Emotion in the heart: a study of heart rate variability and negative affect

Abstract

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) refers to the v ariation frequency of the heart beat s during a previously defined time interval (never exceeding 24 hours) in an analysis of consecutive circadian periods . HRV reflects the continuous interplay between sympathetic and parasympathetic di vi sion of nervous system , being regarded as biological marker of emotional responding and physical and psychological health . This study aims to explore plausible differe nces in negative affect between participant s classified as high versus low HRV based on their nu HF values in a subsample of healthy populatio n . The study was carried out with 95 participants, psychology and criminology students of Universitat Jaume I (Spain). The electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded for 5 minutes at rest. Afterward, a battery of questionnaires was administrated, including BDI, STAI (State and Trait), PANAS and ERQ. Our result s confirme d that participants in the Low HRV group tended to score higher as compared to the High HRV group in the different sel f - report instruments used in this study to measure depression symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety, negative affect and utilization of two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive and suppression). Interestingly , t he same pattern of results was found for bo th male and female participants in our study. These data suggest that low HRV might be effectively related to emotion dysregulation, and increased risk for psychopathology, while high HRV seems to be associated to wellness and mental health.