Abstract
Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity is a core and central component of emotion. The myriad social and cognitive challenges faced by humans require flexible modulation of ANS activity for different contexts. In this study, simultaneous activity of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system was measured using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period (PEP), respectively. Samples combined four previous studies (N=325) in which RSA and PEP were collected continuously during a resting baseline and an acute stressor, the Trier Social Stress Task. The concurrent relation between RSA and PEP responses was modeled in order to determine the extent to which SNS and PNS activity is coordinated at rest, in response to a stressor, and during recovery, and whether this coordination was moderated by age, race, sex, or baseline RSA and PEP. Overall, RSA and PEP were reciprocally coupled within task periods, perhaps reflecting shared regulatory mechanisms in the brain, independent of reciprocal responses to environmental demands. However, recovery from a stressor was characterized by uncorrelated activity and coactivation on average. Individuals also vary in the extent to which their SNS and PNS are reciprocally coupled; women, younger adults, and individuals with higher baseline RSA showed more reciprocal coupling than men, older adults, and those with lower baseline RSA, respectively, perhaps reflecting a greater range of physiological responding in the former group.
