dc.description.abstract |
Researching the processes that govern the body’s stress response is important as it allows us to understand how our physiology could be altered by various stress disorders. While studies have started to analyze interactions between the heart and the brain, little research has been done in a resting state, and few have used both sympathetic and parasympathetic measures. Due to this, I analyzed individual differences in the relationship between the heart and the brain during a resting state. I utilized heart-rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of the parasympathetic nervous system, pre-ejection period (PEP) as an indicator of the sympathetic nervous system, and EEG frequencies as a measure of different brain states. I found a significant relationship between delta power and PEP, lower alpha band 1 power and PEP, and lower alpha band 2 power and PEP. Delta power and PEP had a positive relationship, meaning that as sympathetic nervous system activity decreased, delta power increased. Both lower alpha band 1 and lower alpha band 2 power had a negative relationship to PEP, meaning that as sympathetic nervous system activity increased, lower alpha band 1 and 2 power increased. This indicates a possible relationship between the sympathetic nervous system and lower frequencies of alpha, as well as delta. If this relationship is explored further, it could be possible to use alterations in this relationship to diagnose people with various mental disorders. |
en_US |