Cardiovascular reactivity during sadness induction predicts inhibitory control performance.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Negative affectivity is linked to reduced executive function and cognitive control.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic nervous system regulation of emotion and cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between emotional reactivity and inhibitory control using an antisaccade paradigm.
• To determine if HRV reactivity predicts performance on cognitive tasks under different emotional conditions.

Main Methods:

• Ninety participants completed affective questionnaires and completed two antisaccade tasks.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured during baseline and after viewing neutral, sad, or emotionally arousing video stimuli.
• HRV reactivity was computed and analyzed for its predictive relationship with inhibitory control performance.

Main Results:

• Cardiovascular reactivity (HRV) predicted error rates in antisaccade tasks specifically in the sadness group.
• No significant differences in inhibitory control performance were found between experimental groups.
• Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores moderated the effect in the emotional task, indicating a link between current emotional state and cognitive control.

Conclusions:

• Emotional reactivity to sad stimuli, indexed by HRV, predicts inhibitory control performance.
• The interaction between emotional state and cognitive control is influenced by individual affective measures.
• Findings highlight the role of psychophysiological responses in modulating executive functions.