Abstract
A previous study has shown that greater cardiac vagal tone, reflecting effective self-regulatory capacity, was correlated
with superior visual discrimination of fearful faces at high spatial frequency Park et al. (Biological Psychology 90:171–178,
2012b). The present study investigated whether individual differences in cardiac vagal tone (indexed by heart rate variability)
were associated with different event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to fearful and neutral faces. Thirty-six
healthy participants discriminated the emotion of fearful and neutral faces at broad, high, and low spatial frequencies, while ERPs were recorded. Participants with low resting heart rate variability—characterized by poor functioning of regulatory systems—exhibited significantly greater N200
activity in response to fearful faces at low spatial frequency and greater LPP responses to neutral faces at high spatial
frequency. Source analyses—estimated by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA)—tended to show
that participants with low resting heart rate variability exhibited increased source activity in visual areas, such as the
cuneus and the middle occipital gyrus, as compared with participants with high resting heart rate variability. The hyperactive
neural activity associated with low cardiac vagal tone may account for hypervigilant response patterns and emotional dysregulation,
which heightens the risk of developing physical and emotional problems.
with superior visual discrimination of fearful faces at high spatial frequency Park et al. (Biological Psychology 90:171–178,
2012b). The present study investigated whether individual differences in cardiac vagal tone (indexed by heart rate variability)
were associated with different event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to fearful and neutral faces. Thirty-six
healthy participants discriminated the emotion of fearful and neutral faces at broad, high, and low spatial frequencies, while ERPs were recorded. Participants with low resting heart rate variability—characterized by poor functioning of regulatory systems—exhibited significantly greater N200
activity in response to fearful faces at low spatial frequency and greater LPP responses to neutral faces at high spatial
frequency. Source analyses—estimated by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA)—tended to show
that participants with low resting heart rate variability exhibited increased source activity in visual areas, such as the
cuneus and the middle occipital gyrus, as compared with participants with high resting heart rate variability. The hyperactive
neural activity associated with low cardiac vagal tone may account for hypervigilant response patterns and emotional dysregulation,
which heightens the risk of developing physical and emotional problems.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-17
- DOI 10.3758/s13415-012-0111-0
- Authors
- Gewnhi Park, Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Goyang, Republic of Korea
- Eunok Moon, Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Goyang, Republic of Korea
- Do-Won Kim, Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Goyang, Republic of Korea
- Seung-Hwan Lee, Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Goyang, Republic of Korea
- Journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
- Online ISSN 1531-135X
- Print ISSN 1530-7026