Glossary // Glossary term Technical
Heart rate variability
The variation in time between successive heartbeats, summarised by time-domain and frequency-domain indices. Some indices, such as RMSSD and high-frequency power, are used to estimate cardiac vagal (parasympathetic) influence, and they have been associated with self-regulation in psychophysiological research. HRV is strongly affected by breathing, posture, movement, age and recording length, so recommendations stress controlled conditions and careful reporting before any psychological interpretation. Allostasis and allostatic load, the cognitive control of emotion, the stress-buffering effects of social support and the use of music for mood regulation explain what a night of collective movement does for the body, and what it cannot change. How one could reason about recording a catharsis-like change of state: signals, features, inference and context, baselines, self-report, error costs and ethics, and why every step stays uncertain. Nothing on this site measures anyone. The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at. (2017). Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research: Recommendations for experiment planning, data analysis, and data reporting. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213 Supports the claims that HRV indexes cardiac vagal tone and that its findings are easily misconstrued without careful design, analysis and reporting. Methods guidance, not evidence about emotion categories. (2010). Autonomic nervous system activity in emotion: A review. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.010 Reports considerable autonomic response specificity when emotion subtypes are considered. It is never cited as evidence against autonomic fingerprints; it is cited only as a partial counterpoint to Siegel et al. (2018), and claims citing both must say so.Where the site uses it
Studies behind it