July 15, 2014Open Access
Individual differences in resting heart rate variability and cognitive control in posttraumatic stress disorder
Key Result
Low resting heart rate variability may serve as a physiological marker of impaired cognitive control and a vulnerability factor for intrusive thoughts and memories in posttraumatic stress disorder.
PICO
P
Population
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
E
Exposure / Comparator
Resting heart rate variability (HRV)
Limitations
- A majority of the reviewed studies are cross-sectional, making it unclear whether reduced HRV is a pre-trauma vulnerability factor or a result of trauma exposure.
- Many studies on HRV and thought suppression have only included healthy, college-aged participants, limiting generalizability to individuals with PTSD.
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by deficits in cognitive functioning, particularly cognitive control. Moreover, these deficits are thought to play a critical role in the etiology and maintenance of core PTSD symptoms such as intrusive thoughts and memories. However, the psychophysiological concomitants of cognitive control remain largely unexamined. In this article, we suggest that individual differences in heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological index of self-regulatory capacity, may underlie the association between cognitive control ability and intrusive cognitions in PTSD. We review evidence showing that individual differences in HRV at rest are related to prefrontal cortical activity and performance on a broad range of cognitive control tasks. We highlight the importance of inhibition as a mechanism by which HRV promotes successful cognitive control. In addition, we summarize recent research linking individual differences in HRV to performance on laboratory tasks that assess the ability to control unwanted memories and intrusive thoughts. We conclude by suggesting that future studies should examine the role of low HRV as a risk factor for developing PTSD.