Effects of emotions on heart rate asymmetry

• Published in: Psychophysiology Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. e13318 - n/a
• Main Authors: Kaczmarek, Lukasz D., Behnke, Maciej, Enko, Jolanta, Kosakowski, Michał, Hughes, Brian M., Piskorski, Jaroslaw, Guzik, Przemysław
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2019
• Subjects: Adult; Asymmetry; Autonomic Nervous System - physiology; cardiovascular; EKG; Electrocardiography; electrodermal; Electromyography; emotion; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Facial Muscles - physiology; Female; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; heart rate variability; Humans; Physiology; Respiration; Skin Temperature - physiology; Young Adult; heart rate; electrodermal; respiration; emotion; cardiovascular; heart rate variability
• ISSN: 0048-5772; 1469-8986; 1540-5958
• DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13318

Heart rate asymmetry (HRA) is an index that accounts for an uneven contribution of decelerations and accelerations to the heart rate variability (HRV). Clinical studies indicated that HRA measures have additive clinical value over the more frequently used HRV indexes. Despite the abundance of studies on psychological influences on HRV, little is known whether psychological factors influence HRA. Based on previous research regarding HRA and stress, we expected that negative emotions compared to positive emotions would decrease the contribution of decelerations to HRV. Thirty female participants watched three clips that produced negative emotions, positive emotions, and neutral affect. Besides electrocardiogram, we measured several physiological and behavioral responses to ascertain the affective impact of the clips. Using the RR interval time series, we calculated HRV and HRA indexes. We found that HRA differentiated between positive emotions and negative emotions reactivity. Positive emotions produced a higher number of decelerations in short‐term variability to the total short‐term variability (C1d) compared to negative emotions. Moreover, C1d correlated with subjective ratings of affect. In sum, the results of this study indicated that HRA is sensitive to psychological influences. HRA indexes are likely to contribute to a more nuanced physiological differentiation between emotions. We introduced a new cardiac metric with clinical value into the psychophysiological literature. Heart rate asymmetry (HRA) indexes an uneven contribution of decelerations and accelerations to heart rate variability (HRV). Positive emotions (amusement) produced more decelerations in short‐term variability to the total short‐term variability than negative emotions. We present HRA in the context of facial expression (via facial electromyography and software), subjective ratings, finger temperature, skin conductance, and respiration. The causal link between emotions and HRA contributes to a comprehensive understanding of heart action and emotional processing. Researchers might use HRA indexes to advance psychophysiological studies on the cardiovascular system.