Abstract
Background: Studies of the autonomic nervous system in posttraumatic stress syndrome
(PTSD) have focused on the sympathetic modulation of arousal and have neglected the
parasympathetic contribution. This study addresses the parasympathetic control of
heart rate in individuals who have survived traumatic events.
Methods: Twenty-nine survivors, 14 with current PTSD and 15 without, participated
in the study. The groups were comparable with regard to age, type of trauma, time
since the latest traumatic event, and lifetime exposure to traumatic events. Electrocardiograms
were recorded during rest and an arithmetic task. Heart period, respiratory sinus
arrhythmia (RSA), and the amplitude of the Traube–Hering-Mayer wave were quantified.
Results: The groups did not differ on resting measures. During the arithmetic task,
the past trauma group showed a significant increase in RSA (p < .007), whereas the PTSD group did not. In the past trauma group only, RSA and heart
period were highly correlated (r = .75), thereby suggesting that the response to challenge was under vagal control.
Conclusions: Trauma survivors who develop PTSD differ from those who do not in the
extent to which their heart rate response to challenge is controlled by vagal activity.
Responses to challenge in PTSD may be mediated by nonvagal, possibly sympathetic mechanisms.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
July 28,
2000
Received in revised form:
June 23,
2000
Received:
September 30,
1999
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
