Conscious processing of narrative stimuli synchronizes heart rate between individuals
Conscious processing of narrative stimuli synchronizes heart rate between individuals
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DOI：
10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109692
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发表时间：
2021-09-14
期刊：
影响因子：
8.8
通讯作者：
Sitt, Jacobo D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Perez, Pauline;Madsen, Jens;Sitt, Jacobo D.
心率的自然波动通常被归因于自主神经功能。最近的证据表明，有意识的处理可以影响心跳的时间。我们假设心率是通过有意识的加工来调节的，因此依赖于注意力的集中。为了测试这一点，我们利用观察到的神经过程通过呈现相同的叙事刺激在受试者之间同步。正如预测的那样，当向受试者呈现听觉或视听叙述时，我们发现显著的受试者间心率相关性(ISC-HR)。与我们的假设一致的是，我们发现，当被试从叙事中分心时，ISC-HR会减少，并且ISC-HR越高，对叙事的回忆就越好。最后，与健康人相比，意识障碍患者的ISC-HR较低。我们得出结论，心率波动部分由意识处理驱动，取决于注意力状态，并可能代表一种简单的指标来评估无反应患者的意识状态。
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 synchronize between subjects by presenting an identical narrative stimulus. As predicted, we find significant inter-subject correlation of heart rate (ISC-HR) when subjects are presented with an auditory or audiovisual narrative. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that ISC-HR is reduced when subjects are distracted from the narrative, and higher ISC-HR predicts better recall of the narrative. Finally, patients with disorders of consciousness have lower ISC-HR, as compared to healthy individuals. 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.