Cardiac Vagal Tone in Generalised Anxiety Disorder

1992 ◽  
Vol 161 (6) ◽  
pp. 831-835 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Brainstem sources of cardiac vagal tone and respiratory sinus arrhythmia

2016 ◽  
Vol 594 (24) ◽  
pp. 7249-7265 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G.S. Farmer ◽  
Mathias Dutschmann ◽  
Julian F.R. Paton ◽  
Anthony E. Pickering ◽  
Robin M. McAllen
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Vagal Tone ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Cardiac Vagal Tone

scholarly journals DISTINCT BRAINSTEM ORIGINS OF CARDIAC VAGAL TONE AND RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Farmer ◽  
Mathias Dutschmann ◽  
Anthony Pickering ◽  
Julian Paton ◽  
Robin McAllen
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Vagal Tone ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Cardiac Vagal Tone

A Theoretical Appraisal of the Dependence of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia on Gradual Vagal Blockade

2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (01) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Pyetan ◽  
S. Akselrod
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Vagal Tone ◽  
Vagal Activity ◽  
Theoretical Evaluation ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Cardiac Vagal Tone ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
Vagal Blockade ◽  
The Relationship

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.

Reported Early Separation Anxiety Symptoms in Patients with Panic and Generalised Anxiety Disorders

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick Silove ◽  
Vijaya Manicavasagar ◽  
Dianne O'connell ◽  
Alex Blaszczynski
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Generalised Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Early Separation ◽  
And Control

Attachment theory has proposed that early separation anxiety is a risk factor for adult anxiety disorder, with the recent focus being particularly on panic disorder. The results of empirical studies examining this link are, however, contradictory, possibly because of inconsistencies across studies in measuring memories of early separation anxiety. In the present study, a psychometrically sound measure, the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI) was used to compare memories of such early symptoms in panic disorder (including those with mild phobic-avoidance), generalised anxiety disorder and control subjects. Anxiety patients as a group returned higher SASI scores (p<0.001) with a non-significant trend for panic disorder patients to score higher than those with generalised anxiety. These results suggest that early separation anxiety may be a harbinger of adult anxiety and that risk of panic disorder may be higher in the most severely affected youngsters. As a risk factor, early separation anxiety does not however appear to be uniquely related to adult panic disorder.

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

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.

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

1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (3) ◽  
pp. H896-H902 ◽  
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.

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

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (5) ◽  
pp. H2397-H2407 ◽  
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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