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. 2014 Jul 23;9(7):e102971.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102971. eCollection 2014.

Effects of emotion regulation difficulties on the tonic and phasic cardiac autonomic response

Guillaume Berna  1 , Laurent Ott  2 , Jean-Louis Nandrino  1
Affiliations

Effects of emotion regulation difficulties on the tonic and phasic cardiac autonomic response

Guillaume Berna et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Emotion regulation theory aims to explain the interactions between individuals and the environment. In this context, Emotion Regulation Difficulties (ERD) disrupt the physiological component of emotions through the autonomic nervous system and are involved in several psychopathological states.

Objective: We were interested in comparing the influence of a film-elicited emotion procedure on the autonomic nervous system activity of two groups with different levels of emotion regulation difficulties.

Methods: A total of 63 women (undergraduate students) ranging from 18 to 27 (20.7 ± 1.99) years old were included. Using the upper and lower quartile of a questionnaire assessing the daily difficulties in regulating emotions, two groups, one with low (LERD) and one with high (HERD) levels of emotion regulation difficulties, were constituted and studied during a film-elicited emotion procedure. Cardiac vagal activity (HF-HRV) was analyzed during three periods: baseline, film-elicited emotion, and recovery.

Results: The cardiovascular results showed a decrease in HF-HRV from baseline to elicitation for both groups. Then, from elicitation to recovery, HF-HRV increased for the LERD group, whereas a low HF-HRV level persisted for the HERD group.

Conclusions: The HERD group exhibited inappropriate cardiac vagal recovery after a negative emotion elicitation had ended. Cardiac vagal tone took longer to return to its initial state in the HERD group than in the LERD group. Prolonged cardiac vagal suppression might constitute an early marker of emotion regulation difficulties leading to lower cardiac vagal tone.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. SCL for each epoch.
Legend: SCL: Skin Conductance Level. Significance level indicated by the following symbols: *p<0.01, **p<0.0005. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 2
Figure 2. ΔHF-HRV for each ERD group.
Legend: HF-HRV: High Frequency Heart Rate Variability; ΔHF-HRV1 = HF-HRV(elicitation)–HF-HRV(baseline); ΔHF-HRV2 = HF-HRV(elicitation)–HF-HRV(recovery); ERD: Emotion Regulation Difficulties; LERD: Low Emotion Regulation Difficulties group; HERD: High Emotion Regulation Difficulties group; *: Indicates significant effect of ERD groups on ΔΔHF-HRV2. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 3
Figure 3. HF-HRV temporal dynamics for each ERD group.
Legend: HF-HRV: High Frequency Heart Rate Variability; ERD: Emotion Regulation Difficulties; LERD: Low Emotion Regulation Difficulties group; HERD: High Emotion Regulation Difficulties group. Error bars represent standard error of means.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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