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. 2011 Mar;86(3):230-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.12.003. Epub 2010 Dec 21.

Autonomic nervous system reactivity to positive and negative mood induction: the role of acute psychological responses and frontal electrocortical activity

Willem J Kop  1 , Stephen J Synowski, Miranda E Newell, Louis A Schmidt, Shari R Waldstein, Nathan A Fox
Affiliations

Autonomic nervous system reactivity to positive and negative mood induction: the role of acute psychological responses and frontal electrocortical activity

Willem J Kop et al. Biol Psychol. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

The differential effects of positive versus negative emotions on autonomic nervous system activity are insufficiently understood. This study examined the role of acute mood responses and central nervous system activity on heart rate variability (HRV) using 5-min event recall tasks (happiness and anger recall) and a 5-min Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) in 20 healthy individuals (mean age 25 ± 4 years, 55% female). HRV was measured in high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) domains, and frontal brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) in the alpha frequency band in F3 and F4. Happiness Recall resulted in increased LF-HRV (p = 0.005) but not HF-HRV (p=0.71). Anger Recall did not change HRV (p-values > 0.10). The SCWT produced decreases in HF-HRV (p = 0.001) as well as LF-HRV (p = 0.001). The magnitude of feeling "happy" during Happiness Recall was positively correlated with ΔHF-HRV (p = 0.050), whereas an incongruent mood state ("frustrated") was associated with smaller ΔHF-HRV (p = 0.070). Associations between frontal EEG activation and HRV responses were mostly non-significant, except for increased right frontal activation during Happiness Recall which was associated with a decrease in LF/HF ratio (p = 0.009). It is concluded that positive and negative mood induction result in differential HRV responses, which is related to both task valence and the intensity of task-induced emotions.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of positive and negative mood induction on HRV. Responses from baseline to Happiness Recall (HR), Anger Recall (AR) and Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) were examined for low frequency (LF: closed circles) and high frequency (HF: open circles) heart rate variability (HRV). * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01 from preceding baseline.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between mood responses to positive mood induction by the Happiness Recall task. The horizontal axes present mood experiences during the task (scaled from 1–10) and the vertical axes high frequency (HF) heart rate variability (HRV) in ln.ms2. Data are presented for female (green circles) and male participants (blue circles) for descriptive purposes.
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