Coupling of rhythms in prefrontal cortex and autonomic nervous system in school-age children

Self-regulation is a neuroregulatory process driven by function in both the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Although many investigations have explored the role of these systems in self-regulation independently, little work has examined how these systems cooperate to serve regulatory ability across contexts. This limitation has stymied the understanding of the neurophysiological substrates of self-regulation. Therefore, in a sample of 55 children (Mage = 5.85, SD = .80), the present study examined the coordination of cardiac and neural signals from rest and a mildly stressful task. Wavelet transform coherence (WTC) assessed the coupling of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) signals with heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) signals separately. HR- and RSA-dlPFC coupling was observed in both contexts. However, the timescales at which significant coupling was found were not consistent across contexts, cardiac signals, or dlPFC hemispheres. No significant associations were observed between coupling of any signal at any timescale and child positive and negative affect. Findings suggest that the coupling of cardiac and neurological systems is sensitive to timescale, context, and choice of cardiac signal. Future studies should consider other measures of behavioral regulation to better understand its potential relation with ANS-dlPFC coupling.