Title Respiratory sinus arrhythmia in response to fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli.
Authors Peter Jönsson, Maria Sandsten
Alternative Location http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov..., Restricted Access
Alternative Location http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j..., Restricted Access
Publication Scandinavian journal of psychology
Year 2008
Volume 49
Issue 2
Pages 123 - 131
Document type Article
Status Published
Quality controlled Yes
Language eng
Abstract English Heart period variability and heart rate were studied in 15 women and 15 men while they were viewing negatively (snakes/spiders), neutrally (scenic views), and positively (cats and kittens/puppies and dogs) valenced films. Time-frequency analyses of the heart period variability power spectrum in the high frequency region (0.12-0.4 Hz), reflecting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), were carried out during 5 minutes in each condition. The main finding showed that RSA-magnitude (high frequency power) was inversely related to emotional valence: lowest magnitudes were found in response to positive films, and highest magnitude to negative films. The findings were interpreted as reflecting motor or behavioral inhibition, and increased attention to negatively valenced, stimuli.
ISBN/ISSN/Other ISSN: 0036-5564

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