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Updated: May 15, 2026
Cerebral Blood Flow-Based Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Human Brain using Optical Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2020
Association between heart rate variability and fluctuations in resting-state functional connectivity
Catie Chang1, Coraline D Metzger, Gary H Glover
1Advanced MRI Section, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Resting state functional connectivity fluctuates with autonomic state. Elevated heart rate variability (HRV) correlates with stronger brain network coupling, revealing the neural basis of autonomic changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychophysiology
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) exhibits dynamic fluctuations.
- The origins and functional significance of rsFC dynamics are not fully understood.
- Autonomic nervous system (ANS) state may influence brain activity during rest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between endogenous dynamics of rsFC and autonomic state.
- To explore how heart rate variability (HRV) relates to temporal changes in whole-brain functional connectivity.
- To identify brain regions whose connectivity patterns covary with ANS activity.
Main Methods:
- Sliding window analysis applied to resting-state fMRI data.
- Examined covariance between HRV and temporal rsFC with amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) seed regions.
- Differentiated connectivity dynamics from BOLD signal fluctuations.
Main Results:
- Specific brain regions (brainstem, thalamus, putamen, dlPFC) showed increased coupling with dACC and amygdala seeds during elevated HRV.
- Distinct contributions of high and low frequency HRV components suggest differential sympathetic and parasympathetic influences.
- rsFC dynamics were separable from BOLD signal fluctuations.
Conclusions:
- Provides novel insights into the neural underpinnings of transient ANS state changes.
- Suggests physiological and psychological contributions to the non-stationarity observed in rsFC.
- Highlights the interplay between autonomic regulation and brain network dynamics during rest.
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