Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, cardiac vagal tone, and respiration: Within- and between-individual relations

Summary Motivation: The high frequency (HF) indices of heart rate variability (HRV), which reflect the magnitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), have been repeatedly used as measures of cardiac vagal tone. Recent studies, however, have shown experimentally that variations in these indices do not necessarily reflect proportional changes in cardiac parasympathetic outflow. Objective: The goal of this study was to obtain a physiological-based theoretical evaluation of the relationship between RSA and cardiac vagal tone, which will help explain conflicting experimental results previously published. Methods: We derived a theoretical model for heart rate (HR) response to gradual vagal blockade. The model implements the integral-pulse-frequency-modulation (IPFM) approach to sinoatrial (SA) node physiology. The level of vagal blockade was simulated by the addition of a cardio-selective muscarinic antagonist. Results and Conclusion: The derivations of the model lead to a closed set of equations, from which the dependence of the HF indices on the level of vagal blockade is deduced. It is shown that several aspects of the physiological condition may have a substantial effect on this relationship: the level of baseline vagal activity, the relationship between vagal tone and the fluctuations in its traffic, the level of sympathetic activity, etc… Hence, changes in the HF indices of HRV provide a plausible assessment of the changes in cardiac vagal tone only under a specific range of physiological conditions.

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Cardiac Vagal Tone in Generalised Anxiety Disorder

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.161.6.831 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 161 (6) ◽

pp. 831-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Mark Kollai ◽

Balazs Kollai

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Reliable Estimate ◽

Generalised Anxiety Disorder ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Cardiac Vagal Tone ◽

Invasive Method ◽

Pharmacological Method ◽

And Control

The aim of the present study was twofold: firstly, to determine cardiac vagal tone in subjects with generalised anxiety disorder directly, using an invasive pharmacological method; and secondly, to test whether the non-invasive method of measuring the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) gives a reliable estimate of cardiac vagal tone in this form of anxiety disorder. Comparison of baseline physiological measures of anxious and control subjects revealed that cardiac vagal tone and heart rate were not different in the two groups of subjects, whereas length of the respiratory cycle and amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia were reduced in the former group. Because of the higher respiratory rates of anxious subjects, the RSA method was found to underestimate cardiac vagal tone in generalised anxiety disorder.

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Associations between Acoustic Features of Maternal Speech and Infants' Emotion Regulation following a Social Stressor

10.1101/2021.07.02.450379 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jacek Kolacz ◽

Elizabeth B daSilva ◽

Gregory F Lewis ◽

Bennett I Bertenthal ◽

Stephen W Porges

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Fast Fourier Transformation ◽

Acoustic Features ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Cardiac Vagal Tone ◽

Gaze Aversion ◽

Maternal Speech ◽

Electrocardiogram Ecg

Caregiver voices may provide cues to mobilize or calm infants. This study examined whether maternal prosody predicted changes in infants' biobehavioral state during the Still Face, a stressor in which the mother withdraws and reinstates social engagement. Ninety-four dyads participated in the study (infant age 4-8 months). Infants' heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (measuring cardiac vagal tone) were derived from an electrocardiogram (ECG). Infants' behavioral distress was measured by negative vocalizations, facial expressions, and gaze aversion. Mothers' vocalizations were measured with spectral analysis and spectro-temporal modulation using a two-dimensional fast Fourier transformation of the audio spectrogram. High values on the maternal prosody composite were associated with decreases in infants' heart rate (β=-.26, 95% CI: [-.46, -.05]) and behavioral distress (β=- .20, 95% CI: [-.38, -.02]), and increases in cardiac vagal tone in infants whose vagal tone was low during the stressor (1 SD below mean β=.39, 95% CI: [.06, .73]). High infant heart rate predicted increases in the maternal prosody composite (β=.18, 95% CI: [.03, .33]). These results suggest specific vocal acoustic features of speech that are relevant for regulating infants' biobehavioral state and demonstrate mother-infant bi-directional dynamics.

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Dynamic changes in cardiac vagal tone as measured by time-series analysis

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.1990.258.3.h896 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 258 (3) ◽

pp. H896-H902 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

G. E. Billman ◽

J. P. Dujardin

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Time Series ◽

Time Series Analysis ◽

Rate Control ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Heart Rate Control ◽

Dynamic Changes ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Cardiac Vagal Tone ◽

Series Analysis

A time-series analysis of heart rate variability was evaluated as a marker of cardiac vagal tone using well-characterized autonomic interventions. Heart period (R-R interval) was recorded in 14 mongrel dogs from which the amplitude of the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (0.24-1.04 Hz) was determined. Exercise elicited significant (P less than 0.01) reductions in the index of vagal tone (control 6.3 +/- 0.3 ln ms2 vs. exercise 2.4 +/- 0.4 ln ms2) that were accompanied by significant (P less than 0.01) increases in heart rate (control 123.1 +/- 5 vs. exercise 201.0 +/- 7.7 beats/min). The vagal tone index remained greater than 0 throughout exercise. After propranolol HCl pretreatment, the vagal tone index rapidly decreased toward zero (control 6.2 +/- 0.5; exercise 0.7 +/- 0.3 ln ms2), despite significantly lower increases in heart rate (control 109.3 +/- 4.2; exercise 178.0 +/- 7.6 beats/min). Atropine given during exercise evoked significantly greater increases in heart rate in the control (+48.7 +/- 7.9 beats/min) vs. propranolol (+14.2 +/- 6.7 beats/min) conditions. These data suggest that 1) high levels of cardiac vagal tone remain during exercise; 2) vagal withdrawal is largely responsible for the heart rate increase after beta-adrenergic receptor blockade; and 3) time-series analysis of the R-R interval can provide a dynamic and noninvasive index of cardiac vagal tone.

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Effects of hypercapnia and hypoxemia on respiratory sinus arrhythmia in conscious humans during spontaneous respiration

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.00817.2006 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 292 (5) ◽

pp. H2397-H2407 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Y. C. Tzeng ◽

P. D. Larsen ◽

D. C. Galletly

Keyword(s):

Tidal Volume ◽

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Amplitude Ratio ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Mean Amplitude ◽

Spontaneous Respiration ◽

Vagal Activity ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Amplitude Increase

Normally, at rest, the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) appears to correlate with cardiac vagal tone. However, recent studies showed that, under stress, RSA dissociates from vagal tone, indicating that separate mechanisms might regulate phasic and tonic vagal activity. This dissociation has been linked to the hypothesis that RSA improves pulmonary gas exchange through preferential distribution of heartbeats in inspiration. We examined the effects of hypercapnia and mild hypoxemia on RSA-vagal dissociation in relation to heartbeat distribution throughout the respiratory cycle in 12 volunteers. We found that hypercapnia, but not hypoxemia, was associated with significant increases in heart rate (HR), tidal volume, and RSA amplitude. The RSA amplitude increase remained statistically significant after adjustment for respiratory rate, tidal volume, and HR. Moreover, the RSA amplitude increase was associated with a paradoxical rise in HR and decrease in low-frequency-to-high-frequency mean amplitude ratio derived from spectral analysis, which is consistent with RSA-vagal dissociation. Although hypercapnia was associated with a significant increase in the percentage of heartbeats during inspiration, this association was largely secondary to increases in the inspiratory period-to-respiratory period ratio, rather than RSA amplitude. Additional model analyses of RSA were consistent with the experimental data. Heartbeat distribution did not change during hypoxemia. These results support the concept of RSA-vagal dissociation during hypercapnia; however, the putative role of RSA in optimizing pulmonary perfusion matching requires further experimental validation.

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Parent conflict predicts infants' vagal regulation in social interaction

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s095457940999023x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 23-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Ginger A. Moore

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Future Research ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Male And Female ◽

Physiological Regulation ◽

Parent Conflict ◽

Still Face Paradigm

AbstractParent conflict during infancy may affect rapidly developing physiological regulation. To examine the association between parent conflict and infants' vagal tone functioning, mothers (N = 48) reported levels of parent conflict and their 6-month-old male and female infants' respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured in the still-face paradigm. Higher parent conflict was related to lower RSA at baseline and each episode of the still-face paradigm. Infants in relatively higher conflict families showed attenuated RSA withdrawal in response to mothers' disengagement and attenuated RSA activation when interacting with mothers. Findings suggest atypical RSA regulation and reliance on self-regulation for infants in families with moderate levels of parent conflict. Implications for later development and future research are discussed.

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Autonomic response to coronary occlusion in animals susceptible to ventricular fibrillation

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.1989.257.6.h1886 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 257 (6) ◽

pp. H1886-H1894 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

M. N. Collins ◽

G. E. Billman

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Ventricular Fibrillation ◽

Coronary Occlusion ◽

Rate Increase ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Autonomic Response ◽

Acute Ischemia ◽

Heart Rate Increase ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Cardiac Vagal Tone

Disturbances in autonomic control during myocardial ischemia may contribute significantly to the development of malignant cardiac arrhythmias. Therefore acute ischemia was induced in 29 mongrel dogs with healed myocardial infarctions during an exercise test. Seventeen animals developed ventricular fibrillation (susceptible, S), whereas 12 dogs did not (resistant, R). Before the exercise plus ischemia test a coronary occlusion was made at rest. The amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (0.24- to 1.04-Hz component of R-R interval fluctuation) was used as an index of cardiac vagal tone. Acute ischemia elicited a significantly larger heart rate increase in susceptible animals (S: control 115.6 +/- 0.8, occlusion 176.4 +/- 8.2 beats/min vs. R: control 114.6 +/- 8.9, occlusion 145.7 +/- 7.5 beats/min). Accompanying the heart rate increase were significantly greater reductions in the cardiac vagal tone index in the susceptible animals. (S: control 6.4 +/- 0.3, occlusion 2.2 +/- 0.6 ln ms2 vs. R: control 6.6 +/- 0.4, occlusion 5.1 +/- 0.5 ln ms2). beta-Adrenergic receptor blockade reduced the heart rate increases but exacerbated the reductions in the cardiac vagal tone index. These data suggest that coronary artery occlusion elicits a significantly greater increase in sympathetic activity coupled with a greater reduction in parasympathetic activity in animals subsequently shown to be susceptible to ventricular fibrillation.

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