Increasing coordination and responsivity of emotion-related brain regions with a heart rate variability biofeedback randomized trial

Abstract

Heart rate variability is a robust biomarker of emotional well-being, consistent with the shared brain networks regulating emotion regulation and heart rate. While high heart rate oscillatory activity clearly indicates healthy regulatory brain systems, can increasing this oscillatory activity also enhance brain function? To test this possibility, we randomly assigned 106 young adult participants to one of two 5-week interventions involving daily biofeedback that either increased heart rate oscillations (Osc+ condition) or had little effect on heart rate oscillations (Osc- condition) and examined effects on brain activity during rest and during regulating emotion. In this healthy cohort, the two conditions did not differentially affect anxiety, depression or mood. However, the Osc+ intervention increased low-frequency heart rate variability and increased brain oscillatory dynamics and functional connectivity in emotion-related resting-state networks. It also increased down-regulation of activity in somatosensory brain regions during an emotion regulation task. The Osc- intervention did not have these effects. These findings indicate that heart rate oscillatory activity not only reflects the current state of regulatory brain systems but also changes how the brain operates beyond the moments of high oscillatory activity.

Daily heart rate variability biofeedback training decreases locus coeruleus MRI contrast in younger adults

“…Data were collected as part of an intervention study testing the effects of 5 weeks of HRV biofeedback training in younger and older adults (for a full description of the study, see Nashiro et al, 2021). Participants in the study were assigned to one of two conditions.…”

“…Here, we examined whether HRV biofeedback affected LC MRI contrast and sympathetic activity. Younger and older participants completed 5 weeks of HRV biofeedback training as part of a clinical trial testing the effects of HRV biofeedback training on brain regions involved in emotion regulation (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03458910 "Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Regulation," Nashiro et al, 2021). Participants in an experimental condition completed daily biofeedback involving slow, paced breathing to increase heart rate oscillations and HRV, whereas participants in an active control condition completed daily biofeedback training designed to decrease heart rate oscillations and HRV.…”

Heart Rate Variability Covaries with Amygdala Functional Connectivity During Voluntary Emotion Regulation

“…A growing body of neuroimaging research lends support for the NIM and the link between HRV and emotion regulation-related brain function (Mather & Thayer, 2018; Sakaki et al, 2016; Schumann et al, 2021a; Steinfurth et al, 2018). Consistent with the notion that HRV serves as a measure of effective, inhibitory cortical-subcortical connectivity, individuals with higher HRV exhibit stronger resting medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-amygdala functional connectivity (Nashiro et al, 2022; Sakaki et al, 2016). Furthermore, compared to older adults in this sample, young adults with higher HRV were discovered to have stronger amygdala-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) connectivity (Sakaki et al, 2016).…”

“…In this study, resting-state fMRI was collected approximately a week prior to the emotion regulation task and associated HRV, which is not optimal to infer HRV-resting state associations. Nonetheless, for the purpose of comparing results in the task-based data to resting-state, and to findings reported previously by others (Kumral et al, 2019; Nashiro et al, 2022; Sakaki et al, 2016), we have included the amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity findings and a full report of whole-brain connectivity with the BOLD response in left and right amygdala ROIs in the Supplementary Material (see Tables S1-S3). The whole-brain connectivity results partially replicated prior findings, with higher HRV associated with positive left amygdala-mPFC coupling, albeit that this association did not survive thresholding or correction for multiple comparisons.…”

“…Regions of interest (ROIs) were separate right and left amygdala seeds, and an area of the mPFC previously found to be correlated with HRV (Sakaki et al, 2016). Separate amygdala ROIs were selected given recent discrepancies in amygdala lateralisation with the mPFC as a function of HRV (Nashiro et al, 2022; Sakaki et al, 2016), and also observed lateralisation effects highlighted in previous research concerning emotion processing and regulation (Baas et al, 2004; Yang et al, 2020). Amygdala ROI masks were defined using the Harvard-Oxford Subcortical Probability atlas and thresholded at 80% probability.…”