Reduced Cardiac Vagal Modulation Impacts on Cognitive Performance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Beaumont, A.; Burton, Amy L.; Lemon, James C.; Bennett, Barbara; Lloyd, Andrew R.; Vollmer‐Conna, Ute

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049518

Cited by 74 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(83 reference statements)

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“…Studies have shown that individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome have reduced HRV compared to healthy controls (Boneva et al, 2007; Beaumont et al, 2012), as do women reporting stress-related fatigue (Olsson et al, 2009). Of note, a meta-analysis comparing HRV in healthy controls to individuals with functional somatic disorders (which are characterized by high levels of fatigue) found that the poor quality of studies and publication bias limits the ability to draw conclusions (Tak et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This group was of interest because they are at elevated risk for fatigue and other negative consequences of cancer treatment (Howard-Anderson et al, 2012). Based on studies that show an association between HRV and fatigue in other disorders (Boneva et al, 2007; Beaumont et al, 2012) and in breast cancer survivors (Fagundes et al, 2011), we hypothesized that cancer-related fatigue would be associated with lower HRV. Our second goal was to examine inflammation as a potential mediating pathway between HRV and fatigue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low heart rate variability and cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors

Crosswell

Lockwood

Ganz

et al. 2014

Psychoneuroendocrinology

100

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Cancer-related fatigue is a common and often long lasting symptom for many breast cancer survivors. Fatigued survivors show evidence of elevated inflammation, but the physiological mechanisms driving inflammatory activity have not been determined. Alterations in the autonomic nervous system, and particularly parasympathetic nervous system activity, are a plausible, yet understudied contributor to cancer-related fatigue. The goal of this study was to replicate one previous study showing an association between lower parasympathetic activity and higher fatigue in breast cancer survivors (Fagundes et al., 2011), and to examine whether inflammation mediates this association. Study participants were drawn from two samples and included 84 women originally diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer prior to age 50. Participants completed questionnaires, provided blood samples for determination of interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP), and underwent electrocardiography (ECG) assessment for evaluation of resting heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of parasympathetic activity. Results showed that lower HRV was associated with higher fatigue (p < .05), as predicted. In bivariate analyses, HRV was also correlated with circulating concentrations of IL-6 and CRP. However, path analyses did not support inflammation as a mediator of the association between HRV and fatigue; instead, associations among these variables appeared to be driven by age and BMI. These findings identify HRV as a potential contributor to cancer-related fatigue, but suggest that inflammation does not mediate this association in younger, healthy breast cancer survivors who are several years post-treatment. The autonomic nervous system merits additional attention in research on the etiology of cancer-related fatigue.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low heart rate variability and cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors

Crosswell

Lockwood

Ganz

et al. 2014

Psychoneuroendocrinology

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Specifically, preliminary evidence suggests associations between resting PNS activity and performance on some (Hovland et al, 2012; Beaumont et al, 2012), but not all (Capuana, Dywan, Tays, & Segalowitz, 2012) IC-related measures. However, extant paradigms have confounded multiple cognitive processes (e.g., emotion processing, working memory) with IC and are not tied to a specific neural system.…”

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confidence: 99%

Acute stress impairs inhibitory control based on individual differences in parasympathetic nervous system activity

Roos

Knight

Beauchamp

et al. 2017

Biological Psychology

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Identifying environmental influences on inhibitory control (IC) may help promote positive behavioral and social adjustment. Although chronic stress is known to predict lower IC, the immediate effects of acute stress are unknown. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) may be a mechanism of the stress-IC link, given its psychophysiological regulatory role and connections to prefrontal brain regions critical to IC. We used a focused assessment of IC (the stop-signal task) to test whether an acute social stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test) affected participants’ pre- to post-IC performance (n = 58), compared to a control manipulation (n = 31). High frequency heart-rate variability was used as an index of PNS activity in response to the manipulation. Results indicated that stress impaired IC performance, blocking the practice effects observed in control participants. We also investigated the associations between PNS activity and IC; higher resting PNS activity predicted better pre-manipulation IC, and greater PNS stressor reactivity protected against the negative effects of stress on IC. Together, these results are the first to document the immediate effects of acute stress on IC and a phenotypic marker (PNS reactivity to stressors) of susceptibility to stress-induced IC impairment. This study suggests a new way to identify situations in which individuals are likely to exhibit IC vulnerability and related consequences such as impulsivity and risk taking behavior. Targeting PNS regulation may represent a novel target for IC-focused interventions.

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“…Several studies have revealed associations between reduced vagally-mediated HRV and burnout-related concepts, such as work-stress (10, 11), stress-related fatigue (12, 13), and exhaustion (14, 15). Only five studies, however, have investigated vagally-mediated HRV in conjunction with burnout, conceptualized as work stress-related exhaustion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic dysregulation in burnout and depression: evidence for the central role of exhaustion

Kanthak

Stalder²,

Hill³

et al. 2017

Scand J Work Environ Health

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Objectives Given the important role of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in stress regulation, astonishingly little is known about ANS functioning in burnout, a condition arising after prolonged exposure to work-related stress. The current study sought to investigate ANS modulation, as indexed by vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV), in relation to burnout symptomatology to (i) distinguish associations between the three dimensions of burnout [emotional exhaustion (EE), cynicism, reduced personal accomplishment] and (ii) investigate overlap in associations with depressive symptomatology. Methods Assessments of vagally-mediated HRV (ie, root mean square of successive differences, RMSSD) were conducted in a large population-based sample from the Dresden Burnout Study [N=410, mean age 42.2, standard deviation (SD) 11.2 years; 33.4% male]. Vagally-mediated HRV was assessed for 90 seconds during an emotionally-arousing situation (venipuncture, recumbent), a 335-second recumbent recovery period, and a 335-second seated resting condition. Results Results from multiple linear regression analyses revealed that EE was negatively related to RMSSD during venipuncture (β= −0.11, P=0.03) and the seated rest (β= −0.09, P=0.04) even after accounting for established ANS modulators (eg, age, body mass index). This pattern was not observed for the other dimensions of burnout. Exploratory analyses of depressive symptomatology further revealed that RMSSD was significantly and inversely associated with burnout-related symptoms but not with the core criteria of depression (eg, depressed mood). Conclusions This study presents evidence for a link between exhaustion and reduced vagal function, both in burnout and depression, suggesting that ANS modulations may not be disorder-specific but rather a psychophysiological correlate of an underlying feature shared by both conditions.

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Reduced Cardiac Vagal Modulation Impacts on Cognitive Performance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Cited by 74 publications

References 44 publications

Low heart rate variability and cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors

Low heart rate variability and cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors

Acute stress impairs inhibitory control based on individual differences in parasympathetic nervous system activity

Autonomic dysregulation in burnout and depression: evidence for the central role of exhaustion

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