It has been reported that the clinical symptoms of functional dyspepsia (FD) exacerbate upon stress while the gender-related factors have been incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate the role of sex in chronic heterotypic stress (CHS)-induced autonomic and gastric motor dysfunction. For CHS, the rats were exposed to the combination of different stressors for 7 consecutive days. Subsequently, electrocardiography was recorded in anesthetized rats to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) for the determination of autonomic outflow and sympathovagal balance. Solid gastric emptying (GE) was measured in control and CHS-loaded male and female rats. The immunoreactivities of catecholaminergic cell marker tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), and estrogen receptor (ER-α/β) were evaluated in medullary and pontine brainstem sections by immunohistochemistry. Compared with the controls, CHS significantly delayed GE in males but not in females. There was no significant sex-related difference in parasympathetic indicator HF under either control or CHS conditions. Sympathetic indicator LF was significantly higher in control females compared to the males. The higher sympathetic output in females was found to be attenuated upon CHS; in contrast, the elevated sympathetic output was detected in CHS-loaded males. No sex- or stress-related effect was observed on ChAT immunoreactivity in the dorsal motor nucleus of N.vagus (DMV). In males, greater number of TH-ir cells was observed in the caudal locus coeruleus (LC), while they were more densely detected in the rostral LC of females. Regardless of sex, CHS elevated immunoreactivity of TH throughout the LC. Under basal conditions, greater number of TH-ir cells was detected in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) of females. In contrast, CHS remarkably increased the number of TH-ir cells in the RVLM of males which was found to be decreased in females. There was no sex-related alteration in TH immunoreactivity in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of control rats, while CHS affected both sexes in a similar manner. Compared with females, CRF immunoreactivity was prominently observed in control males, while both of which were stimulated by CHS. ER-α/β was found to be co-expressed with TH in the NTS and LC which exhibit no alteration related to either sex or stress status. These results indicate a sexual dimorphism in the catecholaminergic and the CRF system in brainstem which might be involved in the CHS-induced autonomic and visceral dysfunction occurred in males.

Spa therapy is recommended to manage symptoms of fibromyalgia, but the physiological mechanisms underlying this improvement have been poorly studied. In an original study, we explored the effect of a 3-week rheumatology spa treatment for fibromyalgia patients on quality of life and with a symptom severity questionnaire. We present here the results of an ancillary study which explored three secondary criteria using objective measurement methods: diurnal actimetry for physical activity analysis, nocturnal actimetry for sleep analysis and heart rate variability. Eighty-three fibromyalgia patients were randomized to participate in an immediate 3-week rheumatological spa therapy, either a start within 6 weeks after inclusion (interventional group, n = 39) or a delayed, start 6 months after inclusion (control group, n = 44). Patients were asked to wear an actimeter (n = 56) to assess diurnal physical activity and sleep quality and a 24-h Holter ECG (n = 60) to assess nocturnal heart rate variability at baseline, 3 months and 6 months after inclusion. Time spent in sedentary and light physical activity was reduced to ∼30 min at 6 months in the interventional group (P = 0.027). Sleep quality and heart rate variability were not improved. Spa therapy made it possible to reduce sedentary activities in patients\' daily life for up to 6 months afterwards, concomitant with the improvement in quality of life, pain and fatigue as highlighted in the original Thermalgi study.

Aging is a major risk factor for sinoatrial node (SAN) dysfunction, which can impair heart rate (HR) control and heart rate variability (HRV). HR and HRV are determined by intrinsic SAN function and its regulation by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The purpose of this study was to use multi-scale multi-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MSMFDFA; a complexity-based approach to analyze multi-fractal dynamics) to longitudinally assess changes in multi-fractal HRV properties and SAN function in ECG time series recorded repeatedly across the full adult lifespan in mice. ECGs were recorded in anesthetized mice in baseline conditions and after autonomic nervous system blockade every three months beginning at 6 months of age until the end of life. MSMFDFA was used to assess HRV and SAN function every three months between 6 and 27 months of age. Intrinsic HR (i.e. HR during ANS blockade) remained relatively stable until 15 months of age, and then progressively declined until study endpoint at 27 months of age. MSMFDFA revealed sudden and rapid changes in multi-fractal properties of the ECG RR interval time series in aging mice. In particular, multi-fractal spectrum width (MFSW, a measure of multi-fractality) was relatively stable between 6 months and 15 months of age and then progressively increased at 27 months of age. These changes in MFSW were evident in baseline conditions and during ANS blockade. Thus, intrinsic SAN function declines progressively during aging and is manifested by age-associated changes in multi-fractal HRV across the lifespan in mice, which can be accurately quantified by MSMFDFA.

Autistic youth experience several behavioral and emotional characteristics that can predispose them to emotion dysregulation (ED). Current literature examining ED in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited to parent- and self-reported measures, indicating a need for biological or physiological methods to better assess emotion regulation in ASD. Utilizing the autonomic nervous system, specifically heart rate variability (HRV), may be a promising method to objectively measure ED in ASD, given it is one of the body\'s primary means of regulating physiological arousal. Our pilot study is one of the first to examine the feasibility, utility, and construct validity of HRV along with clinical measures within an intervention targeting ED-specific symptoms in ASD. Participants included 30 autistic youth ages 8-17 years who participated in the pilot study of Regulating Together, a group-based intervention targeting emotion regulation. We demonstrate HRV is feasible, demonstrates adequate test-retest reliability, and is complimentary to clinician- and parent-reported measures. Our preliminary findings also point to certain HRV profiles being indicative of long-term outcomes after receiving treatment. HRV may be a useful, objective tool in determining differential needs of long-term follow-up care for treatment maintenance at screening or baseline stages.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson\'s patients have significant autonomic dysfunction, early detect the disorder is a major challenge. To assess the autonomic function in the rat model of rotenone induced Parkinson\'s disease (PD), Blood pressure and ECG signal acquisition are very important.
METHODS: we used telemetry to record the electrocardiogram and blood pressure signals from awake rats, with linear and nonlinear analysis techniques calculate the heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). we applied nonlinear analysis methods like sample entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis to analyze blood pressure signals. Particularly, this is the first attempt to apply nonlinear analysis to the blood pressure evaluate in rotenone induced PD model rat.
RESULTS: HRV in the time and frequency domains indicated sympathetic-parasympathetic imbalance in PD model rats. Linear BPV analysis didn\'t reflect changes in vascular function and blood pressure regulation in PD model rats. Nonlinear analysis revealed differences in BPV, with lower sample entropy results and increased detrended fluctuation analysis results in the PD group rats.
CONCLUSIONS: our experiments demonstrate the ability to evaluate autonomic dysfunction in models of Parkinson\'s disease by combining the analysis of BPV with HRV, consistent with autonomic impairment in PD patients. Nonlinear analysis by blood pressure signal may help in early detection of the PD. It indicates that the fluctuation of blood pressure in the rats in the rotenone model group tends to be regular and predictable, contributes to understand the PD pathophysiological mechanisms and to find strategies for early diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare condition characterized by alveolar hypoventilation and autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction requiring long-term ventilation. CCHS could constitute a risk factor of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to birth injury related to respiratory failure, which remains to be determined. ANS dysfunction has also been described in ASD and there are indications for altered contribution of ANS-central nervous system interaction in processing of social information; thus, CCHS could be a risk factor for ASD based on pathophysiological background also. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of ASD among CCHS patients, identify risk factors, and explore the relationship between the ANS, evaluated by heart rate variability indices, and adaptative functioning.
RESULTS: Our retrospective study, based on the analysis of records of a French national center of patients with CCHS under 20 years of age, determined that the prevalence of ASD (diagnosed by a psychiatrist, following the criteria of DSM-4 or DSM-5) was 6/69 patients, 8.7% (95% confidence interval: 3.3-18.0%). In a case (CCHS with ASD, n = 6) - control (CCHS without ASD, n = 12) study with matching on sex, longer neonatal hospitalization stay and glycemic dysfunction were associated with ASD. Adaptative functioning was assessed using Vineland Adaptative behavioral scales (VABS) and heart rate variability indices (including daytime RMSSD as an index of parasympathetic modulation) were obtained from ECG Holter performed the same day. In 19 young subjects with CCHS who had both ECG Holter and VABS, significant positive correlations were observed between RMSSD and three of four sub-domains of the VABS (communication: R = 0.50, p = 0.028; daily living skills: R = 0.60, p = 0.006; socialization: R = 0.52, p = 0.021).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests a high prevalence of ASD in patients with CCHS. Glycemic dysfunction and longer initial hospitalization stays were associated with ASD development. A defect in parasympathetic modulation was associated with worse adaptative functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the capacity to adapt to internal and environmental changes. Decreased HRV may indicate inadequate adaptive capacity. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the heart and brain\'s adaptive abilities, both at rest and when negative emotions are stimulated in depression.
METHODS: The study included 30 patients (20 female, 10 male) with major depression (mean age = 29.8 ± 7.8) and 30 healthy controls, all of whom had similar characteristics in terms of age and gender, selected through convenience sampling. The patients were drug-free at the time of the assessment. Holter recordings were obtained while subjects watched videos stimulating anger, fear, sadness, and a neutral video, and at rest, HRV parameters were calculated. To control for interindividual variability and account for paired sampling, linear mixed effects models were employed.
RESULTS: Watching the \'sadness video\' led to an increase in low frequency band (LF) [LF change (Control vs depression); Difference:-620.80 df:107 t:-2.093 P:0.039] and LF/high frequency band ratio (LF/HF) [LF/HF change (control vs depression group); Difference:-1.718 df:105 t:-2.374 P:0.020] in the depression group. The video led to a decrease in LF and LF/HF in the controls. Although the differences between the conditions and interactions with the group were significant, the effects were independent of depression severity.
CONCLUSIONS: In depression, brain\'s regulatory effect on the heart differed from controls in the sadness condition, possibly due to increased arousal levels in subjects with depression and their inability to suppress sympathetic activity when a state of sadness is stimulated.

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This study delves into functional brain-heart interplay (BHI) dynamics during interictal periods before and after seizure events in focal epilepsy. Our analysis focuses on elucidating the causal interaction between cortical and autonomic nervous system (ANS) oscillations, employing electroencephalography and heart rate variability series. The dataset for this investigation comprises 47 seizure events from 14 independent subjects, obtained from the publicly available Siena Dataset. Our findings reveal an impaired brain-heart axis especially in the heart-to-brain functional direction. This is particularly evident in bottom-up oscillations originating from sympathovagal activity during the transition between preictal and postictal periods. These results indicate a pivotal role of the ANS in epilepsy dynamics. Notably, the brain-to-heart information flow targeting cardiac oscillations in the low-frequency band does not display significant changes. However, there are noteworthy changes in cortical oscillations, primarily originating in central regions, influencing heartbeat oscillations in the high-frequency band. Our study conceptualizes seizures as a state of hyperexcitability and a network disease affecting both cortical and peripheral neural dynamics. Our results pave the way for a deeper understanding of BHI in epilepsy, which holds promise for the development of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches also based on bodily neural activity for individuals living with epilepsy.
This study focuses on brain-heart interplay (BHI) during pre- and postictal periods surrounding seizures. Employing multichannel EEG and heart rate variability data from subjects with focal epilepsy, our analysis reveals a disrupted brain-heart axis dynamic, particularly in the heart-to-brain direction. Notably, sympathovagal activity alterations during preictal to postictal transitions underscore the autonomic nervous system’s pivotal role in epilepsy dynamics. While brain-to-heart information flow targeting low-frequency band cardiac oscillations remains stable, significant changes occur in cortical oscillations, predominantly in central regions, influencing high-frequeny-band heartbeat oscillations, that is, vagal activity. Viewing seizures as states of hyperexcitability and confirming focal epilepsy as a network disease affecting both central and peripheral neural dynamics, our study enhances understanding of BHI in epilepsy. These findings offer potential for advanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches grounded in bodily neural activity for individuals with epilepsy.

Stressful situations lead to change in or damage to the central nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and autonomic function. Techniques for reducing stress such as yoga and mindfulness meditation have been reported to improve emotional regulation and mindfulness skill, as well as stress response. Mindfulness skill relies on intense focus to quiet the mind and bring concentration to the present moment. The present study was a randomized control trial to investigate the effects of an 8-week training program (three 45-minute sessions/week, one session with an instructor and two sessions as home practice) in mindfulness meditation or in yoga on stress and related variables in healthy people. Forty-four healthy participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: a mindfulness group (n = 16), a yoga group (n = 13), and a control group (n = 15). The yoga training significantly modified heart rate variability, contributing to decreased relative power of the low-frequency band; the relative power of the high-frequency band increased after training. The mindfulness meditation training significantly improved mindfulness skill and concentration performance. In the present study, yoga was associated with increased heart rate variability and mindfulness meditation was associated with an increase in mindfulness skill and concentration performance.