ArticlePsychophysiology2020
Parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems interactively predict change in cognitive functioning in midlife adults.
Article in Psychophysiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of multilingualism on cardiac autonomic activity, working memory and trait anxiety: a pilot study.Cognitive processing · 2026Article
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Explores Cardiac Autonomic Control as a Psychophysiological Mechanism Supporting Social Cognition.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- The relationship between blood pressure and cognitive decline differs by race.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
- Association between long-term visit-to-visit resting heart rate variability and cognitive decline: evidence from two national cohorts.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Loneliness Is Associated With Decreased Support and Increased Strain Given in Social Relationships.Psychophysiology · 2025Article
- Sleep in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: An Exploratory Investigation of Heart Rate Variability.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Canary in the Coalmine?: Breathing Dynamics and Cognitive Performance in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.CHEST pulmonary · 2025Article
- Sleep Parameters of Breathing and Cognitive Function in a Diverse Hispanic/Latino Cohort.CHEST pulmonary · 2025Article
- Resting EEG Periodic and Aperiodic Components Predict Cognitive Decline Over 10 Years.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Article
- Examining Heterogeneity in Short-Term Memory via Autonomic Nervous System Functioning Among Youth with ADHD: A Replication and Extension.Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment · 2024Article
- Resting EEG Periodic and Aperiodic Components Predict Cognitive Decline Over 10 Years.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Heart Rate Variability and Cognition: A Narrative Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Autonomic brain functioning and age-related health concerns.Current research in physiology · 2024Review
- Heart Rate Complexity and Autonomic Modulation Are Associated with Psychological Response Inhibition in Healthy Subjects.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Glial-neuron crosstalk in health and disease: A focus on metabolism, obesity, and cognitive impairment.Neurobiology of disease · 2022Review
- Slow yoga breathing improves mental load in working memory performance and cardiac activity among yoga practitioners.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Beyond mindfulness: Arousal-driven modulation of attentional control during arousal-based practices.Current research in neurobiology · 2022Article
- Autonomic function predicts cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment: Evidence from power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in a longitudinal study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- Pre-pandemic autonomic nervous system activity predicts mood regulation expectancies during COVID-19 in Israel.Psychophysiology · 2021Article
- [Influences of Autonomic Function, Salivary Cortisol and Physical Activity on Cognitive Functions in Institutionalized Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Based on Neurovisceral Integration Model].Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The two branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) have been individually linked to changes in cognitive functioning: The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) has been associated with healthy cognitive aging, whereas excessive sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity has been linked to heightened cognitive decline. Despite these separate findings and despite the integrative nature of the ANS, little work has examined the two branches simultaneously to better understand their interactive effects on changes in cognitive functioning in midlife adults. We examined cognitive change in two waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study cognitive project and indexed PNS and SNS activity from heart rate variability and epinephrine levels, respectively, from the MIDUS biomarker project (minimum n = 843, 57.9% female, mean age at first wave = 53.8 years). Our findings indicate that greater PNS responsivity (i.e., greater withdrawal and greater recovery) in response to cognitive challenge is associated with attenuated cognitive decline, but only among individuals with low SNS levels; at higher SNS levels, the effects of the PNS on cognitive decline are attenuated. These results suggest that future research targeting the ANS and cognitive aging should consider both ANS branch's effects simultaneously.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.