Correlated and uncorrelated heart rate fluctuations during relaxing visualization

¹  Optoelectronics Research Center, University of Southampton - Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK, EU
²  University of Athens, Faculty of Physics, Department of Solid State Physics - Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15784 Athens, Greece, EU

Corresponding author: fotini.pallikari@phys.uoa.gr

Received: 4 February 2010
Accepted: 17 May 2010

Abstract

The heart rate variability (HRV) of healthy subjects practicing relaxing visualization is studied by use of three multiscale analysis techniques: the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), the entropy in natural time (ENT) and the average wavelet (AWC) coefficient. The scaling exponent of normal interbeat interval increments exhibits characteristics of the presence of long-range correlations. During relaxing visualization the HRV dynamics change in the sense that two new features emerge independent of each other: a respiration-induced periodicity that often dominates the HRV at short scales (< 40 interbeat intervals) and the decrease of the scaling exponent at longer scales (40–512 interbeat intervals). In certain cases, the scaling exponent during relaxing visualization indicates the breakdown of long-range correlations. These characteristics have been previously seen in the HRV dynamics during non-REM sleep.