title: Individual differences in heart rate variability are associated with the avoidance of negative emotional events.
abstract: Although the emotional outcome of a choice generally affects subsequent decisions, humans can inhibit the influence of emotion. Heart rate variability (HRV) has emerged as an objective measure of individual differences in the capacity for inhibitory control. In the present study, we investigated how individual differences in HRV at rest are associated with the emotional effects of the outcome of a choice on subsequent decision making using a decision-making task in which emotional pictures appeared as decision outcomes. We used a reinforcement learning model to characterize the observed behaviors according to several parameters, namely, the learning rate and the motivational value of positive and negative pictures. Consequently, we found that individuals with a lower resting HRV exhibited a greater negative motivational value in response to negative pictures, suggesting that these individuals tend to avoid negative pictures compared with individuals with a higher resting HRV.
authors.affiliation: Okanoya Emotional Information Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science Technology Agency, Wako, Saitama, Japan; Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan. Electronic address: katahira@brain.riken.jp.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katahira
authors.affiliation: Okanoya Emotional Information Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science Technology Agency, Wako, Saitama, Japan; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.affiliation: Okanoya Emotional Information Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science Technology Agency, Wako, Saitama, Japan; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshi-Taka
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.affiliation: Okanoya Emotional Information Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science Technology Agency, Wako, Saitama, Japan; Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okanoya
authors.affiliation: Okanoya Emotional Information Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science Technology Agency, Wako, Saitama, Japan; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address: okada@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Decision making; Emotional picture; Heart rate variability; Motivational value; Reinforcement learning