Phase synchronization of hemodynamic variables and respiration during mental challenge

We studied the synchronization of heart rate, blood pressure and respiration in the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system during a cancellation test of attention and during mental arithmetic tasks. The synchronization was quantified by the index γ, which has been adopted from the analysis of weakly coupled chaotic oscillators. We analyzed in twenty healthy women the continuous signals partitioned in low (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high (HF, 0.15-0.40 Hz) frequencies to investigate whether or not respiration is a main determinant of cardiovascular synchronization. We used surrogate data analysis to distinguish between causal relationships from those that occur by chance. The LF-components of R-R interval and blood pressure showed no synchronization with respiration, whereas synchronization between blood pressure and R-R interval exceeded that occurring by chance (p < .001). Although heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory frequency increased from rest to mental challenge, no effect of mental challenge on the synchronization of the LF-components was seen. The HF-components showed significant synchronization for all variables (p < .001). During mental challenge, synchronization between respiration and R-R interval, respiration and systolic blood pressure (SBP), as well as R-R interval and SBP decreased (p < .01), whereas under resting conditions, respiration was one of the dominant mechanisms determining heart rate variability and systolic blood pressure fluctuations. We conclude that the observed decrease of synchronization during mental challenge is not only driven by the increase in respiratory frequency but that 'top down' intervention by the control system at higher levels may play an additional role.