Perseverate or decenter? Differential effects of metacognition on the relationship between parasympathetic inflexibility and symptoms of depression in a multi-wave study

Abstract

Depression often is characterized by inflexible autonomic and metacognitive processes that interfere with effective self-regulation. However, few studies have integrated these factors to improve the prediction of which individuals are at greatest risk for depression. Among 134 undergraduates, we evaluated whether parasympathetic inflexibility (a lack of reduction in respiratory sinus arrhythmia) in response to a sadness induction involving loss would prospectively predict symptoms of depression across four waves of follow-up over twelve weeks. Furthermore, we evaluated whether metacognitive components of perseverative cognition (PC) and decentering (identified by a principal component analysis) would moderate this relationship in opposite directions. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that the relationship between parasympathetic inflexibility and prospective symptoms of depression was exacerbated by PC, but attenuated by decentering. Furthermore, individuals with parasympathetic inflexibility, PC, and low decentering were at greatest risk for symptoms of depression across follow-up. These results support the utility of integrating autonomic and metacognitive risk factors to identify individuals at risk for depression.

Resting Heart Rate Variability, Facets of Rumination and Trait Anxiety: Implications for the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis

“…However, resting vmHRV has been recently described as an endophenotype (including for anxiety disorders), thus supporting our current conceptualization as an independent variable (for review, see Thayer and Lane, 2009 ). A recent study lends further evidence in this regard, as it displayed a relationship between parasympathetic inflexibility (i.e., resting-to-reactive vmHRV) and prospective symptoms of depression was exacerbated by perseverative cognition (Stange et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Moreover, we previously reported that perseverative cognition is an important mechanism linking stress vulnerability (e.g., lower resting vmHRV) with psychological outcomes such as anxiety (for review, see Brosschot et al, 2010 ; Verkuil et al, 2010 ) and depression (Stange et al, 2017 ). A longitudinal report provides evidence in support of this idea, showing that perseveration, specifically rumination, was a significant mediator linking stressful events with both anxiety and depression over the lifespan (Michl et al, 2013 ).…”

Biological, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Depression: A Review of Recent Literature

“…Nevertheless, we have decided to leave these factors in a separate category (because their categorization may not be as immediately clear-cut as others), and these factors include: low-level light [ 429 ], weight cycling [ 430 ], water contaminants [ 431 ], trade [ 432 ], air pollution [ 433 , 434 ], program-level variables (ex. feedback and learning experience) [ 435 ], TV viewing [ 436 ], falls [ 437 ], various other biological factors [ 116 , 136 , 141 , 151 , 164 , 182 , 363 , 364 , 438 , 439 , 440 , 441 , 442 , 443 , 444 , 445 , 446 , 447 , 448 , 449 , 450 , 451 , 452 , 453 , 454 , 455 , 456 , 457 , 458 , 459 , 460 , 461 , 462 , 463 , 464 , 465 , 466 , 467 , 468 , …”

“…Further work is needed on this and the underpinning mechanisms between the determinants and outcomes. This review highlighted the myriad ways of measuring depression and its determinants [ 66 , 85 , 281 , 298 , 451 , 485 ]. Thus, the standardization of the measurements of the outcomes (ex.…”

The contributions of affective traits and emotion regulation to internalizing disorders: Current state of the literature and measurement challenges.

“…Thus, although self-report is not sufficient for a comprehensive assessment of affective processes and internalizing symptoms, it does provide necessary and critical information. Whenever possible, self-report measures should be used in conjunction with other levels of analysis (e.g., genes, psychophysiology, neurological circuits, cognitive measures, behavioral outcomes) to combine complementary sources of information and yield a more complete picture of affective experience (see, for example, Stange et al, 2017; Tull et al, 2018). It is also important to use psychometrically-sound self-report measures that were thoughtfully selected for the specific research question at hand.…”