Mather Mara, Joo Yoo Hyun, Clewett David V, Lee Tae-Ho, Greening Steven G, Ponzio Allison, Min Jungwon, Thayer Julian F
Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Neuroimage. 2017 Apr 15;150:329-335. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.02.025. Epub 2017 Feb 17.
The locus coeruleus (LC) is a key node of the sympathetic nervous system and suppresses parasympathetic activity that would otherwise increase heart rate variability. In the current study, we examined whether LC-MRI contrast reflecting neuromelanin accumulation in the LC was associated with high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), a measure reflecting parasympathetic influences on the heart. Recent evidence indicates that neuromelanin, a byproduct of catecholamine metabolism, accumulates in the LC through young and mid adulthood, suggesting that LC-MRI contrast may be a useful biomarker of individual differences in habitual LC activation. We found that, across younger and older adults, greater LC-MRI contrast was negatively associated with HF-HRV during fear conditioning and spatial detection tasks. This correlation was not accounted for by individual differences in age or anxiety. These findings indicate that individual differences in LC structure relate to key cardiovascular parameters.
蓝斑（LC）是交感神经系统的关键节点，可抑制副交感神经活动，否则会增加心率变异性。在本研究中，我们检测了反映蓝斑中神经黑色素积累的蓝斑磁共振成像对比度是否与高频心率变异性（HF-HRV）相关，HF-HRV是反映副交感神经对心脏影响的一项指标。最近的证据表明，儿茶酚胺代谢的副产物神经黑色素在青年和中年时期会在蓝斑中积累，这表明蓝斑磁共振成像对比度可能是习惯性蓝斑激活个体差异的有用生物标志物。我们发现，在青年和老年成年人中，在恐惧条件反射和空间检测任务期间，较高的蓝斑磁共振成像对比度与HF-HRV呈负相关。这种相关性不能用年龄或焦虑的个体差异来解释。这些发现表明蓝斑结构的个体差异与关键心血管参数有关。
