Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Factors Influencing Heart Rate01:30

Factors Influencing Heart Rate

2.4K
The heart rate, or pulse rate, is a vital indicator of cardiovascular health. It reflects the number of times the heart beats per minute. Various physiological and environmental factors influence heart rate, increasing or decreasing cardiac output. Understanding these factors is crucial for assessing heart function and identifying potential health issues.
Let us explore the significant factors affecting heart rate, including age, body temperature, posture, acute pain, chemical influences,...
2.4K
Behavior Therapy01:22

Behavior Therapy

40
Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
40
Regulation of Heart Rates01:31

Regulation of Heart Rates

1.6K
The regulation of heart rate is a complex process controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), hormonal influences, and intrinsic cardiac mechanisms. The ANS has two main components: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).
The SNS increases heart rate through the release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, which act on beta-1 adrenergic receptors in the heart. This action increases the rate of depolarization in the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart's...
1.6K
Anxiety: Overview01:18

Anxiety: Overview

242
Anxiety is a common mental disorder featuring excessive worry, fear, and apprehension, significantly affecting daily life. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent and intense anxiety, interrupting their everyday functioning.
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
242
Increased pulse rate01:17

Increased pulse rate

636
Tachycardia is a condition marked by an abnormally fast or irregular heart rate, surpassing the typical resting rate. In adults, tachycardia is characterized by a pulse rate ranging from 100 to 180 beats per minute. The increased heart rate can result in inadequate blood flow to various body parts, ultimately diminishing the oxygen supply to organs and tissues.
Many factors can elevate the risk of developing tachycardia. These include advanced age, a family history of arrhythmias, and an...
636
Operant Conditioning Intervention01:24

Operant Conditioning Intervention

39
Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
39

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Distinct Brain Systems Support Afferent and Efferent Autonomic Activity.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Associations of Emotion Regulation Difficulties with Cardiac Autonomic Balance and Regulation.

Affective science·2026
Same author

Stress and cardiovascular disease: Testing a vigilance pathway in two contemporary theories.

Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association·2026
Same author

Capturing sex differences in spontaneous autonomic fluctuations of resting heart rate using a similarity graph theory approach.

Biology of sex differences·2026
Same author

The cardiovascular conundrum in Non-Hispanic Black emerging adults: multiethnic differences in its association with emotion regulation strategies and socioeconomic status.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same author

Specific heart rate variability features in four ethnic groups of young adults residing in the United States: Association with socioeconomic status.

Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2025

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach
10:50

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Published on: June 6, 2012

14.5K

Heart Rate Variability Predicts Therapy Outcome in Anxiety Disorders: The Role of Inhibitory Learning.

Sabrina Fagioli1, Darcianne K Watanabe2, Julian Koenig3

  • 1Department of Education, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy.

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
|January 20, 2025
PubMed
Summary

High resting heart rate variability (HRV) predicts better outcomes in exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder by enhancing inhibitory learning and reducing the return of fear (ROF). This suggests HRV is a key factor in successful anxiety treatment.

Keywords:
Exposure therapyHeart rate variabilityInhibitory learningPIATReturn of fearVagal activity

More Related Videos

Calculating Heart Rate Variability from ECG Data from Youth with Cerebral Palsy During Active Video Game Sessions
08:12

Calculating Heart Rate Variability from ECG Data from Youth with Cerebral Palsy During Active Video Game Sessions

Published on: June 5, 2019

19.8K
Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

22.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 1, 2025

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach
10:50

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Published on: June 6, 2012

14.5K
Calculating Heart Rate Variability from ECG Data from Youth with Cerebral Palsy During Active Video Game Sessions
08:12

Calculating Heart Rate Variability from ECG Data from Youth with Cerebral Palsy During Active Video Game Sessions

Published on: June 5, 2019

19.8K
Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

22.8K

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Exposure therapy is effective for anxiety disorders, but individual differences and return of fear (ROF) exist.
  • Understanding factors influencing treatment success is crucial for improving interventions and understanding anxiety.
  • Resting heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of autonomic nervous system function that may play a role in emotional regulation and treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of resting heart rate variability (HRV) on the return of fear (ROF) following exposure therapy in individuals with social phobia.
  • To assess whether resting HRV prospectively predicts inhibitory learning, which in turn predicts ROF at follow-up.
  • To explore the relationship between HRV, inhibitory learning, and treatment outcomes in social anxiety disorder.

Main Methods:

  • Forty adult participants with Social Anxiety Disorder underwent a single massed exposure therapy session.
  • Resting heart rate variability (HRV) was measured as an indicator of vagal activity.
  • Inhibitory learning was assessed using the Personalized Implicit Association Task (PIAT), with self-reported responses recorded pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at one-month follow-up.

Main Results:

  • Higher pre-treatment HRV was associated with less negative implicit attitudes towards public speaking post-exposure.
  • Individuals with higher pre-treatment HRV reported fewer residual symptoms at the one-month follow-up.
  • Path modeling supported the hypothesis that HRV predicts inhibitory learning, which predicts reduced ROF.

Conclusions:

  • Resting heart rate variability (HRV) is a significant predictor of successful exposure therapy outcomes in social anxiety disorder.
  • Inhibitory learning appears to be a key mechanism through which HRV influences the reduction of fear and symptom relapse.
  • These findings support theoretical models of exposure therapy emphasizing inhibitory learning and highlight the role of autonomic function in anxiety treatment.