ANALYSIS OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEART RATE AND QT DISPERSION IN YOUNG ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS

The aim of the paper is to study gender differences in spectral characteristics of heart rate and Q-Tcd dispersion in young alcohol-dependent patients. Materials and Methods. The authors examined 60 patients: 30 men and 30 women, their average age was 36.00 (33.75–40.00) and 37.50 (33.75–41.25) years old, respectively. The control group was composed of healthy individuals: 15 men aged 35.00 (29.00–39.00) years old and 15 women aged 31.00 (28.00–40.00) years old. Evaluation of heart rate variability was carried out on a high-resolution ECG apparatus "Poly-Spectrum 8/EX" (Russia), 5-minute recordings were made with further sampling of spectral heart rate indicators. Q-Tcd and QTc dispersion was assessed using a high-resolution ECG device "Poly-Spectrum 8/EX" (Russia) in 12 standard leads lasting 10 seconds each. Agilent 6850 chromograph (USA) was used to estimate blood ethanol concentration. Results. The data on the frequency and severity of the heterogeneity of ventricular myocardium repolarization indicated that men and women with Q-Tcd >70 ms in acute and withdrawal periods dominated over those with borderline Q-Tcd values. The acute period was characterized by a larger number of males with Q-Tcd dispersion >50 ms if compared with women. During the withdrawal period, the number of patients with pathological Q-Tcd dispersion increased. Moreover, the pathology was more obvious in males. There was also a significant decrease in all spectral characteristics of the heart rate in alcohol-dependent patients in the acute and withdrawal periods against the predominance of the sympathetic component (low-frequency heart rate fluctuations) over the parasympathetic one (high-frequency heart rate fluctuations). Conclusions. Alcohol excess in young patients without overt cardiac pathology is accompanied by a decrease in spectral characteristics of heart rate variability and an increase in the QT dispersion. Alcohol-dependent men have more pronounced abnormalities of the repolarization processes than alcohol-dependent women. Gender analysis of spectral parameters shows an equally directional decrease in parameters in alcohol-dependent men and women in comparison with the control group. Key words: spectral characteristics of heart rate variability, HRV, alcohol dependence, corrected Q-Tcd dispersion, corrected QTc interval, QT interval, Q-Td dispersion. Цель – изучение гендерных особенностей спектральных характеристик кардиоритма и дисперсии интервала Q-Tdc у алкогользависимых пациентов молодого возраста. Материалы и методы. Обследовано 60 пациентов: 30 мужчин и 30 женщин, средний возраст 36,00 (33,75–40,00) и 37,50 (33,75–41,25) года соответственно. Контрольную группу составили здоровые лица: 15 мужчин в возрасте 35,00 (29,00–39,00) года и 15 женщин в возрасте 31,00 (28,00–40,00) года. Оценка вариабельности ритма сердца проводилась на аппарате ЭКГ высокого разрешения «Поли-Спектр 8/ЕХ» (Россия) короткими записями длительностью 5 мин с дальнейшей выборкой спектральных показателей ритма сердца. Оценка дисперсии интервалов Q-Tcd и QTc проводилась на аппарате ЭКГ высокого разрешения «Поли-Спектр 8/ЕХ» (Россия) в 12 стандартных отведениях, длительность записи составила 10 с. Концентрация этанола в крови определялась хромографом Agilent 6850 (США). Результаты. Данные по частоте и выраженности гетерогенности процессов реполяризации миокарда желудочков свидетельствуют о преобладании лиц с продолжительностью Q-Tсd более 70 мс среди мужчин и женщин в острый и абстинентный периоды по сравнению с числом пациентов с пограничными значениями Q-Tсd. Острый период характеризуется большим количеством пациентов с дисперсией Q-Tсd более 50 мс у мужчин по сравнению с женской группой. В абстинентный период число лиц с патологической дисперсией Q-Tсd увеличивается, причем несколько быстрее у лиц мужского пола. Также отмечается значительное снижение всех спектральных характеристик кардиоритма у алкогользависимых пациентов в острый и абстинентный периоды алкогольного воздействия на фоне преобладания симпатической составляющей (низкочастотные колебания сердечного ритма) над парасимпатической (высокочастотные колебания сердечного ритма). Выводы. Алкогольный эксцесс у пациентов молодого возраста без манифестной кардиальной патологии сопровождается снижением спектральных характеристик вариабельности ритма сердца и увеличением дисперсии интервала QT. У алкогользависимых мужчин присутствуют более выраженные нарушения процессов реполяризации, чем у алкогользависимых женщин. Гендерный анализ спектральных параметров показывает равнонаправленное снижение показателей у алкогользависимых мужчин и женщин в сравнении с лицами контрольных групп. Ключевые слова: спектральные характеристики кардиоритма, ВРС, алкогольная зависимость, корригированная дисперсия интервала Q-Tcd, корригированный интервал QTc, интервал QT, дисперсия интервала Q-Td.

Active neural coordination of motor behaviors with internal states

The brain continuously coordinates skeletomuscular movements with internal physiological states like arousal, but how is this coordination achieved? One possibility is that brain simply reacts to changes in external and/or internal signals. Another possibility is that it is actively coordinating both external and internal activities. We used functional ultrasound imaging to capture a large medial section of the brain, including multiple cortical and subcortical areas, in marmoset monkeys while monitoring their spontaneous movements and cardiac activity. By analyzing the causal ordering of these different time-series, we found that information flowing from the brain to movements and heart rate fluctuations were significantly greater than in the opposite direction. The brain areas involved in this external versus internal coordination were spatially distinct but also extensively interconnected. Temporally, the brain alternated between network states for this regulation. These findings suggest that the brain’s dynamics actively and efficiently coordinate motor behavior with internal physiology.

Device for measuring heart rate parameters and generating radio-physical feedback signals.

The prototype of the device for radio-physical diagnostics of heart rate has been developed. The modular structure of the device is described. An intelligent sensor is selected for data acquisition and measurement system. Data exchange procedure between sensor and computer is configured on hardware and software level. Digital signal processing algorithms, in particular, filtering, cancelling artifacts of various nature and spectral analysis of biophysical data have been implemented. The results of measuring the heart rate variability are demonstrated. The concept of selecting a signal for organism exposure is represented, which uses information about heart rate fluctuations.

Playing With Fear: A Field Study in Recreational Horror

Haunted attractions are illustrative examples of recreational fear in which people voluntarily seek out frightening experiences in pursuit of enjoyment. We present findings from a field study at a haunted-house attraction where visitors between the ages of 12 and 57 years ( N = 110) were equipped with heart rate monitors, video-recorded at peak scare points during the attraction, and asked to report on their experience. Our results show that enjoyment has an inverted-U-shaped relationship with fear across repeated self-reported measures. Moreover, results from physiological data demonstrate that the experience of being frightened is a linear function of large-scale heart rate fluctuations, whereas there is an inverted-U-shaped relationship between participant enjoyment and small-scale heart rate fluctuations. These results suggest that enjoyment is related to forms of arousal dynamics that are “just right.” These findings shed light on how fear and enjoyment can coexist in recreational horror.

Conscious processing of narrative stimuli synchronizes heart rate between individuals

Heart rate has natural fluctuations that are typically ascribed to autonomic function. Recent evidence suggests that conscious processing can affect the timing of the heartbeat. We hypothesized that heart rate is modulated by conscious processing and therefore dependent on attentional focus. To test this, we leverage the observation that neural processes can be synchronized between subjects by presenting an identical narrative stimulus. As predicted, we find significant inter-subject correlation of the heartbeat (ISC-HR) when subjects are presented with an auditory or audiovisual narrative. Consistent with the conscious processing hypothesis, we find that ISC-HR is reduced when subjects are distracted from the narrative, and that higher heart rate synchronization predicts better recall of the narrative. Finally, patients with disorders of consciousness who are listening to a story have lower ISC-HR, as compared to healthy individuals, and that individual ISC-HR might predict a patients’ prognosis.. We conclude that heart rate fluctuations are partially driven by conscious processing, depend on attentional state, and may represent a simple metric to assess conscious state in unresponsive patients.