| Title | Resting vagal activity in schizophrenia: meta-analysis of heart rate variability as a potential endophenotype. | ||
| Author | Clamor, Annika; Lincoln, Tania M; Thayer, Julian F; Koenig, Julian | ||
| Journal | Br J Psychiatry | Publication Year/Month | 2016-Jan |
| PMID | 26729841 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Annika Clamor, MSc, Tania M. Lincoln, Dr. rer. nat., University of Hamburg, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Hamburg, Germany; Julian F. Thayer, PhD, The Ohio State University, Department of Psychology, Columbus, Ohio, USA; Julian Koenig, Dr. sc. hum., University of Heidelberg, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Section for Translational Psychobiology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Heidelberg, Germany annika.clamor@uni-hamburg.de. | ||
BACKGROUND: Cardiac vagal tone, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), is a proxy for the functional integrity of feedback mechanisms integrating central and peripheral physiology. AIMS: To quantify differences in HRV in individuals with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. METHOD: Databases were systematically searched for studies eligible for inclusion. Random effect meta-analyses of standardised mean differences were calculated for vagal activity indicated by high-frequency HRV and the root mean square of successive R-R interval differences (RMSSD). RESULTS: Thirty-four studies were included. Significant main effects were found for high-frequency HRV (P = 0.0008; Hedges\' g = -0.98, 95% CI -1.56 to -0.41, k = 29) and RMSSD (P<0.0001; g = -0.91, 95% CI -1.19 to -0.62, k = 24), indicating lower vagal activity in individuals with schizophrenia than in healthy controls. Considerable heterogeneity was evident but effects were robust in subsequent sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Given the association between low HRV, threat processing, emotion regulation and executive functioning, reduced vagal tone may be an endophenotype for the development of psychotic symptoms.