Department of Psychology, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2020 Oct;57(10):e13636. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13636. Epub 2020 Jul 13.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has demonstrated utility for identifying alterations in emotion processing associated with common psychopathology, including depression and anxiety. To date though the majority of this ANS research has several limitations. Most studies have examined parasympathetic and sympathetic branches separately, requiring activity in the other branch be inferred. This is problematic as each branch may function independently. Composite indices such as cardiac autonomic balance (CAB) and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR) which examine the relative input between respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period (PEP) should provide more comprehensive measures of autonomic functioning and thus stronger predictors of psychopathology. However, the sympathetic branch is driven by multiple neurotransmitter systems, thus PEP does not necessarily reflect overall SNS arousal. We propose two new metrics for assessing ANS functioning associated with psychopathology: parasympathetic effects on cardiac control (RSA) relative to sympathetic effects on the eccrine system (electrodermal activity, EDA), which we term cross-system autonomic balance (CSAB) and regulation (CSAR). Eighty-five women (18-37) completed a baseline physiological assessment with parasympathetic (RSA) and sympathetic indices (PEP, EDA), along with self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms. Lower CSAB, indicating sympathetic dominance driven by cholinergic neurotransmission, was associated with higher depressive and anxiety symptoms. Lower CAB indicating sympathetic dominance driven by beta-adrenergic neurotransmission was associated specifically with depressive symptoms. CSAB was a more robust index than RSA. Results support the utility of assessing multiple composite ANS indices for identifying physiological substrates of alterations in emotion regulation associated with internalizing disorders.
自主神经系统（ANS）已被证明可用于识别与常见精神病理学相关的情绪处理变化，包括抑郁和焦虑。尽管迄今为止，大多数关于自主神经系统的研究都存在一些局限性。大多数研究分别检查了副交感神经系统和交感神经系统分支，需要推断另一个分支的活动。这是有问题的，因为每个分支可能独立运作。复合指标，如心脏自主平衡（CAB）和心脏自主调节（CAR），检查呼吸窦性心律失常（RSA）和射血前期（PEP）之间的相对输入，应该提供更全面的自主功能测量，从而更好地预测精神病理学。然而，交感神经系统由多种神经递质系统驱动，因此 PEP 不一定反映整体 SNS 唤醒。我们提出了两种评估与精神病理学相关的自主神经系统功能的新指标：副交感神经对心脏控制（RSA）的影响与交感神经对泌汗系统（皮肤电活动，EDA）的影响的相对关系，我们称之为跨系统自主平衡（CSAB）和调节（CSAR）。85 名女性（18-37 岁）完成了基线生理评估，包括副交感神经（RSA）和交感神经指数（PEP、EDA）以及自我报告的抑郁和焦虑症状。较低的 CSAB，表明胆碱能神经递质驱动的交感神经优势，与较高的抑郁和焦虑症状相关。较低的 CAB，表明β-肾上腺素能神经递质驱动的交感神经优势，与抑郁症状特别相关。CSAB 是比 RSA 更强大的指标。结果支持评估多种复合自主神经系统指数的效用，以识别与内化障碍相关的情绪调节变化的生理基础。
