A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health
Thayer JF · Ahs F · Fredrikson M · Sollers JJ · Wager TD
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · 2012
What the research tells us
This coordinate meta-analysis links HRV with activity in regions including the anterior cingulate, extended amygdala and ventral striatum, informing the neurovisceral-integration account. Findings differed between emotional and cognitive/motor tasks, indicating that neural associations depend on context.
Scope & interpretation
The authors describe an illustrative rather than exhaustive selection. Studies were small and heterogeneous, with HRV recorded both inside and outside scanners. Spatial convergence and correlation do not establish a specific top-down causal mechanism or diagnose psychological traits.
Study at a glance
- POPULATION & SAMPLE
- 8 PET/fMRI studies, 191 participants and 10 contrasts.
- EXPOSURE / INTERVENTION / SUBJECT
- Multilevel kernel-density coordinate analysis with sample-size weighting and whole-brain multiple-comparison control.
- OUTCOMES
- Spatial associations between HRV and regional brain activity, including task differences.
- TIME FRAME
- Study-specific scan and task periods; no common clinical follow-up.
Editorial & review record
Record for v1.0 · Updated
Editorial responsibility: TAP Editorial Team
Scientific review
Not yet scientifically reviewed
Editorial note
Under the editorial responsibility of the TAP Editorial Team, this publication used AI assistance for content organization and editing. Scientific review is recorded separately on this page.
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How responsibilities and review are recorded ↗Scope of this reading note
Original full-text methods, Tables 1/2 and neurovisceral-integration discussion. The eight original reports and coordinate dependencies have not been individually rechecked.
- Funding & competing interests
- Funding and competing-interest details have not been verified against the full text. Consult the original publication’s declarations.
Project support
Founded and supported by Resilio.
Revision history
- · v1.0
Added HRV neuroimaging evidence with its illustrative selection and correlational scope.