Child and mother cardiac vagal tone: continuity, stability, and concordance across the first 5 years.
In this prospective longitudinal study, vagal tone and heart period were measured at 2 months and at 5 years in children and their mothers to evaluate the development of vagal regulation at rest and during an environmental task. Child baseline vagal tone and heart period were discontinuous; mother baseline vagal tone was discontinuous, but heart period was continuous. Group mean baseline-to-task change in vagal tone and heart period were continuous in both children and mothers. Children reached adult levels of baseline vagal tone by 5 years and did not differ from their mothers in baseline-to-task change in vagal tone or heart period. Baseline vagal tone tended to be stable, but baseline heart period and baseline-to-task change in vagal tone and heart period were unstable in children; both were stable in mothers. Baseline-to-task change in vagal tone showed consistent child-mother concordance. These findings contribute to understanding psychophysiological development, especially the ontogenesis of the vagal system and its regulatory capacity.
Bornstein
M H
MH
Child and Family Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7971, USA. Marc_H_Bornstein@nih.gov
Suess
P E
PE
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006321:Heart / Q000294:innervation; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011603:Psychophysiology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*