Vagal flexibility: testing a novel metric of heart rate variability on cognitive stability

Abstract

High frequency heart rate variability (HRV) has been investigated as a possible biomarker for a variety of adaptive human behaviors, including cognitive performance. However, the extant literature is replete with small effect sizes and inconsistent findings. The equivocal evidence linking heart rate variability with cognitive performance may be due to flaws in the methodology and operationalization processes utilized in the past. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate a novel measurement of HRV – vagal flexibility – and explore its relationship with cognitive stability. Participants’ HRV was measured as they performed a series of cognitive tasks while listening to either white noise or unpleasant music. The results suggest that the novel metric created here may be able to detect relationships between HRV and cognition that other measurements fail to capture. Limitations in the current study and potential directions for future research are discussed.