Multivariate Brain Prediction of Heart Rate and Skin Conductance Responses to Social Threat.

ABSTRACT: Psychosocial stressors induce autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses in multiple body systems that are linked to health risks. Much work has focused on the common effects of stress, but ANS responses in different body systems are dissociable and may result from distinct patterns of cortical-subcortical interactions. Here, we used machine learning to develop multivariate patterns of fMRI activity predictive of heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) responses during social threat in humans (N = 18). Overall, brain patterns predicted both HR and SCL in cross-validated analyses successfully (r_HR = 0.54, r_SCL = 0.58, both p < 0.0001). These patterns partly reflected central stress mechanisms common to both responses because each pattern predicted the other sign

SUBMITTER: Eisenbarth H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5125248 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature