Sleep-based heart period variability in panic disorder with and without nocturnal panic attacks
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Quantifying Infra-slow Dynamics of Spectral Power and Heart Rate in Sleeping Mice
Published on: August 2, 2017
Deane E Aikins1, Michelle G Craske
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, CT, United States.
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigated ambulatory sleep heart period variability in panic disorder participants with nocturnal panic (NP) compared to daytime panic attacks only. A time-derived measure of heart period variability (HPV) during sleep was significantly reduced in the NP group (n=32) relative to the daytime panic (n=17) and nonanxious (n=17) control groups. Consistent with previous work, NP participants also reported greater fear of relaxation and sleep than daytime panic and control groups. Based on a neurovisceral model of attention [Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 210-216] that predicts that decreased HPV is related to disregulated behavioral adaptation, we hypothesized that HPV measured during sleep would be most reduced in NP participants. These findings indicate that HPV is related to nocturnal panic disorder insofar as it is measured during sleep.
Related Concept Videos
Panic Disorder
Decreased pulse rate
There are specific risk factors that can elevate the likelihood of developing bradycardia. Advanced age is a significant factor, with bradycardia...
Pulse rhythm
Conversely, an irregular pulse pattern is termed dysrhythmia, stemming from disruptions in cardiac muscle...
Dysrhythmias IV: Characteristics of Bradyarrhythmias
Disturbances in Heart Rhythm
Arrhythmias are categorized by their speed, rhythm, and origin. A slow heart...
Sleep-Wake Cycles
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge: