Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Performance Psychology Department, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University, Cologne, Germany.
Psychophysiology. 2024 Sep;61(9):e14606. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14606. Epub 2024 Jun 12.
Adapting to the ever-changing demands of the environment requires a complex interplay between cognitive-affective, neuronal, and autonomic processes. Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is positively associated with both cognitive-affective functioning and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. Accordingly, the Neurovisceral Integration Model has posited a shared role of the PFC in the regulation of cognitive-affective processes and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. While there are numerous correlational findings in this regard, no study so far has investigated whether the manipulation of PFC activity induces changes in vmHRV and cognitive-affective processing in an inter-dependent manner. In a sample of 64 participants, we examined the effects of continuous (cTBS; n = 21) and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS; n = 20) compared to sham stimulation (n = 23) over the left dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) on vmHRV and cognitive-affective processing within an emotional stop-signal task (ESST). Our results revealed that both resting vmHRV and vmHRV reactivity predicted cognitive-affective processing. Furthermore, we found a dampening effect of cTBS on resting and on-task vmHRV, as well as an enhancing effect of iTBS on ESST performance. Our results show no direct association between vmHRV changes and ESST performance alterations following stimulation. We interpret our results in the light of a hierarchical model of neurovisceral integration, suggesting a dynamical situation-dependent recruitment of higher-order cortical areas like the dlPFC in the regulation of the ANS. In conclusion, our results highlight the complex interplay between PFC activity, autonomic regulation, and cognitive-affective processing, emphasizing the need for further research to understand the causal dynamics of the underlying neural mechanisms.
适应环境的不断变化需要认知情感、神经元和自主过程之间的复杂相互作用。迷走神经介导的心率变异性（vmHRV）与认知情感功能和前额叶皮层（PFC）活动呈正相关。因此，神经内脏整合模型假设 PFC 在调节认知情感过程和自主神经系统（ANS）活动方面具有共同作用。尽管在这方面有许多相关发现，但迄今为止没有研究调查 PFC 活动的操纵是否以相互依赖的方式引起 vmHRV 和认知情感处理的变化。在 64 名参与者的样本中，我们研究了连续（cTBS；n = 21）和间歇性 theta 爆发刺激（iTBS；n = 20）与假刺激（n = 23）相比，在左背外侧前额叶皮层（dlPFC）对情绪停止信号任务（ESST）中 vmHRV 和认知情感处理的影响。我们的结果表明，静息 vmHRV 和 vmHRV 反应性均预测认知情感处理。此外，我们发现 cTBS 对静息和任务 vmHRV 有抑制作用，而 iTBS 对 ESST 表现有增强作用。我们的结果表明，刺激后 vmHRV 变化与 ESST 表现改变之间没有直接关联。我们根据神经内脏整合的层次模型解释我们的结果，表明在调节 ANS 时，较高层次皮质区域（如 dlPFC）的动态情况相关招募。总之，我们的结果强调了 PFC 活动、自主调节和认知情感处理之间的复杂相互作用，强调需要进一步研究以了解潜在神经机制的因果动态。
