Physiological Correlates of Emotion Recognition
Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel—University of Southern California
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the activity of the body's internal organs and regulates changes in their activity depending on the current environment. The vagus nerve, which innervates many of the internal organs, is an important part of the system. When our brain senses danger, vagal tone is inhibited, leading to a set of changes in the body designed to make us more prepared to fight or flee; for example, our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate, and we breath more quickly. Conversely, when the vagal system is activated, these physiological responses are inhibited, leading to a calmer state. The vagus nerve, then, acts as a kind of "brake" on our arousal. One interesting consequence of this calmer state is that it tends to promote social interaction-when we are not tensed and afraid of our immediate environment we are instead receptive to interacting with others. Poor functioning of this regulatory mechanism, therefore, may be associated with difficulties in social behavior.
One index of autonomic regulation is heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a measure of how much the gap between one beat and the next varies over time. High HRV means there are continual fluctuations in the heart rate over time, a reflection of successful autonomic regulation. Low HRV means there is consistency of the heart rate over time, a condition associated with poor autonomic regulation.
In this study we will test the hypothesis that increased HRV is associated with more accurate categorization of emotional stimuli.1,2 Following a study by Park et al., we will measure HRV and test its association on a task that measures skill at perceiving facial emotions.3
1. Recruit 40 participants.
- Participants should have normal or corrected-to-normal vision to ensure they will be able to see the stimuli properly.
- Participants should not consume alcohol, caffeine, or other drugs for at least 6 hrs prior to the experiment.
- Participants should have no history of neurological, psychiatric, or cardiac disorders.
2. Pre-experiment procedures
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Performance on the facial emotion recognition task is typically very high; in our data overall accuracy was 92.5%. Participants were more accurate in identifying neutral faces (94.1%) compared with fearful faces (90.9%). Importantly, high frequency HRV power correlated significantly with accuracy in identifying fearful faces (Figure 2). Individuals with high HRV were more accurate in identifying fearful faces (r = 0.36). HRV power did not correla
This experiment demonstrates the power of physiological data to provide insight into human cognition. The finding that measurements from the heart can be used to understand psychological functioning reminds us of the intimate connection between the brain and the body. An index of healthy cognitive control and emotion regulation, heart rate variability may serve as a relatively non-invasive biomarker for mental health. For example, low HRV is associated with anxiety disorders4 and depression,5 and al
- Appelhans, B.M. & Luecken, L.J. Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Rev Gen Psychol 10, 229-240 (2006).
- Thayer, J.F. & Lane, R.D. A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. J Affect Disord 61, 201-216 (2000).
- Park, G., Van Bavel, J.J., Vasey, M.W., Egan, E.J. & Thayer, J.F. From the heart to the mind's eye: cardiac vagal tone is related to visual perception of fearful faces at high spatial frequency. Biol Psychol 90, 171-178 (2012).
- Chalmers, J.A., Quintana, D.S., Abbott, M.J. & Kemp, A.H. Anxiety Disorders are Associated with Reduced Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis. Front Psychiatry 5, 80 (2014).
- Kemp, A.H., et al. Impact of depression and antidepressant treatment on heart rate variability: a review and meta-analysis. Biol Psychiatry 67, 1067-1074 (2010).
- Gillie, B.L. & Thayer, J.F. Individual differences in resting heart rate variability and cognitive control in posttraumatic stress disorder. Front Psychol 5, 758 (2014).
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