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Dynamics of EEG α activity and heart rate variability in subjects performing cognitive tests

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Abstract

Changes in the power and coherence of α activity and heart rate variability (HRV) were studied in students with different performance levels in logical tasks. The students achieving high results in cognitive tests exhibited higher liability of α activity and HRV; the values and their ratios varied among the stages of intellectual activity. In these subjects, a decrease in the spectral power of the α band was more pronounced than in other groups. We also observed changes in the interhemispheric coherence and the structure of coherent interactions in the α band at different stages of task performance. In contrast, the number and structure of coherent interactions in individuals who exhibited lower results did not significantly vary at different stages of task performance. Compared to this group, the students with higher test results exhibited a more pronounced decreased in the total spectral power (TP) and an increase in the low frequency to high frequency (LF/HF) ratio, which returned to the initial level after the completion of the tests. In the students with better results in these cognitive tests, the dynamics of RRNN, TP, HF, and LF/HF during task performance were correlated with the dynamics of interhemispherical α band coherence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anokhin Research Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, 125315, Russia

    T. D. Dzhebrailova, I. I. Korobeinikova, N. A. Karatygin & E. N. Dudnik

  2. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, 119992, Russia

    T. D. Dzhebrailova & E. N. Dudnik

Authors
  1. T. D. Dzhebrailova
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  2. I. I. Korobeinikova
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  3. N. A. Karatygin
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  4. E. N. Dudnik
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Correspondence to T. D. Dzhebrailova.

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Original Russian Text © T.D. Dzhebrailova, I.I. Korobeinikova, N.A. Karatygin, E.N. Dudnik, 2015, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2015, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 36–48.

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Dzhebrailova, T.D., Korobeinikova, I.I., Karatygin, N.A. et al. Dynamics of EEG α activity and heart rate variability in subjects performing cognitive tests. Hum Physiol 41, 599–610 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119715040076

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119715040076

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