U.S. Army Research Laboratory, United States.
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, United States.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2018 Mar;125:10-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.01.009. Epub 2018 Feb 2.
The relationships between vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and the cognitive mechanisms underlying performance can be elucidated with ex-Gaussian modeling-an approach that quantifies two different forms of intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). To this end, the current study examined relations of resting vmHRV to whole-distribution and ex-Gaussian IIV. Subjects (N = 83) completed a 5-minute baseline while vmHRV (root mean square of successive differences; RMSSD) was measured. Ex-Gaussian (sigma, tau) and whole-distribution (standard deviation) estimates of IIV were derived from reaction times on a Stroop task. Resting vmHRV was found to be inversely related to tau (exponential IIV) but not to sigma (Gaussian IIV) or the whole-distribution standard deviation of RTs. Findings suggest that individuals with high vmHRV can better prevent attentional lapses but not difficulties with motor control. These findings inform the differential relationships of cardiac vagal control to the cognitive processes underlying human performance.
迷走神经介导的心率变异性（vmHRV）与表现背后的认知机制之间的关系可以通过外伽马模型来阐明——这是一种量化反应时间（RT）个体内变异性（IIV）的两种不同形式的方法。为此，本研究考察了静息 vmHRV 与整体分布和外伽马 IIV 的关系。受试者（N=83）完成了 5 分钟的基线测量，同时测量了 vmHRV（连续差异的均方根；RMSSD）。从 Stroop 任务的反应时间中得出了外伽马（sigma，tau）和整体分布（标准偏差）的 IIV 估计值。研究发现，静息 vmHRV 与 tau（指数 IIV）呈负相关，但与 sigma（正态 IIV）或 RT 的整体分布标准偏差无关。研究结果表明，vmHRV 较高的个体可以更好地防止注意力不集中，但不能改善运动控制困难。这些发现为心脏迷走神经控制与人类表现背后的认知过程的差异关系提供了信息。
