Section for Translational Psychobiology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Psychophysiology. 2018 May;55(5):e13043. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13043. Epub 2017 Dec 7.
Resting state heart rate variability (HRV) is a psychophysiological marker that has gained increasing research interest, in particular in developmental neuroscience. HRV has been shown to be associated with mental and physical health, beyond simple measures of heart rate (HR) and shows inter- and intraindividual variance across aging. Recently, three studies reported on a positive correlation between resting state HRV and cortical thickness in selected regions of interest (ROIs) in adult samples. Structural thickness, HRV, and HR change during the sensitive period of adolescence. Previously, no study has addressed the structural concomitants of resting HR and HRV in adolescents. Cortical thickness (3-T MRI), HR, and HRV were recorded in 20 healthy, female adolescents (mean age: 15.92 years; SD = 1.06; range: 14-17). In line with existing research in adults, cortical thickness in a number of ROIs was associated with resting state HRV but not HR. The comparison of regression analyses using the Bayes factor revealed evidence for a correlation between HRV and cortical thickness of the bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex. However, unlike in adults, greater cortical thickness was associated with reduced HRV in female adolescents. Analyses on HR showed no superior model fit. Results suggest that greater HRV might be beneficial for cortical development during adolescence (cortical thinning). On the other hand, cortical development might determine changes in autonomic nervous system function in adolescents. Future studies are needed to replicate these findings in larger samples including boys and to test these hypotheses in longitudinal designs.
静息心率变异性（HRV）是一种心理生理学标志物，越来越受到研究关注，尤其是在发展神经科学领域。HRV 与身心健康有关，超越了心率（HR）的简单测量，并且在衰老过程中表现出个体间和个体内的差异。最近，三项研究报告称，在成年样本的特定感兴趣区域（ROI）中，静息 HRV 与皮质厚度之间存在正相关。结构厚度、HRV 和 HR 在青春期的敏感时期发生变化。此前，没有研究探讨过青少年静息 HR 和 HRV 的结构伴随物。在 20 名健康的女性青少年（平均年龄：15.92 岁；标准差=1.06；范围：14-17）中记录了皮质厚度（3-T MRI）、HR 和 HRV。与成人的现有研究一致，多个 ROI 的皮质厚度与静息状态 HRV 相关，但与 HR 无关。使用贝叶斯因子进行回归分析的比较显示，HRV 与双侧额前扣带皮质的皮质厚度之间存在相关性。然而，与成年人不同的是，女性青少年的皮质厚度越大，HRV 越低。对 HR 的分析显示，没有更好的模型拟合。结果表明，在青春期（皮质变薄）期间，更大的 HRV 可能对皮质发育有益。另一方面，皮质发育可能决定了青少年自主神经系统功能的变化。需要进一步的研究来在更大的样本中包括男孩来复制这些发现，并在纵向设计中检验这些假设。
