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Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old: evidence from two independent samples

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Abstract

Previous research has shown associations between brain structure and resting state high-frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV). Age affects both brain structure and HF HRV. Therefore, we sought to examine the relationship between brain structure and HF HRV as a function of age. Data from two independent studies were used for the present analysis. Study 1 included 19 older adults (10 males, age range 62–78 years) and 19 younger adults (12 males, age range 19–37). Study 2 included 23 older adults (12 males; age range 55–75) and 27 younger adults (17 males; age range 18–34). The root-mean-square of successive R–R-interval differences (RMSSD) from ECG recordings was used as time-domain measure of HF HRV. MRI scans were performed on a 3.0-T Siemens Magnetom Trio scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with the Freesurfer image analysis suite, including 12 regions as regions of interests (ROI). Zero-order and partial correlations were used to assess the correlation of RMSSD with cortical thickness in selected ROIs. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) cortical thickness was significantly associated with RMSSD. Further, both studies, in line with previous research, showed correlations between RMSSD and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) cortical thickness. Meta-analysis on adjusted correlation coefficients from individual studies confirmed an association of RMSSD with the left rostral ACC and the left lateral OFC. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to trace individual trajectories in the association of HRV and brain structure across aging.

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Acknowledgements

JK is supported by Physician-Scientist-Fellowship provided by the Medical School, University of Heidelberg, Germany. JK acknowledges the financial support through a Post-Doctoral Scholarship provided by the Daimler and Benz Foundation (Ladenburg, Germany) and the Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award provided by the Thrasher Research Fund (Salt Lake City, UT, USA). The research studies were funded by NIA R01AG025340. Michiko Sakaki received a fellowship by the European Commision PCIG13-GA-2013-618600, JSPS 16H05959.

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Author notes

  1. Mara Mather and Julian Koenig are shared senior authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hyun Joo Yoo, Allison Ponzio, Jungwon Min, Lin Nga & Mara Mather

  2. Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Julian F. Thayer & Julian Koenig

  3. Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Steven Greening

  4. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Tae-Ho Lee

  5. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Michiko Sakaki

  6. Section for Translational Psychobiology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Julian Koenig

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  1. Hyun Joo Yoo
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Correspondence to Mara Mather.

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Data are available online via the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/pgmrx/).

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Yoo, H.J., Thayer, J.F., Greening, S. et al. Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old: evidence from two independent samples. Brain Struct Funct 223, 727–737 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1519-7

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