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Brain structure and parasympathetic function during rest and stress in young adult women

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Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important biomarker for parasympathetic function and future health outcomes. The present study examined how the structure of regions in a neural network thought to maintain top–down control of parasympathetic function is associated with HRV during both rest and social stress. Participants were 127 young women (90 Black American), who completed a structural MRI scan and the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), during which heart rate was recorded. Regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between cortical thickness in five regions of the Central Autonomic Network (CAN; anterior midcingulate cortex [aMCC], pregenual and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex [pgACC, sgACC], orbitofrontal cortex [OFC], and anterior insula) and high-frequency HRV during rest and stress. Results indicated that cortical thickness in CAN regions did not predict average HRV during rest or stress. Greater cortical thickness in the right pgACC was associated with greater peak HRV reactivity during the TSST, and survived correction for multiple comparisons, but not sensitivity analyses with outliers removed. The positive association between cortical thickness in the pgACC and peak HRV reactivity is consistent with the direction of previous findings from studies that examined tonic HRV in adolescents, but inconsistent with findings in adults, which suggests a possible neurodevelopmental shift in the relation between brain structure and autonomic function with age. Future research on age-related changes in brain structure and autonomic function would allow a more thorough understanding of how brain structure may contribute to parasympathetic function across neurodevelopment.

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Data availability

Data used in the present study can be made available upon request to the primary contact author.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the families who took part in this study, and to the PGS team, which includes interviewers and their supervisors, data managers, student workers and volunteers. This research was specifically funded by R01-MH093605, R01-MH66167, R01-MH56630, R01-HD067185 and K01-MH103511.

Funding

This study was funded by R01-MH093605, R01-MH66167, R01-MH56630, R01-HD067185 and K01-MH103511.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

    Andrew J. Fridman✉, Xi Yang & Melynda D. Casement

  2. Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, USA

    Veronika Vilgis & Amanda E. Guyer

  3. Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, USA

    Amanda E. Guyer

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Kate E. Keenan

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Alison E. Hipwell & Erika E. Forbes

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Fridman✉
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  2. Xi Yang
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  3. Veronika Vilgis
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  4. Kate E. Keenan
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  5. Alison E. Hipwell
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  6. Amanda E. Guyer
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  7. Erika E. Forbes
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  8. Melynda D. Casement
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew J. Fridman✉.

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Conflict of interest

There are no relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest among the authors to disclose.

Ethical approval

Approval was obtained from the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from the caregiver and verbal assent was obtained from the child prior to initial collection of data at intake.

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Participants consented to the submission of non-identifiable data for publication.

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Fridman✉, A.J., Yang, X., Vilgis, V. et al. Brain structure and parasympathetic function during rest and stress in young adult women. Brain Struct Funct 226, 1195–1207 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02234-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02234-7

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