0000000000164960
AUTHOR
Gaetano Valenza
Quantification of Different Regulatory Pathways Contributing to Heartbeat Dynamics during Multiple Stimuli: a Proof of the Concept.
The dynamical interplay between brain and heart is mediated by several feedback mechanisms including the central autonomic network and baroreflex loop at a peripheral level, also for a short-term regulation. State of the art focused on the characterization of each regulatory pathway through a single stressor elicitation. However, no studies targeted the actual quantification of different mediating routes leading to the generation of heartbeat dynamics, particularly in case of combined exogenous stimuli. In this study, we propose a new approach based on computational modeling to quantify the contribution of multiple concurrent stimuli in modulating cardiovascular dynamics. In this prelimina…
Quantifying multidimensional control mechanisms of cardiovascular dynamics during multiple concurrent stressors
Heartbeat regulation is achieved through different routes originating from central autonomic network sources, as well as peripheral control mechanisms. While previous studies successfully characterized cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms during a single stressor, to the best of our knowledge, a combination of multiple concurrent elicitations leading to the activation of different autonomic regulatory routes has not been investigated yet. Therefore, in this study, we propose a novel modeling framework for the quantification of heartbeat regulatory mechanisms driven by different neural routes. The framework is evaluated using two heartbeat datasets gathered from healthy subjects undergoing p…
Causal brain-heart information transfer during visual emotional elicitation in healthy subjects: Preliminary evaluations and future perspectives
Complex heartbeat dynamics is known to reflect subject's emotional state, thanks to numerous links to brain cortical and subcortical regions. Likewise, specific brain regions are deeply involved in vagally-mediated emotional processing and regulation. Nevertheless, although the brain-heart interplay has been studied during visual emotion elicitation, directional interactions have not been investigated so far. To fill this gap, in this study we investigate brain-heart dynamics during emotional elicitation in healthy subjects through measures of Granger causality (GC) between the two physiological systems. Data were gathered from 22 healthy volunteers who underwent pleasant/ unpleasant affect…
Instantaneous Transfer Entropy for the Study of Cardiovascular and Cardio-Respiratory Nonstationary Dynamics
Objective: Measures of transfer entropy (TE) quantify the direction and strength of coupling between two complex systems. Standard approaches assume stationarity of the observations, and therefore are unable to track time-varying changes in nonlinear information transfer with high temporal resolution. In this study, we aim to define and validate novel instantaneous measures of TE to provide an improved assessment of complex nonstationary cardiorespiratory interactions. Methods: We here propose a novel instantaneous point-process TE (ipTE) and validate its assessment as applied to cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory dynamics. In particular, heartbeat and respiratory dynamics are characteriz…
Inferring directionality of coupled dynamical systems using Gaussian process priors: Application on neurovascular systems
Dynamical system theory has recently shown promise for uncovering causality and directionality in complex systems, particularly using the method of convergent cross mapping (CCM). In spite of its success in the literature, the presence of process noise raises concern about CCM's ability to uncover coupling direction. Furthermore, CCM's capacity to detect indirect causal links may be challenged in simulated unidrectionally coupled Rossler-Lorenz systems. To overcome these limitations, we propose a method that places a Gaussian process prior on a cross mapping function (named GP-CCM) to impose constraints on local state space neighborhood comparisons. Bayesian posterior likelihood and…
Instantaneous transfer entropy for the study of cardio-respiratory dynamics
Measures of transfer entropy have been proposed to quantify the directional coupling and strength between two complex physiological variables. Particular attention has been given to nonlinear interactions within cardiovascular and respiratory dynamics as influenced by the autonomic nervous system. However, standard transfer entropy estimates have shown major limitations in dealing with issues concerning stochastic system modeling, limited observations in time, and the assumption of stationarity of the considered physiological variables. Moreover, standard estimates are unable to track time-varying changes in nonlinear coupling with high resolution in time. Here, we propose a novel definitio…
Towards Disentangling the Contribution of Different Pathways for the Regulation of Cardiac Activity: A Pilot Study
Heartbeat is dynamically regulated through mediating routes associated with central and peripheral feedback mechanisms. Previous studies focused on the quantification of these mechanisms in the presence of a single stressor. In this pilot study we propose a model aimed to quantify the contribution of different heartbeat regulatory routes while multiple stressors are administrated to the subject. The model is tested with Heart rate Variability (HRV) series from 26 subjects undergoing physical and affective stressors. Results show that the physical stressor prevalently (74%) contributes in mediating cardiac vagal control dynamics in case of concurrent affective elicitation. These results may …
Heart rate variability in marketing research: A systematic review and methodological perspectives
Abstract Heart rate variability is a promising physiological measurement that accesses psychophysiological variations in response to a marketing stimulus. While its application spans diverse fields, there is a limited understanding of the usability and interpretation of heart rate variability in marketing research. Therefore, this hybrid literature review provides an overview of the emerging use of heart rate variability in marketing research, along with essential methodological considerations. In this context, we blend marketing mix framework with stimulus-organism-response theory, segregating the use of heart rate variability in various marketing research contexts. We follow the preferred…
Lateralization of directional brain-heart information transfer during visual emotional elicitation
Previous studies have characterized the physiological interactions between central nervous system (brain) and peripheral cardiovascular system (heart) during affective elicitation in healthy subjects; however, questions related to the directionality of this functional interplay have been gaining less attention from the scientific community. Here, we explore brain-heart interactions during visual emotional elicitation in healthy subjects using measures of Granger causality (GC), a widely used descriptor of causal influences between two dynamical systems. The proposed approach inferences causality between instantaneous cardiovagal dynamics estimated from inhomogeneous point-process models of…
Advanced computation in cardiovascular physiology: New challenges and opportunities
Recent developments in computational physiology have successfully exploited advanced signal processing and artificial intelligence tools for predicting or uncovering characteristic features of physiological and pathological states in humans. While these advanced tools have demonstrated excellent diagnostic capabilities, the high complexity of these computational 'black boxes’ may severely limit scientific inference, especially in terms of biological insight about both physiology and pathological aberrations. This theme issue highlights current challenges and opportunities of advanced computational tools for processing dynamical data reflecting autonomic nervous system dynamics, with a speci…
Assessing Complexity in Physiological Systems through Biomedical Signals Analysis
The idea that most physiological systems are complex has become increasingly popular in recent decades [...]