Infant Temperament and Cardiac Vagal Tone: Assessments at Twelve Weeks of Age

Abstract

Sixty 12-week-old infants participated in a laboratory study to explore the relations between temperament and cardiac vagal tone. Temperament was evaluated via laboratory observations and maternal ratings. Cardiac vagal tone, measured as the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, was quantified from beat-to-beat heart period data collected during a resting baseline period and during the laboratory assessment of temperament. Specific hypotheses were investigated relating temperament to both basal cardiac vagal tone and changes in cardiac vagal tone during social/attention challenges. Infants with higher baseline cardiac vagal tone were rated in the laboratory as showing fewer negative behaviors and were less disrupted by the experimental procedure. Infants who decreased cardiac vagal tone during the laboratory assessment were rated on maternal report temperament scales as having longer attention spans, and being more easily soothed.

Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children

“…Reactive children have been shown to be more prone than nonreactive children to negative emotionality, social inhibition, and increased distress reactions to challenging situations (e.g., Calkins & Fox, 1992;Fabes et al, 1994;Huffman et al, 1998). Additionally, given the autonomic nervous system's central role in emotion regulation, including in the cardiovascular and behavioral aspects of emotion regulation (Cacioppo et al, 1992), one would logically assume that such aspects would not operate independently.…”

“…Across many studies, higher and less variable heart rate and lower resting parasympathetic (vagal) tone are associated with a constellation of negative temperamental and behavioral response characteristics, including inhibition, avoidance of social interactions, negative emotionality, and exaggerated fear responses to novelty (e.g., Fabes, Eisenberg, & Eisenbud, 1993;Fabes, Eisenberg, Karbon, Troyer, & Switzer, 1994;Snidman, Kagan, Riordan, & Shannon, 1995;Porges et al, 1996;Huffman et al, 1998). As with adrenocorticol reactivity, however, studies indicate that relations between autonomic reactivity and negative emotional behavior may vary depending on the context in which each is measured (e.g., Stifter, Fox, & Porges, 1989).…”

Antenatal origins of individual differences in heart rate

“…Cardiac measures are commonly used indicators of autonomic function in developmental research (e.g., Fox, 1989;Huffman et al, 1998;Porges, 1992;Richards, 1985). Measures include both tonic and reactive heart rate as well as a variety of metrics for variability, ranging from global, time-based descriptives (e.g., standard deviation, mean squares of successive differences) to more complex methods designed to isolate speci®c frequency components (e.g., cardiac vagal tone, RSA) (Bernston et al, 1997).…”

Self‐Regulation as the Interface of Emotional and Cognitive Development

“…Porges notes that individual differences in nervous system functioning might mediate the expression and regulation of emotion and, by extension, be an important element of the system that supports appropriate social engagement and positive adjustment (Porges, 2001(Porges, , 2003Porges et al, 1994). Porges and others have found that parasympathetic nervous system functioning, as reflected in heart rate variability influenced by the vagal system, is related to the control of attention, emotion, and behavior (Calkins, 1997;Calkins & Dedmon, 2000;DeGangi, DiPietro, Greenspan, & Porges, 1991;Huffman et al, 1998;Porges, Doussard-Roosevelt, Portales, & Greenspan, 1996 ). Although there are multiple ways to measure this variability, Porges (1985Porges ( , 1991Porges ( , 1996 and colleagues developed a method that measures the amplitude and period of the oscillations associated with inhalation and exhalation.…”

“…Considerable research indicates that greater vagal withdrawal, as measured by a decrease in RSA, during challenging situations is related to better state regulation, greater selfsoothing, and more attentional control in infancy (DeGangi et al, 1991;Huffman et al, 1998); fewer behavior problems and more appropriate emotion regulation in preschool children (Calkins, 1997;Calkins & Dedmon, 2000;Calkins & Keane, 2004;Porges et al, 1996 ); and sustained attention in school-age children (Suess, Porges, & Plude, 1994). Moreover, recent research comparing the magnitude of RSA response to different types of challenges indicates that children display significantly greater decreases in RSA when provided with parental support during a task than when confronted with a challenge independent of support (Calkins & Keane, 2004), and that the magnitude of this response is an individual difference that is moderately stable across early development and that predicts a range of indicators of adaptive functioning (Calkins & Keane, 2004;El-Sheikh, 2005).…”