Multimodal neuroimaging data from a 5-week heart rate variability biofeedback randomized clinical trial

We present data from the Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Regulation (HRV-ER) randomized clinical trial testing effects of HRV biofeedback. Younger (N = 121, ages 18-31, 61 female) and older (N = 72, ages 55-80, 45 female) participants completed baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including T 1 -weighted, functional MRI (fMRI), pulsed continuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H MRS). They also completed an emotion regulation task during fMRI. During fMRI scans, physiological measures (blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and end-tidal CO 2 ) were continuously acquired. Participants were randomized to either increase heart rate oscillations or decrease heart rate oscillations during daily sessions. After 5 weeks of HRV biofeedback, they repeated the baseline measurements in addition to a few new measures (ultimatum game fMRI, training mimicking during blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) and PCASL fMRI). Participants also wore a wristband sensor to estimate sleep time. Psychological assessment comprised three cognitive tests as well as ten questionnaires related to emotional well-being. Data is publicly available via the OpenNeuro data sharing platform.