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. 2025 Jul;13(14):e70466.
doi: 10.14814/phy2.70466.

Vagally mediated heart rate variability modulates the association between the perceived workload and the Stroop effect on behavioral performance

Xiao Yang  1 , Michael Gazzanigo  1 , Fang Fang  2 , Spencer House  1
Affiliations

Vagally mediated heart rate variability modulates the association between the perceived workload and the Stroop effect on behavioral performance

Xiao Yang et al. Physiol Rep. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) reflects top-down cognitive processes involved in emotion-cognition integration. Using cognitive control can be effortful and increase negative affect. However, this intrinsic affective component of cognitive control has not been well studied, and the role of vmHRV in the association between subjective experience in using cognitive control and behavioral performance remains unknown. The current study aimed to examine the relationship of vmHRV with cognitive control and perceived workload in a cognitive task. Eighty-one participants performed the Stroop interference task. Participants rated subjective workload using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scale for congruent and incongruent trials separately. Moreover, cognitive performance was analyzed with the ex-Gaussian model, from which the parameters μ and τ were derived to reflect sensorimotor processing and inhibitory control, respectively. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the effects of TLX change score (incongruent-congruent), vmHRV, and their interaction on the Stroop effect. Results showed that vmHRV negatively predicted the Stroop effect on τ. Importantly, vmHRV moderated the association between perceived workload and the Stroop effect on τ. Our findings highlight the role of cardiac vagal control in emotion-cognition integration and have theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: ex‐Gaussian parameters; inhibitory control; stroop effect; vagally mediated heart rate variability; workload.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Procedure and stimulus presentation of the study. The order of the congruent and incongruent conditions of the Stroop task was randomly counterbalanced in the first and second blocks. ECG, electrocardiography; NASA‐TLX, NASA task load index.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Simple slope analysis of high frequency heart rate variability (HF‐HRV) moderating the relationship between the Stroop interference effect on the ex‐Gaussian parameter tau (τ) and the changes in the perceived workload (mean centered NASA‐TLX change score: Incongruent–Congruent). Low and high HF‐HRV groups represent the observations below‐1 SD and above 1 SD, respectively; the error bars represent 95% C.I. of the bins.
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