Is the blunted blood pressure reactivity in dysphoric individuals related to attenuated behavioral approach?

Depressive symptoms have been related to autonomic nervous system dysregulation. Recent research found attenuated cardiovascular reactivity to self-relevant tasks. The aim of this study was to examine whether blunted blood pressure reactivity in dysphoric individuals is moderated by impaired effort mobilization and behavioral approach. Seventy-five individuals were instructed to sing a song in front of a camera. Depressive symptoms, blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability as well as subjective and other-rated indicators of behavioral approach were recorded. Depressive symptoms were positively correlated with heart rate and inversely associated with heart rate variability during baseline. Moreover, higher depression scores were accompanied by attenuated systolic blood pressure reactivity during singing, thus supporting previous research. This finding was neither mediated by subjective nor other-rated indicators of behavioral approach. Although confirming recent evidence of blunted blood pressure reactivity and altered autonomic baseline function in dysphoric individuals, the findings call for further research on the role of behavioral approach in depression-related blunted physiological reactivity.