Influence of Heart Rate Variability on Abstinence-Related Changes in Brain State in Everyday Drinkers

Hope Peterson,Paul Laurienti,Mohsen Bahrami,Rhiannon Mayhugh,Stephen Porges,Keri Heilman,Sean Simpson,Walter Rejeski

doi:10.3390/brainsci11060817

Abstract

Alcohol consumption is now common practice worldwide, and functional brain networks are beginning to reveal the complex interactions observed with alcohol consumption and abstinence. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has a well-documented relationship with alcohol use, and a growing body of research is finding links between the ANS and functional brain networks. This study recruited everyday drinkers in an effort to uncover the relationship between alcohol abstinence, ANS function, and whole brain functional brain networks. Participants (n = 29), 24–60 years-of-age, consumed moderate levels of alcohol regularly (males 2.4 (±0.26) drinks/day, females 2.3 (±0.96) drinks/day). ANS function, specifically cardiac vagal tone, was assessed using the Porges-Bohrer method for calculating respiratory sinus arrhythmia (PBRSA). Functional brain networks were generated from resting-state MRI scans obtained following 3-day periods of typical consumption and abstinence. A multi-task mixed-effects regression model determined the influences of HRV and drinking state on functional network connectivity. Results showed differences in the relationship between the strength of network connections and clustering coefficients across drinking states, moderated by PBRSA. Increases in connection strength between highly clustered nodes during abstinence as PBRSA increases demonstrates a greater possible range of topological configurations at high PBRSA values. This novel finding begins to shed light on the complex interactions between typical alcohol abstinence and physiological responses of the central and autonomic nervous system.

Highlights

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for declining health and global disease burden [1], but cessation of alcohol consumption is highly associated with stress and craving which drive the risk of relapse [2,3,4,5]
There were no significant differences between males and females for any demographic variable, including our alcohol consumption variables
This study examined how HRV relates to brain network topology changes between periods of normal drinking and alcohol abstinence in everyday drinkers

Summary

Introduction

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for declining health and global disease burden [1], but cessation of alcohol consumption is highly associated with stress and craving which drive the risk of relapse [2,3,4,5]. People consume alcohol as a means to reduce unpleasant states induced by stress In extreme stress, such as trauma, research has shown that the vagal system can shift control to the dorsal root of the vagus nerve and induce a powerful “passive” form of coping known as the freeze response. Porges and Bohrer [9] have developed a valid metric of CVT, which represents activity in the ventral root of the vagus nerve and is abbreviated as PBRSA. This abbreviation is used to distinguish it from the peakto-trough method for determining RSA, PTRSA, which is common in the literature but is less desirable. Research has consistently shown that higher levels of CVT are associated with psychological resilience, improved physiological recovery following exposure to stressors [10], greater emotional flexibility [11], and most relevant to the current study, improved ability to cope with alcohol cravings [12]

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