High-frequency heart rate variability and cortico-striatal activity in men and women with social phobia

摘要: Identifying brain systems that regulate or modulate autonomic nervous system functions may identify pathways through which psychosocial factors can influence health and disease. Reduced high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) characterizes anxiety disordered patients is predictive of adverse myocardial events. Sex differences in the prevalence disorders cardiac diseases implicate possibility sex specific neural regulation HF-HRV. We investigated correlation between HF-HRV regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) 28 subjects (15 women) with social phobia undergoing a stressful public speaking task. Regional CBF was measured [(15)O] water positron emission tomography. Stress induced rCBF correlated positively right supra genual anterior cingulate cortex Brodmann's area (BA) 32, head caudate nucleus bilaterally medial prefrontal (BA10), extending into dorsolateral (BA46) left hemisphere. Men showed larger positive co-variation than women. These findings underscore importance emotional division cortex, striatum cardiovagal activity. The study replicates extends results from published functional neuroimaging studies on cardioregulatory modulatory areas healthy to men women phobia. Moreover, functions, possibly related dopaminergic neurotransmission, have sexually dimorphic effects vagal modulation heart.