Higher resting heart rate variability predicts skill in expressing some emotions

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a measure of cardiac vagal tone, and is widely viewed as a physiological index of the capacity to regulate emotions. However, studies have not directly tested whether vmHRV is associated with the ability to facially express emotions. In extending pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychophysiology Vol. 53; no. 12; pp. 1852 - 1857
Main Authors Tuck, Natalie L., Grant, Rosemary C. I., Sollers III, John J., Booth, Roger J., Consedine, Nathan S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2016
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Emotion
Emotion regulation
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Expressive skill
Facial Expression
Female
Health
Heart - innervation
Heart - physiology
Heart Rate
Heart rate variability
Humans
Physiology
Psychology
Vagus Nerve - physiology
Young Adult
Emotion
Health
Emotion regulation
Heart rate variability
Expressive skill
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Summary:Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a measure of cardiac vagal tone, and is widely viewed as a physiological index of the capacity to regulate emotions. However, studies have not directly tested whether vmHRV is associated with the ability to facially express emotions. In extending prior work, the current report tested links between resting vmHRV and the objectively assessed ability to facially express emotions, hypothesizing that higher vmHRV would predict greater expressive skill. Eighty healthy women completed self‐reported measures, before attending a laboratory session in which vmHRV and the ability to express six emotions in the face were assessed. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a marginal main effect for vmHRV on skill overall; individuals with higher resting vmHRV were only better able to deliberately facially express anger and interest. Findings suggest that differences in resting vmHRV are associated with the objectively assessed ability to facially express some, but not all, emotions, with potential implications for health and well‐being.
Bibliography:ArticleID:PSYP12755
ark:/67375/WNG-QDJKMKTG-X
University of Auckland
istex:B749FC7EF7747A4B83AF1A04D5D64EBDBC92620A
Funding was provided by the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0048-5772
1469-8986
1540-5958
DOI:10.1111/psyp.12755