Association between heart rate variability and fluctuations in resting-state functional connectivity

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 68; pp. 93 - 104
• Main Authors: Chang, Catie, Metzger, Coraline D., Glover, Gary H., Duyn, Jeff H., Heinze, Hans-Jochen, Walter, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2013; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Amygdala; Autonomic nervous system; Brain; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping; Functional connectivity; Heart; Heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; Heart rate variability; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Nervous system; Neural Pathways - physiology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Rest - physiology; Resting state fMRI; Spontaneous activity; Studies; Vigilance; Young Adult; Functional connectivity; Resting state fMRI; Vigilance; Autonomic nervous system; Spontaneous activity; Heart rate variability
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.11.038

Functional connectivity has been observed to fluctuate across the course of a resting state scan, though the origins and functional relevance of this phenomenon remain to be shown. The present study explores the link between endogenous dynamics of functional connectivity and autonomic state in an eyes-closed resting condition. Using a sliding window analysis on resting state fMRI data from 35 young, healthy male subjects, we examined how heart rate variability (HRV) covaries with temporal changes in whole-brain functional connectivity with seed regions previously described to mediate effects of vigilance and arousal (amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; dACC). We identified a set of regions, including brainstem, thalamus, putamen, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, that became more strongly coupled with the dACC and amygdala seeds during states of elevated HRV. Effects differed between high and low frequency components of HRV, suggesting specific contributions of parasympathetic and sympathetic tone on individual connections. Furthermore, dynamics of functional connectivity could be separated from those primarily related to BOLD signal fluctuations. The present results contribute novel information about the neural basis of transient changes of autonomic nervous system states, and suggest physiological and psychological components of the recently observed non-stationarity in resting state functional connectivity. ► HRV covaried with fluctuations in resting connectivity seeded from dACC and amygdala. ► Distinct effects were found between high-frequency and low-frequency HRV. ► Autonomic fluctuations may contribute to nonstationarity in resting connectivity.