Assessing Children's Autonomic Nervous System Activity During Structured Tasks: A Feasibility and Reliability Study in Ghana.

The significance of physiological regulation in relation to behavioral and emotional regulation is well documented, but primarily in economically advantaged contexts. Few studies have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. We investigated the feasibility and reliability of measuring autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and behavior during challenge tasks in 30 children aged 8-10 years in Ghana during two visits, 1 week apart. Completeness of ANS data ranged from 80% to 100% across all tasks. There was low-to-moderate test-retest reliability of video mood induction (VMI) emotion ratings and balloon analog risk task (BART) pumps (r = 0.34-0.52). VMI elicited higher targeted emotion ratings in Visit 2 than Visit 1. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was higher, and pre-ejection period (PEP) was longer at Visit 2 than Visit 1 for baseline and both tasks. RSA was higher at baseline than during the VMI anger scene at Visit 1, whereas PEP was shorter at baseline than during all VMI emotion scenes at Visit 2. RSA was higher at baseline than during BART at both visits. In conclusion, ANS data collection within evocative and arousing challenge tasks was feasible in Ghana, and the tasks were generally reliable and effective in eliciting target emotions and risk-taking behavior in this sample.

Association between PTSD and Impedance Cardiogram-based contractility metrics during trauma recall: A controlled twin study.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an independent risk factor for incident heart failure, but the underlying cardiac mechanisms remained elusive. Impedance cardiography (ICG), especially when measured during stress, can help understand the underlying psychophysiological pathways linking PTSD with heart failure. We investigated the association between PTSD and ICG-based contractility metrics (pre-ejection period (PEP) and Heather index (HI)) using a controlled twin study design with a laboratory-based traumatic reminder stressor. PTSD status was assessed using structured clinical interviews. We acquired synchronized electrocardiograms and ICG data while playing personalized-trauma scripts. Using linear mixed-effects models, we examined twins as individuals and within PTSD-discordant pairs. We studied 137 male veterans (48 pairs, 41 unpaired singles) from Vietnam War Era with a mean (standard deviation) age of 68.5(2.5) years. HI during trauma stress was lower in the PTSD vs. non-PTSD individuals (7.2 vs. 9.3 [ohm/s2 ], p = .003). PEP reactivity (trauma minus neutral) was also more negative in PTSD vs. non-PTSD individuals (-7.4 vs. -2.0 [ms], p = .009). The HI and PEP associations with PTSD persisted for adjusted models during trauma and reactivity, respectively. For within-pair analysis of eight PTSD-discordant twin pairs (out of 48 pairs), PTSD was associated with lower HI in neutral, trauma, and reactivity, whereas no association was found between PTSD and PEP. PTSD was associated with reduced HI and PEP, especially with trauma recall stress. This combination of increased sympathetic activation and decreased cardiac contractility combined may be concerning for increased heart failure risk after recurrent trauma re-experiencing in PTSD.

Unveiling gender differences in psychophysiological dynamics: support for a two-dimensional autonomic space approach.

Introduction: To date, studies focusing on the connection between psychological functioning and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity usually adopted the one-dimensional model of autonomic balance, according to which activation of one branch of the ANS is accompanied by an inhibition of the other. However, the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches also activate independently; thus, co-activation and co-inhibition may occur, which is demonstrated by a two-dimensional model of ANS activity. Here, we apply such models to assess how markers of the autonomic space relate to several critical psychological constructs: emotional contagion (EC), general anxiety, and positive and negative affect (PA and NA). We also examined gender differences in those psychophysiological relations. Methods: In the present study, we analyzed data from 408 healthy students, who underwent a 5-min group baseline period as part of their participation in several experiments and completed self-reported questionnaires. Electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and respiration were recorded. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), pre-ejection period (PEP), as well as cardiac autonomic balance (CAB) and regulation (CAR) and cross-system autonomic balance (CSAB) and regulation (CSAR), were calculated. Results: Notably, two-dimensional models were more suitable for predicting and describing most psychological constructs. Gender differences were found in psychological and physiological aspects as well as in psychophysiological relations. Women's EC scores were negatively correlated with sympathetic activity and positively linked to parasympathetic dominance. Men's PA and NA scores were positively associated with sympathetic activity. PA in men also had a positive link to an overall activation of the ANS, and a negative link to parasympathetic dominance. Discussion: The current results expand our understanding of the psychological aspects of the autonomic space model and psychophysiological associations. Gender differences and strengths and weaknesses of alternative physiological models are discussed.

Arousal, Gray's theory of anxiety, and the etiology of psychopathy.

This paper focuses on Jeffrey Gray's theory of anxiety from the perspective of Fowles' (1980) application of his work to theories of arousal, psychophysiology, and the etiology of psychopathy. Although highly influential, the concept of general arousal failed to find support in terms of between-individuals assessment with multiple physiological measures. Gray's constructs of a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) that mediates anxiety, a behavioral approach or activation system (BAS) that energizes behavior to approach rewards, and a nonspecific arousal system that energizes behavior captured aspects of arousal. Fowles (1980) proposed that the BIS elicits electrodermal activity in response to threats, the BAS increases heart rate in response to reward incentive cues, and psychopathy is associated with a weak BIS. The paper reviews Gray's impact on future research on these topics, including early proposals relevant to the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria. Finally, the paper summarizes the evolution of theories of the etiology of psychopathy since 1980, noting ways in which aspects of Gray's theory are still seen in psychopathy research. Patrick's triarchic model has emerged as a major theory of psychopathy. Beauchaine's trait impulsivity theory of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder also is relevant.

Emotion Regulation via the Autonomic Nervous System in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Replication and Extension.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity, as well as executive dysfunction. Recent work underlines the importance in understanding the role of emotion reactivity and regulatory deficits in the context of the disorder. One study (i.e., Musser et al. 2011) utilized a positive and negative emotion induction and suppression task, as well as indexes of autonomic nervous system reactivity, to examine emotional functioning in youth with ADHD. This study revealed inflexible parasympathetic-based regulation across emotion conditions among youth with ADHD compared to typically developing youth. The present study sought to replicate and extend these findings to a clinically recruited, diverse sample, while also examining sympathetic functioning. Two hundred fifty-nine participants (160 youth with ADHD), aged 5 to 13, completed the task utilized in Musser et al. 2011, while indexes of parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and sympathetic (i.e., pre-ejection period [PEP] and electrodermal activity [EDA]) reactivity were obtained. ADHD was associated with significantly elevated parasympathetic (i.e., augmented RSA) and sympathetic (as indexed by EDA) reactivity. Overall, results replicate and extend Musser et al. 2011, revealing sympathetic-linked disruptions in emotion reactivity and parasympathetic-linked disruptions in emotion regulation among youth with ADHD. Future studies of behavioral therapies for ADHD should consider the efficacy of adding an emotion regulation skills training component.

Comparison of Different Methods for Estimating Cardiac Timings: A Comprehensive Multimodal Echocardiography Investigation.

Cardiac time intervals are important hemodynamic indices and provide information about left ventricular performance. Phonocardiography (PCG), impedance cardiography (ICG), and recently, seismocardiography (SCG) have been unobtrusive methods of choice for detection of cardiac time intervals and have potentials to be integrated into wearable devices. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy and precision of beat-to-beat extraction of cardiac timings from the PCG, ICG and SCG recordings in comparison to multimodal echocardiography (Doppler, TDI, and M-mode) as the gold clinical standard. Recordings were obtained from 86 healthy adults and in total 2,120 cardiac cycles were analyzed. For estimation of the pre-ejection period (PEP), 43% of ICG annotations fell in the corresponding echocardiography ranges while this was 86% for SCG. For estimation of the total systolic time (TST), these numbers were 43, 80, and 90% for ICG, PCG, and SCG, respectively. In summary, SCG and PCG signals provided an acceptable accuracy and precision in estimating cardiac timings, as compared to ICG.

Systolic Time Intervals and New Measurement Methods.

Systolic time intervals have been used to detect and quantify the directional changes of left ventricular function. New methods of recording these cardiac timings, which are less cumbersome, have been recently developed and this has created a renewed interest and novel applications for these cardiac timings. This manuscript reviews these new methods and addresses the potential for the application of these cardiac timings for the diagnosis and prognosis of different cardiac diseases.