Role of cognitive and personality variables in regulation of heart rhythm

The heart rate (HR) response to stimulation is described as a biphasic function with a phase of deceleration and acceleration. The deceleration is interpreted as a component of orienting behavior or of stimulus intake and acceleration as a sign of internal information processing going along with the rejection of external stimulation. However, there are many authors who do not support this assumption. The question arises whether the heart rate patterns are concomitant or even dependent on breathing behavior. Also the sensitivity of HR as an indicator of influence of selfregulatory processes on physiological functions remains still a problem for future studies. In general it may be concluded that the HR is one of the relatively independent indices of changes in the level of activation or mobilization. The HR in healthy subjects is a function not only of intensity and modality of the stimulus but also of prestimulus level of activation and its dependence on breathing behavior. At the same time there is evidence of a connection of HR with high cognitive processes which in an interaction of the organism and environment together with volitional processes have a regulatory function.