Does heart rate variability biofeedback modify cognitive processing of negative stimuli in depressed individuals?

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26590168
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clinical psychology
• Research Institution: Aichi Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: SAKAKIBARA Masahito 愛知学院大学, 心身科学部, 教授 (10221996)
• Research Collaborator: AKAMINE Aki 名古屋学芸大学, ヒューマンケア学部, 准教授 ; Lehrer Paul University of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Professor ; Katsamanis Maria University of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Associate Professor
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: バイオフィードバック / 抑うつ / 心拍変動 / 事象関連電位

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVBF) is known to have clinical utility in the treatment of depression. This study explored whether HRVBF could modify cognitive bias favoring negative stimuli in depressed individuals. College students (N = 14) with self-reported depression assessed by BDI-II participated in the study. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a go/no-go task (Task-1), in which target words were neutrally, or negatively valenced. This was followed by HRVBF condition, or fast paced breathing as a control condition. The go/no-go task (Task-2) was administered again, immediately after each condition. In Task-1, the ERP P300 amplitudes were larger for negatively valenced than for neutrally valenced words. In participants with high BDI scores, the P300 amplitude for negatively valenced words decreased from Task-1 to Task-2 during the HRVBF condition. Results suggest that HRVBF might modify the cognitive processing of negative stimuli in depressed individuals.

Free Research Field

臨床心理学