Impaired functional brain-heart interplay sustains emotion dysregulation in depressed individuals

Abstract

Depression is a leading worldwide cause of mental disorders and disability, strongly affecting emotional processing and regulation. Its dysfunctional psycho-physiological dynamics may be part of the a nervous-system-wise symptomatology, impacting not only patients’ psyche but also significantly influencing functional cardiovascular dynamics. Therefore, depression serves as an exemplary pathological manifestation of the dysfunctional interaction between the central and autonomic nervous systems. While recent literature has been developing specific techniques to quantify such interactions, often referred to as functional Brain-Heart Interplay (BHI), the quantitative role of BHI dynamics in depression is largely unknown. This study aims to experimentally unveil BHI patterns specific to emotional regulation and processing in subjects exhibiting depressive symptoms compared to healthy controls. Results were gathered from a cohort of 72 individuals and indicate that depressive symptoms are associated with a continuous efferent central-to-peripheral hyperactivity and an afferent peripheral-to-central hypoactivity. This hypoactivity appears to be specific to negative emotional processing. This study offers novel insights into the systemic investigation of the neuro-physiological bases of depression.