Right anterior cingulate cortical volume covaries with respiratory sinus arrhythmia magnitude in combat veterans

Abstract

Abstract-Existing data suggest anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a role in autonomic regulation. In persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), autonomic regulation appears impaired and smaller mean ACC volume has been reported. This study examined relationships between ACC volume and the magnitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in 77 U.S. combat veterans at rest, 40 of whom met criteria for PTSD. RSA magnitude did not differ in combat survivors with and without PTSD, which contradicts studies comparing civilians with PTSD to nontraumatized controls. RSA magnitude was positively correlated with right but not left hemisphere ACC volume. This finding was statistically independent of the presence or absence of PTSD.

Brain structural thickness and resting state autonomic function in adolescents with major depression

“…The significant cross-over interaction suggests that in subjects with lower depressive symptoms, lower right insula cortical thickness was associated with greater RVA. This finding is in line with prior research in non-depressed adolescents, illustrating that greater RVA is associated with reduced cortical thickness in subjects of younger age (Koenig et al 2018), contrary to a positive association reported in adults (Woodward et al , 2008; Winkelmann et al , 2016; Yoo et al , 2018). The prior study in adolescents did not support an association between insula thickness and RVA, but highlighted the rostral ACC in models not controlling for depressive symptoms.…”

“…Analyses of structural thickness included nine ROIs each for the left and the right hemisphere, defined prior to the analysis, covering brain areas implicated in depression and autonomic control: ‘Caudal ACC’, ‘Caudal MFG’, ‘Lateral OFC’, ‘Medial OFC’, ‘Rostral ACC’, ‘Rostral MFG’, ‘Superior Frontal’, ‘Frontal Pole’ and the ‘Insula’. The selection of ROIs was based on previous studies addressing the association of structural thickness and RVA (Woodward et al , 2008; Winkelmann et al , 2016; Koenig et al 2018; Yoo et al , 2018). …”

Women with posttraumatic stress disorder have larger decreases in heart rate variability during stress tasks

“…This result is consistent with two previous investigations (Sahar et al, 2001;Woodward et al, 2008), which found no differences in baseline HF-HR when comparing PTSD patients and trauma-exposed controls. However, the results of the present study differ from other investigations of resting HF-HRV among individuals with PTSD (Blechert et al, 2007;Cohen et al, 1997Cohen et al, , 1998Cohen et al, , 2000.…”

“…The most recently reported study examined HF-HRV among 77 U.S. combat survivors, 40 of whom met criteria for PTSD (Woodward et al, 2008). Consistent with the results from the Sahar et al study (2001), no PTSD diagnostic group differences in HF-HRV at rest were observed.…”

Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old: evidence from two independent samples

“…Refining their analyses, the authors were able to localize the area of highest association with HRV to the anterior midcingulate cortex (MCC) and the rostral dorsal cingulate cortex (DCC). The other study (Woodward et al 2008) found vagally mediated HRV positively associated with right but not left ACC volume in older (mean age = 49 years) combat veterans using a large region of interest (ROI) analysis of manually traced ACC volumes.…”