Key result
Older age is linked to reduced ERN/Pe and RSA, with RSA mediating sadness intensity.
Why the study?
The relationship between autonomic activity, cognitive control, and emotional responsivity and how this pattern changes with age is rarely studied together.
Cross-Sectional
Autonomic processes (RSA) mediate the relationship between cognitive control (ERN/Pe) and affective regulation (sadness), a pattern that remains consistent across age groups despite age-related reductions in RSA and ERN/Pe.
RSA mediation of cognitive-affective links appears age-invariant; extends models but remains hypothesis-generating for interventions.
Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in the modulation of autonomic activity, emotional responsivity, and the monitoring of goal-directed behavior. However, these functions are rarely studied together to determine how they relate or whether their pattern of relation changes with age. We recorded respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of autonomic activity, error-related event related potentials (ERN/Pe), generated in ACC, and the self-reported intensity of 5 basic emotions in older and younger adults. Emotional intensity did not differ with age. The ERN/Pe and RSA were reduced with age and related specifically to sadness intensity for both groups. When examined together, RSA accounted for the relation between ERN/Pe and sadness. This is consistent with a model of medial prefrontal function in which autonomic processes mediate the relation between cognitive control and affective regulation, a pattern that also did not differ with age.
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Dywan et al. (2008) reported a cross-sectional. Older age vs. Younger age was evaluated on Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), error-related event related potentials (ERN/Pe), and self-reported intensity of 5 basic emotions. Older age was associated with reduced ERN/Pe and RSA compared to younger adults, with RSA mediating the relation between ERN/Pe and sadness intensity in both age groups.
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