title: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and cognitive functioning in children.
abstract: We examined associations between children's cognitive performance and both basal respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and RSA regulation to a reaction time task. Cognitive performance was examined in the lab via standardized tests of cognitive functioning (Woodcock-Johnson III) and a reaction time task. Results suggest that a higher level of basal RSA is predictive of better performance on WJ III scales examining fluid intelligence (e.g., working memory, cognitive efficiency). RSA reactivity was not significantly related to cognitive performance. Results build on and extend the literature by demonstrating that, in typically developing elementary school age children, RSA is related to well-standardized measures of cognitive performance even after controlling for potential confounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Staton
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Sheikh
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Buckhalt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D011594:Psychometrics; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012119:Respiration; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology