Brain-Heart Interactions Modulate EEG Activity During Elicited Emotional States.

Understanding brain-heart interactions (BHI) is essential to understanding the emotional and physiological complexities associated with emotional granularity. This study examined the network physiology in terms of BHI as well as the associations of distinct brain regions and frequency bands in various affective states. BHI was evaluated utilizing the controlled time-delay stability (cTDS) method. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences between brain-to-heart and heart-to-brain networks (P-values < 0.0001), with heart-to-brain networks having stronger connections across emotional states, indicating the important role the heart plays in influencing brain activity associated with arousal and valence. Higher frequency bands exhibited stronger network connections, indicating their applicability to the BHI in this context. Notably, the networks representing various emotional states displayed symmetrical distributions of average link strength across brain regions. The research indicates that cTDS is a useful instrument for investigating BHI coupling and network interactions, emphasizing the importance of considering the directionality of the brain-heart connection under distinct emotional conditions, including differences in levels of arousal and valence.