Why Does Heart Rate Variability Matter for Emotion Regulation

摘要 拥有一颗稳定跳动的心脏并不是最理想的。大脑发出关于各种身体状态的信号，包括 有助于加快心跳和增加心跳的振荡节奏的血压和呼吸 心率变异性(HRV)。出于目前尚不清楚的原因，休息时心率变异性越大，就越好 情绪调节与幸福感心率变异性较高的人往往较少焦虑、较少抑郁、较少 充满敌意，并产生更多与背景相适应的情绪反应。一种可能的解释是 心率变异性与情绪调节的关系是同一组大脑区域调节自主神经 状态和情绪，所以心率变异性和情绪调节都反映了一般的健康和有效性 大脑中的中枢自主神经网络。然而，这些影响似乎并不仅仅来自大脑 直击内心。心率-压力感受器反馈环共振频率的起搏呼吸(在 6次/分钟，通常在冥想练习中达到的速度)刺激 心血管系统，因此显著增加心率变异性的总幅度。使用这种方法的最新研究 已经表明，在短时间的日常训练中增加心率变异性可以改善长期的情绪结果。但 目前尚不清楚为什么高心率变异性发作会产生积极影响。这个项目将是第一个检查 这些效应的大脑机制，检验了由共振引起的高心率变异性发作的假设 频繁的呼吸会带来积极的结果，因为它们会引起大脑中的动态血流振荡 监测和调节生理身体状态的区域。我们的实验操作将是为期5周的 随机分配给每日以共振频率进行有节奏呼吸的会话的协议 有两种控制条件。我们测试了共振频率呼吸将增强 情绪幸福感，参与情绪调节的大脑区域之间的静息状态功能连接， 以及在情绪体验过程中杏仁核的灵活上下调节。此外，我们还测试了 假设这些结果将由起搏呼吸过程中的血流变异性而不是通过 替代机制。预期的结果将表明，心率变异性不仅仅是一个指标 健康，在刺激中枢自主神经网络中的大脑区域以改善其功能方面发挥积极作用 协调和发挥作用。

ABSTRACT Having a heart with a steady beat is not optimal. The brain sends signals about various body states including blood pressure and breathing that contribute oscillatory rhythms to the speed of heartbeats and increase heart rate variability (HRV). For reasons that are not yet clear, having greater HRV at rest is associated with better emotion regulation and well-being. People with higher HRV tend to be less anxious, less depressed, less hostile and produce more context-appropriate emotional responses. One potential explanation for the relationship between HRV and emotion regulation is that the same set of brain regions regulates autonomic states and emotions, and so both HRV and emotion regulation reflect the general health and efficacy of this central autonomic network in the brain. However, it appears that the influences do not just flow from the brain to the heart. Paced breathing at the resonance frequency of the heart rate-baroreceptor feedback loop (around 6 breaths/min, a pace often attained during meditative practice) stimulates resonance characteristics of the cardiovascular system and so increases total HRV amplitude dramatically. Recent studies using this approach have shown that increasing HRV during short daily sessions can improve longer-term emotional outcomes. But it is unclear why episodes of high HRV have a positive impact. This project would be the first to examine the brain mechanisms of these effects, testing the hypothesis that episodes of high HRV induced by resonance frequency breathing lead to positive outcomes because they induce dynamic blood flow oscillations in brain regions that monitor and regulate physiological body states. Our experimental manipulation will be a 5-week protocol with random assignment to either a daily session with paced breathing at resonance frequency or one of two control conditions. We test the hypothesis that resonance frequency breathing will enhance measures of emotional well-being, resting state functional connectivity among brain regions involved in emotion regulation, and flexible up- and down-regulation of the amygdala during emotional experience. Furthermore, we test the hypothesis that these outcomes will be mediated by blood flow variability during paced breathing rather than by alternative mechanisms. The expected findings would indicate that HRV is more than just an indicator of health, with an active role in stimulating brain regions in the central autonomic network to improve their coordination and function.