery in young adulthood

Prior research has demonstrated that vulnerability to stress is influenced by early life experiences. This study evaluates the impact of negative childhood family relationships on cardiovascular stress reactivity in young adulthood. Participants (age 18-22) from families characterized by negative (n=39) or positive relationships (n=36) engaged in a role-play conflict task. Hostile/aggressive verbal behaviors during the task were observed, and blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) responses were measured before, during, and after the task. Participants from negative families engaged in more hostile/aggressive verbal behavior during the task and showed attenuated HR reactivity. Hostile/aggressive verbal behavior predicted attenuated HR reactivity and recovery. Path analyses linked negative family relationships to more hostile verbal behavior during the task, and attenuated HR reactivity and recovery. These results support the development of hostile/aggressive behavior in social situations as a pathway linking childhood adversity to stress vulnerability across the lifespan.     

Facial expressions of emotion and physiologic reactions in children with bronchial asthma

Eighteen children with bronchial asthma (ages 7.5 to 12) and 18 control children were exposed to a pleasant comic film and a stress-inducing achievement task. Facial expressions of emotion and heart rate (HR) were recorded, and pre- and posttest forced expiratory volume at 1 sec (FEV1) were assessed. The asthmatic children showed significantly fewer expressions of emotion than the control subjects in the stress-inducing but not in the joy-inducing situation. Their FEV1 decreased significantly under both experimental conditions, whereas no significant changes were found in the control group. The asthmatic children's mean HR was significantly higher under both experimental conditions than during the preceding pauses. In the control group, no significant changes in mean HR were found from the pause to the stressful situation; during the comic film, mean HR was significantly lower than during the preceding pause. No significant correlations were found for either group between number of emotions expressed, pre- to posttest changes in FEV1, and changes in mean HR.     

The relationships of impulsivity and cardiovascular responses: The role of gender and task type

The present study was conducted to assess the relationships of impulsivity with both baseline cardiovascular levels and reactivity during two laboratory stressors in both female and male young adults. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured at rest and during a reaction time and speech task in one hundred and one undergraduate students. Impulsivity was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 and Block's Ego-Undercontrol Scale. Males and females responded similarly to both laboratory tasks and also did not differ on the impulsivity scales. For males, higher scores on impulsivity were associated with higher systolic BP levels at rest but decreased systolic BP and HR reactivity during the preparation of the speech task; females showed no relationships of resting cardiovascular levels with impulsivity, but more impulsive females did show decreased HR response during speech preparation. No significant relationships were found between impulsivity and either HRV levels or reactivity. It is speculated that tasks involving a degree of planning may be important to find relationships between impulsivity and cardiovascular reactivity, especially in males.     

Attachment and emotion regulation in middle childhood: changes in affect and vagal tone during a social stress task

In middle childhood, more securely attached children show better emotion regulation when assessed as general tendencies (e.g. coping style), but studies looking at emotion in response to specific stressors have revealed mixed results. This study examined how attachment security, avoidance, and ambivalence – assessed with a story stem task (99 children, 9–11 years old) – relate to dynamic indices of affective and autonomic responses (baseline, reactivity, recovery). Reports of positive and negative affect, and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), were assessed during a social stressor task. Securely attached children did not show reactivity effects, although they did show greater recovery of positive affect after the task ended. Avoidant children showed both less reactivity and recovery of negative affect, suggesting a dampened emotional response. Ambivalent children showed more reactivity and more recovery of negative affect. Autonomic response changes were only evident for ambivalent children, who showed less suppression of HF-HRV variability under stress.     

Biased perception and interpretation of bodily anxiety symptoms in childhood social anxiety

Cognitive models of social phobia (SP) and empirical evidence in adults suggest that affected individuals overestimate arousal symptoms such as heart rate (HR) during social stress and worry about their visibility in public. To date, little is known about these aspects in childhood social anxiety, an important precursor of the disorder. We assessed perception of--and worry about--HR visibility, actual HR, and subjective anxiety during public speaking in high socially anxious (HSA; n = 20) and low socially anxious (LSA; n = 20) Caucasian children, aged 10 to 12 years. Symptom visibility was manipulated by making a nonveridical HR feedback tone audible only to the participant (private condition, HR sounds via headphone) or to participant and observers (public condition, HR sounds via speakers). Further, we assessed interoceptive accuracy in a heartbeat counting task. As expected, HSA children perceived their HR as higher than LSA children in both private and public conditions despite similar actual HR and comparable interoceptive accuracy. Public feedback led to more worry about HR visibility only in HSA but not in LSA children. Biased perception and interpretation of bodily anxiety symptoms during social stress manifests early in social anxiety and might therefore play a crucial role in the aggravation of social anxiety and the development of SP. We discuss implications for current theory, clinical practice, and prevention.     

Visual discrimination learning in dwarf goats and associated changes in heart rate and heart rate variability

We studied visual discrimination learning in a group of Nigerian dwarf goats using a computer-based learning device which was integrated in the animals' home pen. We conducted three consecutive learning tasks (T1, T2 and T3), each of which lasted for 13 days. In each task, a different set of four visual stimuli was presented on a computer screen in a four-choice design. Predefined sequences of stimulus combinations were presented in a pseudorandom order. Animals were rewarded with drinking water when they chose the positive stimulus by pressing a button next to it. Noninvasive measurements of goats' heartbeat intervals were carried out on the first and the last 2 days of each learning task. We analysed heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) of resting animals to study sustained physiological effects related to general learning challenge rather than acute excitement during an actual learning session. The number of trials to reach the learning criterion was 1000 in T1, when visual stimuli were presented to the goats for the first time, but decreased to 210 in T2 and 240 in T3, respectively. A stable plateau of correct choices between 70% and 80% was reached on Day 10 in T1, on Day 8 in T2 and on Day 6 in T3. We found a significant influence of the task and of the interaction between task and day on learning success. Whereas HR increased throughout T1, this relationship was inverted in T2 and T3, indicating different effects on the HR depending on how familiar goats were with the learning task. We found a significant influence of the task and the interaction between task and time within the task on HRV parameters, indicating changes of vagal activity at the heart. The results suggest that changes in HR related to learning were predominantly caused by a withdrawal of vagal activity at the heart. With regard to nonlinear processes in heartbeat regulation, increased deterministic shares of HRV indicated that the animals did not really relax until the end of T3. Comparing changes of HR and HRV in T3 and in a subsequent postexperiment (PE), we assume a positive effect of such cognitive challenges once the task had been learned by the animals.     

Older people's cardiac responses as indicators of stress in familiar and unfamiliar environments

Little is known about older people's physiological and emotional responses to environmental triggers. We examined this by estimating cardiac stress from heart rate variability (HRV). Thirty-eight participants were monitored while observing environmental scenarios at familiar and unfamiliar locations. Image scenarios included pedestrian and driving scenes in a random order. HRV indices including heart rate (HR), QT variability index (QTVI) and Total HRV Power (TP) were quantified. Familiar locations were associated with higher HR (p<.0005) and lower TP (p=.005) than unfamiliar locations, suggesting they were more stressful. HRV responses to pedestrian and driving scenarios indicated that stress was not influenced by either the type of image scenario or the order of image presentation. There were no gender-related differences in cardiac responses. HRV is a useful surrogate of cardiac stress when assessing older people's responses to their environments.     

Individual differences in resting heart rate variability moderate thought suppression success

Individual differences in heart rate variability (HRV) at rest are thought to represent an individual's capacity for self‐regulation, but it remains unclear whether HRV predicts control over unwanted thoughts. The current study used a thought suppression paradigm in which participants recorded occurrences of a personally relevant intrusive thought over three monitoring periods. Among those instructed to suppress, higher levels of HRV were associated with greater declines in intrusions across the monitoring periods; no such relationship was found among those assigned to a control condition. Resting HRV also interacted with spontaneous thought suppression effort to predict intrusive thought frequency. In both cases, these HRV‐related differences in thought suppression success predicted the generalized distress symptoms common to depression and anxiety. These findings enhance understanding of the relationships between HRV and cognitive control and highlight how individual differences in self‐regulatory capacity impact thought suppression success and emotion regulation.     

Sleep as a tool for evaluating autonomic drive to the heart in cardiac transplant patients

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the autonomic drive to the heart in cardiac transplant patients (CTP) using heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) analysis during non-rapid eye movement (NREM)-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep cycles, in particular during arousal associated with the emergence from slow wave sleep (SWS). In healthy subjects, this arousal is characterized by a pronounced HR surge, and HRV is lower during SWS than during the subsequent "active" sleep stage 2 and REM sleep. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 24 adults, 14 CTP (men, n = 11; women, n = 3; mean age, 62.2 +/- 2.2 years; time after transplantation, 4-14 years) and 10 control subjects (men, n = 7; women, n = 3; mean age, 61.0 +/- 1.8 years). DESIGN: The subjects underwent polygraphic sleep, cardiac, and respiratory recordings during an experimental night. HR was measured during the arousal. HRV was estimated from the R-R intervals in 5-minute stationary segments preceding and following arousal, ie, during SWS and active sleep stage 2 from the first 2 complete NREM-REM sleep cycles. RESULTS: In controls, HR increased during arousal associated with the emergence from SWS during the 2 sleep cycles (P < .05). Sleep-stage-dependent increases of all HRV indexes were observed in the 2 sleep cycles. Concerning CTP, 5 of them displayed a smaller HR increase at arousal, whereas 9 other patients had no HR variation. This distinction between the 2 groups of CTP was confirmed by HRV analysis. The patients with HR reactivity to arousal presented significant sleep-stage-dependent increases in global HRV and sympathetic HRV indexes, whereas the nonreactive group was characterized by an inability of HRV to change with sleep-stage alternation. Sympathetic HRV indexes were significantly higher in the reactive patients than in nonreactive patients, but high frequency power reflecting parasympathetic activity did not differ. However, the absolute HRV indexes were greatly decreased in both groups of patients compared to controls. CONCLUSION: HR reactivity during arousal associated with the emergence from SWS, corroborated by HRV surrounding arousal, may suggest a partial improvement of the sympathetic drive to the heart in some CTP, with no indication of increased parasympathetic activity. Other signs of reinnervation have to be identified to validate this hypothesis.     

Watching neutral and threatening movies: subjective experience and autonomic responses in subjects with different hypnotizability levels

Subjects with high hypnotizability scores (Highs) have been considered more prone to experience negative affect and more vulnerable to its autonomic effects with respect to low hypnotizable individuals (Lows). The aim of the study was to analyze the subjective experience, tonic skin conductance (SC), respiratory frequency (RF), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) of healthy Highs and Lows during a long-lasting, emotionally neutral task (Session R, 46 subjects) and a moderately threatening one (Session T, 35 subjects). At the end of the relaxing Session R, all participants reported an increased relaxation. At the end of the threatening Session T, only 20 subjects reported a decreased relaxation (effective T: eT subsample). Highs and Lows of this subsample reported a similarly reduced relaxation and showed a similarly increased skin conductance. HR and HRV did not differ between the two sessions and between Highs and Lows. Among the subjects not reporting decreased relaxation at the end of Session T (ineffective T: iT subsample, n=15), relaxation was deeper and associated with lower skin conductance in Highs, although HR and HRV did not differ between Highs and Lows. All together, the results do not support the hypothesis of higher proneness of Highs to experience negative affect and to exhibit the autonomic correlates of negative emotion.     

The effect of eccentric strength training on heart rate and on its variability during isometric exercise in healthy older men

The purpose of this study was to investigate if chronic eccentric strength training (ST) affects heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) during sub-maximal isometric voluntary contractions (SIVC). The training group (TG) (9 men, 62 ± 2) was submitted to ST (12 weeks, 2 days/week, 2–4 sets of 8–12 repetitions at 75–80% peak torque (PT). The control group (CG) (8 men, 64 ± 4) did not perform ST. The HR and the HRV (RMSSD index) were evaluated during SIVC of the knee extension (15, 30 and 40% of PT). ST increased the eccentric torque only in TG, but did not change the isometric PT and the duration of SIVC. During SIVC, the HR response pattern and the RMSSD index were similar for both groups in pre- and post-training evaluations. Although ST increased the eccentric torque in the TG, it did not generate changes in HR or HRV.     

Anticipatory autonomic response to a public speaking task in women: the role of trait anxiety

The aim of this research was to study anticipatory autonomic responses their relationship to trait anxiety. Twenty-three women prepared an evaluated speech (S-condition) and 22 women an evaluated essay (W-condition). Heart rate (HR), finger pulse volume (FPV) and skin conductance were recorded before, during and after preparation of the task and during task performance; state-anxiety was evaluated before and after the task. In the total sample, state-anxiety was higher in the S- than in W-condition and this anxiety increase was accompanied by FPV reductions. However, when the sample was split according to trait anxiety scores, HR during preparation and increases of state-anxiety were greater in S- than W-condition in only in high-anxious women. Results suggest that specificity of anticipatory HR response to a public speaking task in women is moderated by cognitive anxiety.     

Long-term effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus on heart rhythm in the Goto-Kakizaki rat.

In vivo biotelemetry studies have demonstrated a variety of heart rhythm disturbances in type 1 diabetes mellitus. In the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat, these disturbances have included reductions in heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and an electrocardiogram that displays prolonged QRS duration and Q-T interval. The aim of this study was to investigate the chronic effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus on heart rhythm in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat. Transmitter devices were surgically implanted in the peritoneal cavity of young male GK and age-matched Wistar control rats. Electrodes from the transmitter were arranged in Einthoven bipolar lead II configuration. Electrocardiogram, physical activity and body temperature data were recorded in rats from age 2 to 15 months. Data were acquired for 2 weeks each month. Non-fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance and body weight were measured periodically. In GK rats, growth rate and maximal attained body weight were significantly reduced and non-fasting blood glucose was progressively increased compared with age-matched Wistar control animals. Heart rate was significantly lower in GK compared with control rats at 2, 7 and 15 months of age. At 2 months of age, HR was 316 +/- 6 beats min(-1) in GK rats compared with 370 +/- 7 beats min(-1) in Wistar control animals. There was a progressive age-dependent decline in HRV in Wistar control rats; however, HRV in GK rats did not alter significantly with age. Heart rate variability was significantly reduced in GK compared with Wistar control rats at 2 and 7 months. At 2 months of age, HRV was 28 +/- 2 beats min(-1) in GK rats compared with 38 +/- 3 beats min(-1) in Wistar control rats. Reduced HR in GK rats may be an inherited characteristic. The absence of age-dependent reductions in HRV in GK rats may be a consequence of an underlying impairment of autonomic control which manifests at early age.     

Heart-rate correlates of childhood activities: play, exploration, problem-solving and day-dreaming.

Heart-rate was monitored while children were engaged in different activities. The first study examined the hypothesis that the behavioural distinction between exploration and play would be supported by the psychophysiological measure. Two-year-olds showed suppression of heart rate variability (HRV) during exploration, and even more during solution of a puzzle, suggesting that the task demands these two activities were greater than those during play. The second study demonstrated a relationship between HRV during daydreaming and during problem solving in 9-year-old children which was similar to that obtained between play and problem solving in younger children. The correlative use of HRV thus strengthened functional interpretations of behaviour.     

Daily worry is related to low heart rate variability during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period.

Stress and anxiety are risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Worry might be a mediator of their risks by prolonging their cognitive representation and concomitant CV activity. We hypothesized that daily stressors and worry, and trait anxiety and trait worry would be associated with high heart rate (HR) and low heart rate variability (HRV) during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, and that worry would mediate the effects of daily stressors. Low HRV and high HR are physiological risk factors for CV disease. Using an hourly diary, stressors, worry frequency and duration, and biobehavioral variables were measured during one day in 52 healthy subjects. During this time and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, ambulatory ECG was measured. Stressors, worry and traits were related to higher HR and lower HRV during waking, and the effects of stressors and worry were extended into the sleeping period. Worry duration mediated the effects of stressors. The results were largely independent of biobehavioral variables including sleep quality. The results support the notion that worry, by prolonging CV activity, is a mediator of the CV risks of stress. They also imply a role for unconscious cognitive representation of stress.     

Gender differences in cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to public speaking task: the role of anxiety and mood states.

Gender moderates psychophysiological responses to stress. In addition to the hormonal background, different psychological states related to social stressors, such as anxiety and mood, could affect this response. The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of gender differences in the cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to a speech task and their relationship with anxiety and the mood variations experienced. For this, non-specific skin conductance responses (NSRs), heart rate (HR), and finger pulse volume (FPV) were measured at rest, and during preparation, task and recovery periods of an academic career speech in undergraduate men (n=15) and women (n=23), with assessment of changes in the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. Men and women did not differ in trait anxiety, hostility/aggressiveness, or in the appraisal of the task, which were evaluated with the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and a self-report elaborated by ourselves, respectively. Women had higher FPV in all periods except during the task, and were more reactive to the stressor in state anxiety, and in the amplitude of NSRs. No gender differences for HR and for the frequency of NSRs were found. Anxiety and mood states were differently related to cardiovascular and electrodermal measurements in men and women. Further studies should consider the hormonal variations in addition to the psychological dimensions, in order to offer a more integrative perspective of the complex responses to stress.     

Physiological response and childhood anxiety: association with symptoms of anxiety disorders and cognitive bias.

This study examined the physiological response (skin conductance and heart rate [HR]) of youth exposed to a mildly phobic stimulus (video of a large dog) and its relation to child- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms and cognitive bias in a community-recruited sample of youth (n = 49). The results of this study indicated that HR and skin-conductance response were associated with youth report but not parent report of their child's symptoms of anxiety disorders and that HR response was more strongly associated with anxiety symptoms than skin-conductance response. Physiological response was uniquely associated with youth-reported symptoms of anxiety rather than youth-reported depression. Finally, HR response interacted with cognitive bias in predicting childhood anxiety disorder symptoms in a manner consistent with theories of the etiology of anxiety disorders.     

Of larks and hearts--morningness/eveningness, heart rate variability and cardiovascular stress response at different times of day

Inter-individual differences in the circadian period of physical and mental functions can be described on the dimension of morningness/eveningness. Previous findings support the assumption that eveningness is related to greater impulsivity and susceptibility to stress than morningness. Heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a physiological correlate of self- and emotional regulation and has not yet been investigated in relation to chronotypes. The study explores differences in HRV and other cardiovascular measures in morning- and evening-types at rest and under stress at different times of day (8-11 a.m. or 4-7 p.m.). Students (N=471) were screened for chronotype and n=55 females (27 morning- and 28 evening-types) were recruited for testing. These participants performed a mental arithmetic task while heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were recorded. Spectral components and a time-domain measure of HRV were calculated on HR data from resting and mental stress periods. Evening-types had significantly higher HR and systolic BP, but lower HRV than morning-types both at baseline and during stress. Stress induced in the evening had a significantly stronger impact on absolute and baseline corrected physiological measures in both chronotypes. The interaction of chronotype and testing time did not reach the level of significance for any of the dependent variables. The enhanced physiological arousal in evening-types might contribute to increased vulnerability to psychological distress. Hence, previous behavioral findings are supported by the physiological data of this study.     

Contextual startle responses moderate the relation between behavioral inhibition and anxiety in middle childhood

Behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperament characterized in early childhood by wariness and avoidance of novelty, is a risk factor for anxiety disorders. An enhanced startle response has been observed in adolescents characterized with BI in childhood, particularly when they also manifest concurrent symptoms of anxiety. However, no prior study has examined relations among BI, startle responsivity, and anxiety in a prospective manner. Data for the present study were from a longitudinal study of infant temperament. Maternal reports and observations of BI were assessed at ages 2 and 3. At age 7, participants completed a startle procedure, while electromyography was collected, where participants viewed different colors on a screen that were associated with either the delivery of an aversive stimulus (i.e., puff of air to the larynx; threat cue) or the absence of the aversive stimulus (i.e., safety cue). Parental reports of child anxiety were collected when children were 7 and 9 years of age. Results revealed that startle responses at age 7 moderated the relation between early BI and 9‐year anxiety. These findings provide insight into one potential mechanism that may place behaviorally inhibited children at risk for anxiety.     

Heart rate and heart rate variability during a novel object test and a handling test in young horses

Forty-one Dutch Warmblood immature horses were used in a study to quantify temperamental traits on the basis of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measures. Half of the horses received additional training from the age of 5 months onwards; the other half did not. Horses were tested at 9, 10, 21 and 22 months of age in a novel object and a handling test. During the tests, mean HR and two heart variability indices, e.g. standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR) and root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD), were calculated and expressed as response values to baseline measures. In both tests, horses showed at all ages a significant increase in mean HR and decrease in HRV measures, which suggests a marked shift of the balance of the autonomic nervous system towards a sympathetic dominance. In the novel object test, this shift was more pronounced in horses that had not been trained. Furthermore, statistical analysis showed that the increase in mean HR could not be entirely explained by the physical activity. The additional increase in HR, the nonmotor HR, was more pronounced in the untrained horses compared to the trained. Hence, it is suggested that this nonmotor HR might be due to the level of emotionality. HR variables showed consistency between years, as well as within the second year. These tests bring about a HR response in horses, part of which may indicate a higher level of emotionality; and horses show individual consistency of these HR variables over ages. Therefore, it is concluded that mean HR and HRV measures used with these tests quantify certain aspects of a horse's temperament.