Physiological responses (i.e., EEG, heart period, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)) were monitored in 5-month-old infants during the replacement of an adult's smiling (SF) with a blank face (BF) in a face-to-face setting. Affect, while the infant looked at and away from the adult's face during both conditions, was analyzed. Infants displayed neutral and some positive affect while looking at b...

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and shyness were examined as predictors of effortful control (EC) in a sample of 101 preschool-age children. Resting RSA was calculated from respiration and heart rate data collected during a neutral film; shyness was measured using parents', preschool teachers', and classroom observers' reports; and EC was measured using four laboratory tasks in addit...

Emotional reactions involve changes in both cognitive and bodily processes. Therefore, effective emotion regulation may also involve modulation of responses in both of these systems. The present study investigated the relationship between regulation of cognition and regulation of the heart in children and adolescents, using a go/nogo task in combination with the induction of negative emotions. ...

High cardiac vagal control (as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) is associated with lower depression. Recent theories argue that people's responsiveness to social resources is a key mechanism in this association. This argument implies two hypotheses: first, high RSA should be related to decreased depressive symptoms only when social resources (social support) are available; second,...

According to developmental theories of self-injury, both child characteristics and environmental contexts shape and maintain problematic behaviors. Although progress has been made toward identifying biological vulnerabilities to self-injury, mechanisms underlying psychosocial risk have received less attention. In the present study, we compared self-injuring adolescents (n = 17) with typical con...

Recent investigations have shown little evidence that written disclosure benefits bereaved individuals over a control condition. The present study hypothesized that the effectiveness of written disclosure for bereavement may be moderated by vagal tone, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Vagal tone has been identified as an important individual difference in depression. The presen...

We investigated the temperamental traits high-intensity pleasure (temperamental activation) and shyness (temperamental inhibition) in relation to autonomic function as measured by heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in 938 10-13-year-old preadolescents from a population cohort. Temperament was evaluated by parent reports on the Revised Early Ado...

This study aimed to examine (a) whether findings of increased cardiovascular reactivity in relation to cognitive ability seen in infants, young adults and the elderly can be extended to middle childhood and (b) which specific aspect(s) of intelligence is related to cardiovascular reactivity. We examined cardiovascular activity in 340 8- and 9-year-old children during a number judgment task and ...