Causal interactions between the cerebral cortex and the autonomic nervous system

Mental states such as stress and anxiety can cause heart disease. On the other hand, meditation can improve cardiac performance. In this study, the heart rate variability, directed transfer function and corrected conditional entropy were used to investigate the effects of mental tasks on cardiac performance, and the functional coupling between the cerebral cortex and the heart. When subjects tried to decrease their heart rate by volition, the sympathetic nervous system was inhibited and the heart rate decreased. When subjects tried to increase their heart rate by volition, the parasympathetic nervous system was inhibited and the sympathetic nervous system was stimulated, and the heart rate increased. When autonomic nervous system activity was regulated by mental tasks, the information flow from the post-central areas to the pre-central areas of the cerebral cortex increased, and there was greater coupling between the brain and the heart. Use of directed transfer function and corrected conditional entropy techniques enabled analysis of electroencephalographic recordings, and of the information flow causing functional coupling between the brain and the heart.