Heart rate variability and functional  connectivity patterns of large-scale brain  networks: Testing basic assumptions of the extended Neurovascular Integration Model

BACKGROUND: Cortical correlates to heart rate variability (HRV) are assumed to involve interconnectivity between single brain areas and large-scale brain networks (LSN) in the extended neurovascular integration model (NVI). Among those are the CEN and the DMN from the triple network model (TNM) and the anterior insula (AI) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC). This study aimed to test if AI and DACC are involved as the SN in FC patterns that correlate to HRV. Second, it was tested if LSN show FC patterns in accordance with the TNM during experimental tasks. METHODS: 27 female participants (18- 35 years) took part in this cross-sectional fMRI study. Experimentally induced FC patterns of the three LSN with HRV as a covariate were used for the statistical model. RESULTS: As hypothesised, the CEN showed significantly more intrinsic FC during the WMT which was associated with HRV. Further, there was an association between HRV and the FC between the CEN and AI/ACC, respectively...Show moreBACKGROUND: Cortical correlates to heart rate variability (HRV) are assumed to involve interconnectivity between single brain areas and large-scale brain networks (LSN) in the extended neurovascular integration model (NVI). Among those are the CEN and the DMN from the triple network model (TNM) and the anterior insula (AI) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC). This study aimed to test if AI and DACC are involved as the SN in FC patterns that correlate to HRV. Second, it was tested if LSN show FC patterns in accordance with the TNM during experimental tasks. METHODS: 27 female participants (18- 35 years) took part in this cross-sectional fMRI study. Experimentally induced FC patterns of the three LSN with HRV as a covariate were used for the statistical model. RESULTS: As hypothesised, the CEN showed significantly more intrinsic FC during the WMT which was associated with HRV. Further, there was an association between HRV and the FC between the CEN and AI/ACC, respectively. Against the hypothesis, an involvement of the full SN could not be confirmed. The results concerning the DMN disconfirm the hypothesis of an increased FC during the rumination condition. Lastly, a trend was visible for lower HRV during the WMT compared to the rumination condition, but this difference did not reach the significance level. CONCLUSION: The present results confirm the AI and ACC as autonomous brain regions involved in FC patterns associated with HRV. This confirmation of the NVI opposes the unexpectedly high FC pattern of the DMN during the WMT, which points to explanatory gaps in the external validity of the model and the role of LSN vs. single brain regions as associates of HRV.Show less

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Heart rate variability and functional connectivity patterns of large-scale brain networks: Testing basic assumptions of the extended Neurovascular Integration Model