Increased cardiac vagal tone in childhood-only, adolescent-only, and persistently antisocial teenagers: the mediating role of low heart rate.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac vagal tone is an indicator of parasympathetic nervous system functioning, and there is increasing interest in its relation to antisocial behavior. It is unclear however whether antisocial individuals are characterized by increased or decreased vagal tone, and whether increased vagal tone is the source of the low heart rate frequently reported in antisocial populations. METHODS: Participants consisted of four groups of community-dwelling adolescent boys aged 15.7 years: (1) controls, (2) childhood-only antisocial, (3) adolescent-only antisocial, and (4) persistently antisocial. Heart rate and vagal tone were assessed in three different conditions: rest, cognitive stressor, and social stressor. RESULTS: All three antisocial groups had both lower resting heart rates and increased vagal tone compared to the low antisocial controls across all three conditions. Low heart rate partially mediated the relationship between vagal tone and antisocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that increased vagal tone and reduced heart rate are relatively broad risk factors for different developmental forms of antisocial behavior. Findings are the first to implicate vagal tone as an explanatory factor in understanding heart rate - antisocial behavior relationships. Future experimental work using non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation or heart rate variability biofeedback is needed to more systematically evaluate this conclusion.

Publication guidelines for human heart rate and heart rate variability studies in psychophysiology-Part 1: Physiological underpinnings and foundations of measurement.

This Committee Report provides methodological, interpretive, and reporting guidance for researchers who use measures of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in psychophysiological research. We provide brief summaries of best practices in measuring HR and HRV via electrocardiographic and photoplethysmographic signals in laboratory, field (ambulatory), and brain-imaging contexts to address research questions incorporating measures of HR and HRV. The Report emphasizes evidence for the strengths and weaknesses of different recording and derivation methods for measures of HR and HRV. Along with this guidance, the Report reviews what is known about the origin of the heartbeat and its neural control, including factors that produce and influence HRV metrics. The Report concludes with checklists to guide authors in study design and analysis considerations, as well as guidance on the reporting of key methodological details and characteristics of the samples under study. It is expected that rigorous and transparent recording and reporting of HR and HRV measures will strengthen inferences across the many applications of these metrics in psychophysiology. The prior Committee Reports on HR and HRV are several decades old. Since their appearance, technologies for human cardiac and vascular monitoring in laboratory and daily life (i.e., ambulatory) contexts have greatly expanded. This Committee Report was prepared for the Society for Psychophysiological Research to provide updated methodological and interpretive guidance, as well as to summarize best practices for reporting HR and HRV studies in humans.

Maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity to frustration interact to predict teacher-reported aggression among at-risk preschoolers.

BACKGROUND: Aggression is a transdiagnostic indicator of risk and represents one of the most common reasons children are referred for mental health treatment. Theory and research highlight the impact of maternal invalidation on child aggression and suggest that its influence may vary based on differences in child physiological reactivity. Moreover, the interaction between these risk factors may be particularly pronounced among children of mothers with emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. The current study examined the independent and interactive effects of maternal invalidation and child physiological reactivity to frustration on teacher-reported aggression in an at-risk sample of preschool children. METHOD: Participants included 77 mothers (Mage = 33.17 years, s.d. = 4.83; 35% racial/ethnic minority) and their children (Mage = 42.48 months; s.d. = 3.78; 56% female; 47% racial/ethnic minority). Groups of mothers with and without clinician-rated ER difficulties reported on maternal invalidation, and child respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was assessed continuously during a frustration task as an indicator of physiological reactivity. Teachers or daycare providers reported on child aggression. RESULTS: Results demonstrated positive associations between maternal ER difficulties and both maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity to frustration. As expected, the interaction between maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity was significant, such that higher maternal invalidation and greater child RSA reactivity to frustration predicted more aggression in a daycare or preschool setting. Importantly, this effect was demonstrated while controlling for demographic covariates and baseline RSA. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are in line with diathesis-stress and biosocial models of risk and point to multiple targets for prevention and early intervention.

Cardiac timing and threatening stimuli influence response inhibition and ex-Gaussian parameters of reaction time in a Go/No-go task.

Sensorimotor responses vary as a function of the cardiac cycle phase. These effects, known as cardiac cycle time effects, have been explained by the inhibition of cardiac afferent signals on information processing. However, the validity of cardiac cycle time effects is challenged by mixed findings. Factors such as current information processing and affective context may modulate cardiac cycle time effects and account for inconsistencies in the literature. The current study examines the influence of cardiac cycle time and threatening stimuli on two aspects of sensorimotor processing, response speed and inhibition. Thirty-four participants (Mage  = 19.35 years; 29 female) completed an auditory Go/No-go task in no face, neutral face, and fearful face conditions. Faces were presented at either cardiac diastole or systole. Participants' reaction times (RTs) during Go trials and failures in response inhibition during No-go trials were recorded. The ex-Gaussian model was fit to RT data in each condition deriving the parameters, mu (µ) and tau (τ), that indicate response speed and attentional lapses, respectively. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyze behavioral data. Results showed that cardiac systole prolonged µ but decreased τ, and that cardiac diastole reduced inhibition errors in the fearful face condition but not in other conditions. These findings indicate that cardiac timing differentially modulates sensory-perceptual and top-down attentional processes and cardiac timing interacts with threatening contexts to influence response inhibition. These results highlight the specificity of cardiac cycle time effects on sensorimotor processing.

The role of youths' cardiac autonomic balance and parental responses to youth emotion in vulnerability to borderline personality disorder development.

Developmental models of borderline personality disorder (BPD) emphasize the effects of youths' biological vulnerabilities and their experiences of parental responses to emotion, as well as the interaction between these two elements. The current study evaluated the independent and interactive effects of two indices of autonomic nervous system response and parental responses to youth negative emotions on severity and exacerbation of youths' BPD features during the transition to adolescence. The sample consisted of 162 psychiatric youth (10-14 years; 47.2% female) and their parents. At baseline, youth and their parents completed a lab-based conflict discussion during which parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system response were measured and indices of sympathetic-parasympathetic balance and coactivation/coinhibition were calculated. Youth also reported on supportive and non-supportive parental responses. At baseline and after 9 months, youth self-reported on their BPD features. Results demonstrated that shifting toward sympathetic dominance independently predicted exacerbation of BPD across 9 months. Additionally, fewer experiences of supportive parental responses and more non-supportive parental responses were associated with greater severity of BPD features in youth. This study highlights the role of autonomic response to parent-child conflict as well as the significance of parental responses to youth emotion for the development of BPD during this developmental window.

Isotemporal Associations of Device-Measured Sedentary Time and Physical Activity with Cardiac-Autonomic Regulation in Previously Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: High sedentary time (ST) and low physical activity may increase cardiovascular risk, potentially though cardiac-autonomic dysregulation. This study investigated associations of statistically exchanging device-measured ST and physical activity with measures of cardiac-autonomic regulation in previously pregnant women. METHOD: This cross-sectional, secondary analysis included 286 women (age = 32.6 ± 5.7 years; 68% white) measured 7-15 years after delivery. ST and light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA), and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity physical activity were measured by ActiGraph GT3X. ST was further partitioned into long (≥ 30 min) and short (< 30 min) bouts. MVPA was also partitioned into long (≥ 10 min) and short (< 10 min) bouts. Cardiac-autonomic regulation was assessed by heart rate variability (HRV) (resting heart rate, natural log transformed standard deviation of normal R-R intervals [lnSDNN], natural log-transformed root mean square of successive differences [lnRMSSD]) from a 5-min seated ECG. Progressive isotemporal substitution models adjusted for confounders. Sensitivity analyses removed women with related underlying medical conditions and who did not meet respiration rate criteria. RESULTS: Initial analyses found no significant associations with HRV when exchanging 30 min of ST and physical activity (p > 0.05). Yet, replacing long- and short-bout ST with 30 min of long-bout MVPA yielded significantly higher (healthier) lnRMSSD (B = 0.063 ± 0.030 and B = 0.056 ± 0.027, respectively; both p < 0.05). Sensitivity analyses strengthened these associations and yielded further associations of higher lnSDNN and lnRMSSD when replacing 30 min of short-bout MVPA with equivalent amounts of long-bout MVPA (B = 0.074 ± 0.037 and B = 0.091 ± 0.046, respectively). CONCLUSION: Replacing ST with long-bout MVPA is a potential strategy to improve cardiac-autonomic function in previously pregnant women.

Attention and sensory integration for postural control in young adults with autism spectrum disorders.

Postural control impairments have been reported in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Balance relies on the integration of multisensory cues, a process that requires attention. The purpose of this study was to determine if the influence of attention demands on sensory integration abilities relevant for balance partially contributes to postural control impairments in ASD. Young adults with ASD (N = 24) and neurotypical participants (N = 24) were exposed to sensory perturbations during standing. An established dual-task paradigm was used, requiring participants to maintain balance in these sensory challenging environments and to perform auditory information processing tasks (simple reaction time task and choice reaction time task). Balance was assessed using sway magnitude and sway speed, and attention demands were evaluated based on the response time in the auditory tasks. While young adults with ASD were able to maintain balance in destabilizing sensory conditions, they were more challenged (greater sway speed) than their neurotypical counterparts. Additionally, when exposed for an extended amount of time (3 min) to the most challenging sensory condition included in this study, adults with ASD exhibited a reduced ability to adapt their postural control strategies (sway speed was minimally reduced), demonstrating a postural inflexibility pattern in ASD compared to neurotypical counterparts. Finally, the impact of performing an auditory information processing task on balance and the dual-task cost on information processing (response time) was similar in both groups. ASD may disrupt temporal adaptive postural control processes associated with sensory reweighting that occurs in neurotypicals.

RSA reactivity to parent-child conflict as a predictor of dysregulated emotion and behavior in daily life.

BACKGROUND: Individual variability in tonic (resting) and phasic (reactivity) respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may underlie risk for dysregulated emotion and behavior, two transdiagnostic indicators that permeate most psychological disorders in youth. The interaction between tonic and phasic RSA may specify unique physiological profiles during the transition to adolescence. The current study utilized clinically referred youth (Mage = 12.03; s.d. = 0.92) to examine baseline RSA, RSA reactivity, and their interaction as predictors of dysregulated emotion and behavior in daily life. METHOD: Participants were 162 youth (47% female; 60% minority) in psychiatric treatment for any mood or behavior problem. RSA was assessed during three, 2-minute baselines and an 8-minute parent-child conflict discussion task. Dysregulated emotion and behavior were assessed during a 4-day ecological momentary assessment protocol that included 10 time-based prompts over a long weekend. RESULTS: Greater RSA withdrawal to the conflict was associated with dysregulated basic emotion (sadness, anger, nervousness, stress) in daily life. Two distinct interactions also emerged, such that baseline RSA was related to dysregulated complex emotion (shame, guilt, loneliness, emptiness) and dysregulated behavior as a function of RSA reactivity to conflict. Lower baseline RSA and greater RSA withdrawal were associated with dysregulated complex emotion, while higher baseline RSA and greater RSA withdrawal were associated with dysregulated behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Findings point to physiological profiles that increase the risk of dysregulated emotion and behavior during the transition to adolescence. Excessive RSA withdrawal uniquely, and in combination with baseline RSA, increased risk for dysregulation in daily life, underscoring the role of autonomic stress responding as a risk factor for psychopathology.

The relationship between resting heart rate and aggression in males is racially variant.

Although resting heart rate is thought to be a generalizable risk factor for aggression, very little research has examined whether this relationship varies by race. We addressed this limitation using longitudinal data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Current data are from 197 men who participated in a teenage biosocial study (mean age = 15.7 years) and adult follow-up study (mean age = 32.1 years). Teenage resting heart rate interacted with race to predict teenage and adult aggression. The relationship between heart rate and aggression was significant in White, but not in Black males. To our knowledge, this is the first study to find that the relationship between resting heart rate and aggression is racially variant, suggesting that resting heart rate may not be a generalizable biomarker for conduct problems. At an intervention-level, findings could contribute to the development of more accurate risk assessment tools that take into account racial variance in risk factors.

Prospective Associations of Adolescent Conscientiousness With Psychological Resources and Metabolic Syndrome in Black and White Men.

OBJECTIVE: Conscientiousness predicts better psychological resources as well as lower cardiovascular mortality and lower metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk. However, the benefits of conscientiousness might be amplified, disabled, or reversed in disadvantaged groups. This study is the first to test these competing hypotheses for prospective associations between adolescent conscientiousness and adult psychological resources and MetS. METHOD: Participants were 220 men (54.6% black) from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Adolescent conscientiousness (M [SD] age = 16 [1]) was rated by participants and their parents. Adult (M [SD] age = 32 [1]) socioeconomic status (SES; occupation and education), psychological resources (composite of positive affect, purpose in life, optimism, self-mastery, and self-esteem), and MetS scores (glucose, lipids, waist circumference, and blood pressure) were measured. Hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate the association of conscientiousness with adult psychological resources and MetS scores, with testing of moderation by race and SES. RESULTS: Self- and parent-reported conscientiousness were associated with better psychological resources (ßs = 0.23-0.29, ps ≤ .015), with no moderation by race or socioeconomic status. In the full sample, a three-way interaction of self-reported conscientiousness, race, and SES was obtained for MetS (ß = 0.12, p = .093). Subgroup analysis indicated that self-reported conscientiousness was related to higher MetS scores in low SES black men (ßint = -0.22, p = .022), but there was no comparable linear (ßs ≤ 0.08, ps ≥ .50) or interaction (ßs ≤ -0.13 ps ≥ .25) pattern in white men. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent conscientiousness was beneficial for adult psychological resources, regardless of race or SES. However, there may be physiological costs of conscientiousness for black men from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Depressive Symptoms During Childhood and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Black and White Men.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive symptoms and major depression predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors in adulthood. Evidence regarding the role of depression in the development of CVD risk in youth is minimal. The study evaluated the prospective relationship of depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence with adult CVD risk factors in black and white men. METHODS: Health behaviors and medical history were measured in 165 black and 146 white men (mean age = 32); a subset in the Pittsburgh area had a fasting blood draw to measure metabolic syndrome and inflammation. Adult CVD risk factors were related to depressive symptoms and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) prospectively measured annually from ages 7 to 16 years, followed by adjustments for adult SES and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Men with higher depressive symptoms ages 7 to 16 smoked more cigarettes, B = 0.28 (standard error = 0.12), p = .015, and ate fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, B = -0.08 (0.04), p = .040, as adults. The association for smoking was independent of adult depressive symptoms (concurrent) and childhood and adult SES as well as race. Depressive symptoms during childhood were unrelated to the metabolic syndrome or biomarkers of inflammation in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms in childhood may predict later adverse health behaviors in black and white men. No evidence was found for an association between childhood depressive symptoms with metabolic syndrome or inflammation markers at ages approximately 32 years. The nature of the sample and lack of measurement of depressive disorder diagnosis tempers the conclusions, and future research is needed to determine associations with biological measures at later life span phases.

Inhibition and decision-processing speed are associated with performance on dynamic posturography in older adults.

Changes in cognition due to age have been associated with falls and reduced standing postural control. Sensory integration is one component of postural control that may be influenced by certain aspects of cognitive functioning. This study investigated associations between measures of cognitive function and sensory integration capabilities for healthy young and older adults. Dynamic posturography was performed using the Equitest Sensory Organization Test (SOT) protocol to evaluate sensory integration during standing using sway-referencing of the platform and/or visual scene to alter somatosensory and visual inputs. The Equilibrium Score was used as a measure of sway. Cognitive testing examined aspects of cognitive function that have been associated with falls in older adults. A correlational analysis investigated associations between the cognitive measures and postural sway during the altered sensory conditions of the SOT. For older subjects only, slower decision-processing speed was associated with increased sway during SOT conditions whenever somatosensation was altered. Reduced perceptual inhibition was associated with increased sway whenever somatosensation was intact, and particularly when vision was altered in the presence of somatosensation. Visuospatial construct ability was associated with sway only when the eyes were closed during altered somatosensation. Task-switching was associated with sway only when vision and somatosensation were intact. With increased age, deficits in decision speed and inhibition appear associated with the sensory integration crucial for balance maintenance. Associations are modulated by the availability of somatosensation and vision. These associations define situations and individual differences in aspects of cognition that may relate to situational loss of balance in older adults.

Heart rate and hurtful behavior from teens to adults: Paths to adult health.

A low resting heart rate across development from infancy to young adulthood relates to greater aggression/hostility. Adult aggression and a high heart rate relate to health risk. Do some aggressive individuals retain low heart rate and less health risk across development while others show high heart rate and more risk? A longitudinal sample of 203 men assessed as teens (age 16.1) and adults (mean age 32.0) permitted us to assess (a) stability of heart rate levels and reactivity, (b) stability of aggression/hostility, and (c) whether change or stability related to health risk. Adults were assessed with Buss-Perry measures of aggression/hostility; teens with the Zuckerman aggression/hostility measure. Mean resting heart rate, heart rate reactivity to speech preparation, and aggression/hostility were moderately stable across development. Within age periods, mean heart rate level, but not reactivity, was negatively related to hostility/aggression. Maintaining low heart rate into adulthood was related to better health among aggressive individuals relative to those with increasing heart rate into adulthood. Analyses controlled for weight gain, socioeconomic status, race, health habits, and medication. Low heart rate as a characteristic of hostile/aggressive individuals may continue to relate to better health indices in adulthood, despite possible reversal of this relationship with aging.

Perceptual Inhibition Associated with Sensory Integration for Balance in Older Adults.

AIMS: Inhibition associated with perception has been implicated in sensory integration processes for balance when sensory conflict occurs. The current study examines the associations of three measures of inhibition (perceptual inhibition, motor inhibition, and Stroop interference) with standing balance under sensory conflict conditions in younger and older adults. METHODS: Perceptual inhibition, motor inhibition, and Stroop interference were measured in younger and older subjects. Standing balance under conditions of sensory conflict was evaluated using a modified dynamic posturography protocol. Correlative analysis was performed to examine the associations between the inhibition measures and sway. RESULTS: In older adults only, perceptual inhibition was correlated with sway when sensory conflict was present. Stroop interference and motor inhibition were not significantly correlated with sway under any posturography conditions. CONCLUSION: Measures of perceptual inhibition are associated with reduced sensory integration capability for balance during sensory conflict conditions in older adults.

Regional Gray Matter Volumes as Related to Psychomotor Slowing in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Psychomotor slowing is a common cognitive complication in type 1 diabetes (T1D), but its neuroanatomical correlates and risk factors are unclear. In nondiabetic adults, smaller gray matter volume (GMV) and presence of white matter hyperintensities are associated with psychomotor slowing. We hypothesize that smaller GMV in prefronto-parietal regions explains T1D-related psychomotor slowing. We also inspect the contribution of microvascular disease and hyperglycemia. METHODS: GMV, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and glucose levels were measured concurrently with a test of psychomotor speed (Digit Symbol Substitution Test [DSST]) in 95 adults with childhood-onset T1D (mean age/duration = 49/41 years) and 135 similarly aged non-T1D adults. Linear regression models tested associations between DSST and regional GMV, controlling for T1D, sex, and education; a bootstrapping method tested whether regional GMV explained between-group differences in DSST. For the T1D cohort, voxel-based and a priori regions-of-interest methods further tested associations between GMV and DSST, adjusting for WMH, hyperglycemia, and age. RESULTS: Bilateral putamen, but no other regions examined, significantly attenuated DSST differences between the cohorts (bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effects: -3.49, -3.26; 95% confidence interval = -5.49 to -1.80, -5.29 to -1.44, left and right putamen, respectively). Among T1D, DSST was positively associated with GMV of bilateral putamen and left thalamus. Neither WMH, hyperglycemia, age, nor other factors substantially modified these relationships. CONCLUSIONS: For middle-aged adults with T1D and cerebral microvascular disease, GMV of basal ganglia may play a critical role in regulating psychomotor speed, as measured via DSST. Studies to quantify the impact of basal ganglia atrophy concurrent with WMH progression on psychomotor slowing are warranted.

Omega-3 Supplementation and the Neural Correlates of Negative Affect and Impulsivity: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Midlife Adults.

OBJECTIVE: In clinical trials, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves symptoms in psychiatric disorders involving dysregulated mood and impulse control, yet it is unclear whether in healthy adults, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation affects mood, impulse control, and the brain systems supporting these processes. Accordingly, this study tested the hypotheses that eciosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid supplementation reduces negative affect and impulsive behaviors in healthy adults and that these changes correspond to alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems, which support affective and impulsive processes. METHODS: Healthy volunteers (N = 272) consuming 300 mg/d or less of EPA and DHA were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial. The participants received either capsules providing 1000 mg of EPA and 400 mg of DHA versus identical appearing soybean oil capsules per day for 18 weeks. Negative affect and impulsivity were measured by questionnaire and ecological momentary assessment, as well as functional alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems evoked by standardized functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks. RESULTS: There were no group by time interactions for any questionnaire or ecological momentary assessment measures of mood and impulsivity. Likewise, no group by time interactions were observed for functional magnetic resonance imaging responses evoked within corticolimbic and corticostriatal systems. CONCLUSIONS: In healthy adults with low intake of omega-3 fatty acids, moderate-dose supplementation for 18 weeks did not alter affect or impulsive behaviors nor alter corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain functionality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial number NCT00663871.

Child Abuse and Neglect and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease Among Midlife Women.

OBJECTIVE: A childhood history of abuse or neglect may be associated with elevated adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. No studies have examined associations between child abuse/neglect and subclinical CVD using a validated measure of abuse and neglect. We hypothesized that midlife women with a history of childhood abuse or neglect would have increased subclinical CVD beyond standard CVD risk factors. We tested moderation of associations by sleep, hot flashes, and race/ethnicity. METHODS: Two hundred ninety-five midlife women completed the Child Trauma Questionnaire, physiologic hot flash and actigraphic sleep monitoring, blood draw, and carotid ultrasound (intima media thickness [IMT]; plaque). Relations between abuse/neglect and outcomes were tested in linear regression models adjusting for demographic, psychosocial, and CVD risk factors. Interactions with sleep, hot flashes, and race/ethnicity were tested. RESULTS: Forty-five percent of women reported a history of child abuse or neglect. Women with any child abuse or neglect had higher IMT [b(SE) = .039 (.011), p = .001] and carotid plaque [odds ratio (95% [CI] = 1.95 [1.15-3.33]); p = .014] than nonabused/neglected women. Furthermore, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect were associated with higher subclinical CVD. Sexual abuse was associated with higher IMT among nonwhite women. Interactions with sleep time and sleep hot flashes (p values < .05) indicated that higher subclinical CVD with an abuse/neglect history was observed primarily among women sleeping less than 6 hours/night or with sleep hot flashes. CONCLUSIONS: A history of child abuse or neglect is associated with higher subclinical CVD in women, particularly when paired with short sleep or hot flashes. Findings underscore the importance of childhood adversity in midlife women's CVD risk.

Bullying and Being Bullied in Childhood Are Associated With Different Psychosocial Risk Factors for Poor Physical Health in Men.

Bullying and being bullied in childhood are both linked with later adjustment problems. The impact of childhood bullying on risk for poor physical health in adulthood is understudied. Black and White men ( n = 305; mean age = 32.3 years) enrolled in the Pittsburgh Youth Study since the first grade underwent a comprehensive assessment of psychosocial, behavioral, and biological risk factors for poor health. Indices of bullying and being bullied were created by averaging annual ratings collected from participants and their caregivers when the participants were 10 to 12 years old. Results showed that being a bully in childhood was associated with greater stress and aggression and poorer health behaviors in adulthood, whereas being a victim of bullies in childhood was associated with lower socioeconomic resources, less optimism, and greater unfair treatment in adulthood. Unexpectedly, neither bullying nor being bullied in childhood was related to inflammation or metabolic syndrome. Bullying and being bullied in childhood were associated with distinct domains of psychosocial risk in adulthood that may later lead to poor physical health.

Psychophysiological correlates of systemic inflammation in black and white men.

Inflammation plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and levels of circulating inflammatory markers are associated with future CVD risk. However, the physiological mechanisms that control systemic levels of circulating inflammatory markers are not well understood. Here, we explore possible autonomic nervous system mechanisms by testing whether resting and stressor-evoked cardiovascular responses are associated with two markers of systemic inflammation: interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Subjects were 159 black and 129 white men (M=33.0years) who completed a laboratory protocol including an anger recall speech task. Electrocardiography and impedance cardiography data were collected during a resting baseline, the speech task, and a final recovery period. Hierarchical regressions tested whether resting or stressor-evoked levels of heart rate (HR), high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), pre-ejection period (PEP), and pulse transit time (PTT) were associated with CRP or IL-6. Higher resting HR was associated with higher CRP (ß=0.19, p=0.003) and IL-6 (ß=0.13, p<0.05). Similarly, shorter resting PTT was associated with higher CRP (ß=-0.21, p<0.001) and IL-6 (ß=-0.14, p=0.02). In addition, greater stressor-evoked decreases in HF-HRV were associated with higher CRP (ß=-0.14, p=0.01). Associations were independent of age, race, body mass index (BMI), smoking behavior, and socioeconomic status. Resting HF-HRV and PEP were also associated with CRP and IL-6, but associations were not significant after controlling for BMI and smoking behavior. These findings indicate that resting HR and PTT, as well stressor-evoked HF-HRV reactivity, are associated with systemic inflammation. Our results suggest that both tonic and stressor-evoked sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity may contribute to regulation of systemic inflammation.

Sensory and motoric influences on attention dynamics during standing balance recovery in young and older adults.

This study investigated the impact of attention on the sensory and motor actions during postural recovery from underfoot perturbations in young and older adults. A dual-task paradigm was used involving disjunctive and choice reaction time (RT) tasks to auditory and visual stimuli at different delays from the onset of two types of platform perturbations (rotations and translations). The RTs were increased prior to the perturbation (preparation phase) and during the immediate recovery response (response initiation) in young and older adults, but this interference dissipated rapidly after the perturbation response was initiated (<220 ms). The sensory modality of the RT task impacted the results with interference being greater for the auditory task compared to the visual task. As motor complexity of the RT task increased (disjunctive versus choice) there was greater interference from the perturbation. Finally, increasing the complexity of the postural perturbation by mixing the rotational and translational perturbations together increased interference for the auditory RT tasks, but did not affect the visual RT responses. These results suggest that sensory and motoric components of postural control are under the influence of different dynamic attentional processes.